As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster

It’s impossible to read that quote without hearing Tony Bennett’s ‘Rags to Riches’. 

In the history of cinema, few directors have deployed popular music as skilfully as Martin Scorsese. 

His films have garnered 91 Academy Award nominations, winning 20, and the needle drops on his soundtracks are an integral part of their success.

Having celebrated his 80th birthday on Thursday, Scorsese continues to be a towering presence in the film world and will next year unveil the eagerly anticipated ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’. 

55 years after the release of his debut film ‘Who’s That Knocking At My Door’, we’ve compiled 10 songs that tell the story of a momentous career.

BEWARE: Goodfellas and Casino spoilers ahead…

THE RONETTES - BE MY BABY (Mean Streets, 1973)

Italian-Americans, gangsters, Catholic guilt, Robert De Niro. The classic Scorsese ingredients were all in place for his third film, not least a selection of jukebox hits on the soundtrack. 

The opening credits played out to the joyous sound of Be My Baby and its famous opening drum beat. Scorsese failed to secure legal clearance for the recording, with producer Phil Spector only finding out about its use in the film after John Lennon called to say “Someone’s ripped you off, Phil”. 

Spector was irate, and without Lennon intervening he would have sought an injunction that could have resulted in the film being withdrawn from cinemas.

BERNARD HERRMANN - MAIN TITLE (Taxi Driver, 1976)

You might not know Bernard Herrmann’s name, but you will be familiar with his work. 

Considered one of the greatest ever film composers, he’s scored the likes of Citizen Kane, Psycho and Vertigo. Taxi Driver was his penultimate job, and he passed away one day after finishing work on a suitably dramatic soundtrack for Travis Bickle’s descent into darkness.

Read more: Arctic Monkeys , Taylor Swift and the greatest number two hits as UK chart turns 70

ORCHESTRA DEL TEATRO COMUNALE DI BOLOGNA - CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA: INTERMEZZO (Raging Bull, 1980)

Scorsese’s adaptation of Jake LaMotta’s autobiography is considered one of the greatest depictions of any sport on screen, but the director had no interest in boxing and had to be persuaded to get involved by Robert De Niro. 

While the punches were visceral, the movement was balletic and never more so than in the opening sequence. As De Niro’s La Motta throws punches alone in black-and-white slow motion to the strains of 19th-century opera, it’s instantly clear we’re not in Rocky territory.

RAY CHARLES - COME RAIN OR COME SHINE (The King of Comedy, 1982)

Come Rain or Come Shine features twice in Scorsese’s dark comedy. Robert De Niro stars as an obsessive fan of Jerry Lewis’ TV host Jerry Langford, but it’s Sandra Bernhard who features on the two occasions in which this song is used. 

First, we see her finding her way into Langford’s limo during the opening credits, and later she serenades him over a dinner that would be romantic were it not for him being taped to a chair.

TONY BENNETT - RAGS TO RICHES (Goodfellas, 1990)

Bathed in red, Ray Liotta’s Henry Hill says the famous line, slams the trunk and the music kicks in. Bennett’s 1953 recording plays over the opening credits and continues as the young Hill watches local mobsters through his window. 

THE CRYSTALS - THEN HE KISSED ME (Goodfellas, 1990)

You’ll struggle to find a more perfect marriage of movie and music. Filmed in one single take, a steadicam follows Hill and Lorraine Bracco’s Karen Friedman into the bowels of the Copacabana nightclub. The song’s lush, giddy feel emphasises her excitement at being welcomed into this glamorous world. 

THE ANIMALS - HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN (Casino, 1995)

Scorsese’s films frequently depict the flipside of that glamour, and several of Casino’s characters meet their ends to the haunting organ sound of House of the Rising Sun. The song reaches a crescendo as we witness Sharon Stone’s Ginger McKenna flailing around the hallway of a scuzzy hotel, before fading out as Joe Pesci’s Nicky Santoro arrives at a fateful meeting.

THE ROLLING STONES - GIMME SHELTER (The Departed, 2006)

A Scorsese list without Gimme Shelter would be like an ABBA best of without Dancing Queen or a Scorsese list without Robert De Niro. 

The song featured in both Goodfellas and Casino, but gets the nod here on account of its inclusion at the start of 2007 Best Picture Academy Award winner The Departed. 

Soundtracking the introduction of Frank Costello, the portentous, apocalyptic sound of Gimme Shelter tells us everything we need to know about Jack Nicholson’s character. 

SPOILER ALERT: not a good guy.

NAUGHTY BY BY NATURE - HIP HOP HOORAY (The Wolf of Wall Street, 2013)

As with his gangster movies, in The Wolf of Wall Street Scorsese goes to great lengths to show us how the protagonist could be seduced by their illicit lifestyle before their inevitable downfall.

Jordan Belfort’s life never looks more appealing than it does when he leads an entire yacht in a singalong to Naughty By Nature’s early ‘90s hip-hop classic. 

THE FIVE SATINS - IN THE STILL OF THE NIGHT (The Irishman, 2019)

If you’re going to get De Niro and Joe Pesci back together for one last gangster film, you might as well go full Scorsese and chuck some ‘50s doo-wop on the soundtrack. 

Bonus tracks

THE BAND & NEIL YOUNG - HELPLESS (The Last Waltz, 1978)

The Last Waltz is considered one of the great music films, and Scorsese would go on to make documentaries on the likes of Bob Dylan and George Harrison.

Supported by The Band and featuring backing vocals from a silhouetted Joni Mitchell, Neil Young provides a high point with this performance of the 1970 Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song.

HARRY NILSSON - JUMP INTO THE FIRE (Goodfellas, 1990)

 This entire list could have comprised cuts from the Goodfellas soundtrack and no-one would have complained. The likes of Life Is But A Dream by The Harptones (Henry and Karen’s wedding), Atlantis by Donovan (Tommy reacting unfavourably to Billy Batts’ ‘shine box’ comment), Sunshine Of Your Love by Cream (Jimmy deciding Morrie’s fate) and Layla (Piano Exit) by Derek & The Dominoes (chickens coming home to roost) all deserve a place. 

Nilsson’s propulsive 1972 epic perfectly complements Henry Hill’s paranoia as he tries to plough through a particularly stressful to-do list while a helicopter may or may not be keeping watch.

Read more: 10 Bruce Springsteen songs that tell the rock legend's story

ARETHA FRANKLIN - DO RIGHT WOMAN, DO RIGHT MAN (Cape Fear, 1991)

De Niro was no stranger to sinister roles in Scorsese movies, and his Max Cady channelled both the aggression of Raging Bull’s Jake LaMotta and the creepiness of Taxi Driver’s Travis Bickle. 

In Scorsese’s remake of J. Lee Thompson’s 1962 thriller, the Queen of Soul’s 1967 single soundtracks Cady’s twisted attempt to seduce Juliette Lewis’ Danielle Bowden.

LEAD BELLY - GOODNIGHT, IRENE (Feel Like Going Home, 2003)

The blues have been a constant in Scorsese’s soundtracks, so few were surprised by his role as producer on seven-part documentary series ‘The Blues’. He directed its first instalment, which featured this 1933 standard written and performed by Lead Belly.                         

DROPKICK MURPHYS - I’M SHIPPING UP TO BOSTON (The Departed, 2006)

It’s aggressive, it’s Irish and it’s about Boston. Originally released in 2004, the song was tailor-made for the Departed’s tale of Irish-American gangsters in that particular city. 

SPOTIFY PLAYLIST