58 Years Ago Today, One of the Greatest Movie Soundtracks Ever Was Dominating the Charts
Fifty-eight years ago today, an iconic movie soundtrack quietly climbed to the top of the Billboard album charts. The collection of tracks from the movie The Graduate featured some of the most beautiful songs ever recorded, which helped the album stay on top for several weeks. Some of its songs from Simon & Garfunkel also reached No. 1 on the singles chart.
'The Graduate' Soundtrack Reached No. 1 on April 6, 1968
Photo by Columbia Records/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
On April 6, 1968, the soundtrack to The Graduatereached No. 1 on the US Billboard 200, which is the chart that tracks the best-selling albums in America. It would go on to dominate the ranking by holding the top spot for a total of seven non-consecutive weeks. The iconic album would be No. 1 off and on between early April and July of 1968, which proves it remained a huge hit for far longer than most albums.
Why This Soundtrack Stands Among The Greatest Ever Made
Throughout Hollywood history, several films have featured incredible soundtracks that brought together some of the most beloved songs from popular artists. As a result, the competition to be considered one of the top movie soundtracks of all time is extremely fierce. Despite that, a soundtrack that is dominated by one duo and music from a film's score is widely regarded as one of the best of all time.
Originally released on January 21, 1968, the soundtrack for The Graduate featured some of the era's most affecting songs, which were recorded by the folk-rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Two of those tracks became major hits that reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Most famously, the album included the iconic track, "Mrs. Robinson," which topped the chart for three weeks. It also included "The Sound of Silence," which was No. 1 for two weeks, although its reign on top came in 1966, before it was part of the soundtrack. The album also featured the Simon & Garfunkel songs "Scarborough Fair" and "April Come She Will."
In the decades since its release, The Graduate soundtrack has been included on several prestigious lists of the best movie soundtracks ever. Rolling Stone ranked it the eighth greatest in 2024, Time included it among the 25 best movie soundtracks in 2011, and The Guardian called it one of the greatest movie soundtracks in 2007. The album has also been included in similar lists from Pitchfork, Albumism, and uDiscover Music.
At the time of its release, music from the soundtrack also earned several accolades from the most notable awards show in the music industry, the Grammy Awards. Mrs. Robinson won Record of the Year and Best Contemporary Pop Performance - Vocal Duo or Group. Paul Simon and Dave Grusin also won the Grammy for Best Original Score Written For A Motion Picture Or A Television Special for their music from The Graduate. Years later, "Mrs. Robinson" and "The Sound of Silence" were recognized again when they were both inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame separately.