The five albums Tom Hanks couldn’t live without: “That’s beautiful stuff”
He might be known as one of the greatest actors of his generation, but Tom Hanks also has quite an affinity for music. Rising to prominence in the 1980s, Hanks would go on to appear in many box-office hits, but in 1996 he made his directorial debut with That Thing You Do!, a movie about a band that finds success in 1960s-era Pennsylvania.
Taking inspiration from his love of classic rock and roll artists, especially The Beatles, Hanks found acclaim with the movie, into which he poured his love of music as much as his love for cinema. The actor has also appeared in various other music-related projects, like playing Colonel Tom Parker in the Baz Luhrmann biopic Elvis, although his performance wasn’t exactly well-received.
The point is, Hanks loves his music, particularly the artists who remind him of growing up and falling in love with different genres, and it seems as though rock and roll and classic jazz-influenced pop are some of his favourites.
In an interview with Collider, he revealed five albums that he couldn’t live without, beginning with a record by Julie London. The American musician released many albums during the 1950s and 1960s, and while Hanks didn’t pick one specific LP as his favourite, we can assume he’d likely pick her debut, Julie Is Her Name, which contains her most famous hit, ‘Cry Me a River’. “I would have a Julie London album. Julie London was a smoky saloon singer from back in the ‘60s, who did a lot of covers. She was a formidable woman with a formidable voice,” Hanks explained.
Another female musician from the same era that Hanks is obsessed with is Dusty Springfield, whose brand of soulful pop made her one of the most iconic singers of the time. She is noted for hits like ‘Son of a Preacher Man’, ‘You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me’, ‘The Look of Love’, and ‘Wishin’ and Hopin’, which have endured for decades. “I’d throw in Dusty Springfield. Her Dusty in Memphis record has that English soulful sound, by way of Chess Records out of Memphis. That’s beautiful stuff.”
The other female singer Hanks couldn’t live without is rather closer to home, specifically, his wife, Rita Wilson. The actor and musician has made several country and pop albums over the years, but Hanks selected Bigger Picture, released in 2018, stating, “And then, if I was gonna be alone, I’d take one of my wife’s records.”
Moving into more rock-and-roll territory, Hanks also picked Chuck Berry’s Greatest Hits album as a must-have, explaining, “I would have to have a very, very, very, very basic 4/4 time rock and roll album, like a collection of Chuck Berry’s greatest hits, not just for the beat and not just for the percussive guitar aspect, but that guy actually wrote lyrics that were incredibly subtle and bits of urban poetry for its time.” Berry was certainly a pioneer, and it’s no surprise that Hanks hails the rock and roll legend as an essential—what rock aficionado doesn’t?
As any true American, he loves Bruce Springsteen, too, the classic musician who has brought vibrant stories about the US to life through various hit albums. For Hanks, there’s one that would be a quintessential record to listen to while alone on a desert island. “I’d probably take something by Mr Bruce Springsteen, probably Darkness on the Edge of Town because that is one major road opera right there,” he admitted.
The five albums Tom Hanks couldn’t live without:
- Julie London – Julie Is Her Name
- Chuck Berry – Greatest Hits
- Bruce Springsteen – Darkness on the Edge of Town
- Dusty Springfield – Dusty in Memphis
- Rita Wilson – Bigger Picture
