The 10 Best Songs Featured in Baby Driver

Baby Driver was yet another fun and inventive film to add to Edgar Wright’s impressive body of work. The film follows a young getaway driver named Baby who uses music to help him pull off his amazing driving skills while evading police.

The film is filled with great action sequences, fun performances and Wright’s trademark sharp wit. But the highlight of the film is the stellar music choices which Wright edits to perfection in synch with the film’s action. This resulted in one of the best soundtracks in recent memory with some songs you probably recognize and a few you might be hearing for the first time. And all the songs are made better by their pitch-perfect placement in the movie. Take a look at the best songs in Baby Driver.

10 Neat Neat Neat By The Damned

One of the best parts about the Baby Driver soundtrack is how much variety there is. Baby is a young man of many tastes and his music reflects that. Such is the case with this punk rock tune which stands out among some of the more polished music of the movie.

The song accompanies the armored car heist in which Baby is first introduced to the madman, Bats (Jamie Foxx). While some of Baby’s music always seems in perfect tune with the world around him, this song reflects the chaos of the situation as nothing goes as planned and Baby actually has to start and stop the song a couple of times.

9 Tequila By The Button Down Brass

Many people might be familiar with the song “Tequila” thanks to Pee Wee Herman, but this version is actually the striped down instrumental version. And yet it is still a whole lot of fun. That instantly recognizable horn-fueled tune ends up fitting surprisingly well in the midst of a bloody shootout.

Bats even takes a liking to the song as the gang’s gun deal suddenly goes wrong. Every gunshot pairs brilliantly with the tempo of the song, giving the scene an extra kick of energy, as if it wasn’t energetic enough already.

8 Debora By T. Rex

Among all the car chases, gunfights and tough-talking, Baby Driver is really a story of young love when you get to the heart of it. Baby’s budding romance of the young waitress he forms a kinship with helps to provide a light at the end of the tunnel in this violent world of crime.

One of the sweetest moments between the two lovebirds is when they trade songs that feature each other’s name. Of course, Baby has a lot to choose from, but this catchy tune is a nice theme song as the two connect and listen to it while doing laundry together.

7 Baby Driver By Paul Simon

While the film’s soundtrack is filled with pre-existing music, this one seems like it was written specifically for Baby Driver. Obviously, Wright got the film’s title from this Paul Simon song, which either served as inspiration for the entire plot or was just an insanely good fit for his idea.

The song bounces along with a lot of energy while the lyrics mirror a lot of what we see in the film. Sadly, we only hear the song within the movie as it goes to credits. While it does seem like the perfect song to end on, it would have been nice to see it used in the actual movie.

6 Easy By The Commodores

This song from Lionel Ritchie is likely one of the more popular songs on the soundtrack before the movie’s release. As the title suggests, it is an easy-going song that actually feels like it would be the perfect thing to listen to while taking a leisurely drive, something Baby doesn’t get to do to often.

The song is actually one of the more significant ones in the movie. It is first used as a hopefully optimistic song when Baby thinks he’s finally leaving his life of crime. It then comes back at the end as the song Baby’s mother recorded for him.

5 Hocus Focus By Focus

Just as the songs used in this action film are varied, so too are the action scenes. Despite being about a getaway driver, Wright seems aware that car chase after car chase would get stale and switches it up. One of the best moments is Baby’s extended foot-chase getaway scored by this energetic and unique song.

The bouncing rhythm and memorable yodeling are once again edited brilliantly to the action. Despite the lyrics being incomprehensible, the song is insanely catchy and will stick in your mind.

4 Never, Never Gonna Give You Up By Barry White

Few singers’ voices are as alluring as that of soul legend Barry White. His deep and smooth vocals are instantly recognizable and fit right at home in any sexy scene. But Wright being the brilliant creative mind that he is, finds a totally unexpected and effective use for White’s song about romantic devotion.

After their last heist goes all wrong, leaving Bats and Darling (Eiza González) dead, Buddy snaps and sets out to make Baby pay. As he tracks Baby down and corners him, the song takes on a new meaning as a threat that this cold-blooded killer will not stop until Baby is dead.

3 Bellbottoms by The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

We might never have gotten Baby Driver if it wasn’t for this song. Wright has said before that when he heard this song when he was younger it stuck in his mind as a perfect song to score a car chase. That thought never seemed to leave Wright’s head as this was the song that accompanied the extremely memorable car chase that opens the film.

The song is immediately a winner within the movie as Baby hilariously sings along while waiting in the getaway car and it works even when the tires start squealing and the chase is on. It’s one of the best opening scenes in recent memory.

2 Harlem Shuffle By The Foundations

Aside from picking good music for the film, Wright excels at picking music that helps the audience understand the tone of the film. This is meant to be a fun thrill ride of a movie and the music is an extension of that tone, especially this incredibly fun tune.

After the heart-pounding, edge-of-your-seat car chase that opened the film, this song helped keep the good times going. The song plays over the super fun credit sequence as Baby goes on a spirited coffee run. It’s so much fun watching all the ways Wright lets the song dictate what’s happening on screen. It helps make this scene worth repeat viewings.

1 Brighton Rock By Queen

In a movie in which its music is so important, to put one song above the rest is a lot of pressure to put on that song. Luckily, Wright picks a song that is more than up to the challenge. This great Queen track is the song Baby calls his “killer track.” And like a musical version of Chekhov’s gun, you knew that song had to come back.

Wright already had a lot of success with Queen as he memorably used “Don’t Stop Me Now” in Shaun of the Dead. Here, the iconic band again provides a perfect scoring to a scene of violence and it does indeed feel like the ideal killer track for this movie’s climax.

About The Author

Colin McCormick
(2028 Articles Published)

Colin McCormick is a Senior Writer with Screen Rant and has been a proud member of the team since 2019. In addition to his work as Screen Rant, Colin is also a writer of News, Feature and Review pieces at Game Rant. Colin has had a long passion and obsession with movies going back to the first time he saw The Lion King in theaters. Along with movies, Colin stays up-to-date on the latest must-see TV shows. While he loves to find interesting projects in any kind of genre, he has a special movie of crime stories that are infused with a little dark humor much like the work of his favorite author, Elmore Leonard.

More From Colin McCormick