1974 Soundtrack – The Sugarland Express
The Sugarland Express is a 1974 American crime drama film directed by Steven Spielberg in his theatrical film directing debut, following the television film Duel (1971). The film follows a woman (Goldie Hawn) and her husband (William Atherton) as they take a police officer (Michael Sacks) hostage and flee across Texas while they try to get to their child before he is placed in foster care. The event partially took place and the film was partially shot in Sugar Land, Texas. Other scenes were filmed in San Antonio, Live Oak, Floresville, Pleasanton, Converse and Del Rio, Texas.
The Sugarland Express marks the first collaboration between Spielberg and composer John Williams, who has scored all but five of Spielberg’s films since. Although Williams re-recorded the main theme with Toots Thielemans and the Boston Pops Orchestra for 1991’s The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration,the score was not released as an album until June 15, 2024, coinciding with the film’s 50th anniversary.
Tracks
1 The Sugarland Express – Main Title (John Williams) 01:29
2 Freedom At Last (John Williams) 00:46
3 The First Chase (John Williams) 02:32
4 Taking The Jump (John Williams) 01:48
5 The Caravan Forms (John Williams) 02:01
6 To The Roadblock (John Williams) 01:27
7 Sugarland Dance (John Williams) 01:38
8 Road Ballad (John Williams) 02:05
9 Out Of Gas (John Williams) 02:24
10 Trading Stamps (John Williams) 01:14
11 Police Cars Move (John Williams) 01:00
12 Along The Route (John Williams) 01:18
13 Man And Wife (John Williams) 02:09
14 Franklyn Falls (John Williams) 00:29
15 Sealing The Bargain (John Williams) 01:27
16 The Deputies Arrive (John Williams) 00:55
17 The Onlookers (John Williams) 01:02
18 Open Highway (John Williams) 02:04
19 Pursuit (John Williams) 01:51
20 Over The Next Hill (John Williams) 01:04
21 Setting The Trap (John Williams) 01:41
22 Last Conversation (John Williams) 02:00
23 The Final Ride (John Williams) 03:36
24 The Sugarland Express – End Title (John Williams) 01:45
Biography
Musicians
| Bass | Carol Kaye |
| Acoustic Guitar | Al Hendrickson |
| Acoustic Guitar | Dennis Budimir |
| Acoustic Guitar | Tommy Tedesco |
| Steel Guitar | Buddy Emmons |
| Steel Guitar | Red Rhodes |
| Keyboards | Mike Lang |
| Keyboards | Ralph Grierson |
| Harmonica | Toots Thielemans |
| French Horn | Arthur Maebe |
| French Horn | James Decker |
| French Horn | Vince DeRosa |
| Trombone | Dick Noel |
| Trombone | Milt Bernhart |
| Trombone | Phil Teele |
| Trumpet | Chase Craig |
| Trumpet | Malcolm McNab |
| Tuba | John Johnson |
| Woodwinds | Dominick Fera |
| Woodwinds | Harry Klee |
| Woodwinds | Jack Nimitz |
| Percussion | Emil Richards |
| Percussion | Jerry Williams |
| Percussion | Joe Porcaro |
| Percussion | Kenneth Watson |
| Percussion | Larry Bunker |
Strings
Bass – José Mondragón, Milton Kestenbaum
Cello – Edgar Lustgarten, Frederick Seykora, Marie Fera, Ray Kelley
Viola – Allan Harshman, Dan Neufeld, Marilyn Baker, Virginia Majewski
Violin – Alexander Murray, Anatol Kaminsky, Assa Drori, Erno Neufeld, George Kast, Gerald Vinci, Irma Neumann, Israel Baker, Jacob Krachmalnick, Marvin Limonick, Nathan Kaproff, Sam Freed, Stanley Plummer
Liner Notes
Producer – John Williams
Edited By – Mike Matessino
Mastered By – Mike Matessino
Mixed By – Mike Matessino
Orchestrated By – John Williams
Art Direction – Jim Titus
Engineered At Next Generation Audio
Recorded At Universal Scoring Stage
Phonographic Copyright Universal Studios
Copyright Universal Studios