Now that “Mad Men” has moved into the late 1960s, encompassing the music of Jimi Hendrix (“If 6 Was 9”) and Frank Sinatra (“My Way”), it can be said that the show’s soundtrack offers one of the most comprehensive — and interesting — catalogs of popular music, covering country, jazz, folk, rock and instrumental pieces.
As we head into Sunday night’s mid-season finale, we gathered some of the outstanding cuts, including the all-important closing credit songs for each season.
Season 1
Chubby Checker: ‘The Twist’
The massive 1960 dance hit is used in a crucial scene when the employees of Sterling Cooper go out after work. After dancing to “Choo Choo Cha Cha” by Rinky Dinks, Joan and Peggy and the others segue into “The Twist.” Peggy is still a secretary in these scenes, with a ponytail and a green pleated skirt.
Seeing Pete Campbell, with whom she’s been having an affair, sitting by himself in a corner, she seductively dances over and invites him to join her. Ever the jerk, Pete can only say, “I don’t like you like this.” He walks out, and Peggy returns to dance with the others, quickly wiping away a stray tear.
Season 1: Finale closing credits song
Bob Dylan: ‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright’
Don arrives home to an empty house and finds that his wife, Betty, and his two kids have already left for Thanksgiving. As he sits alone on the stairs, Dylan’s hymn to a decayed relationship rises into the scene. A poignant and perfect end to the first season.
Season 2: Finale closing credits song
Acker Bilk: ‘Stranger on the Shore’
Bernard Stanley “Acker” Bilk’s 1961 instrumental tune “Stranger on the Shore” became the first No. 1 single in the US by an English artist in the era of the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart and played over the end credits.
In this episode, Don reads the Frank O’Hara poem “Meditations in an Emergency,” Betty receives the news that she is pregnant, but before reconciling with Don and telling him about it, she engages in a brief sexual encounter with a stranger. Pete finally tells Peggy that he loves her, and in response, Peggy informs him that he fathered a child with her and she gave it away.
Season 3: Finale closing credits song
Roy Orbison: ‘Shahdaroba’
Three seasons of marital tension ends with an emotional anticlimax. Don and Betty quietly agree to separate, but the underlying sadness is filled with the yearning sound of “Shahdaroba.” As the two silently transition into their new lives, the melancholy tone of Orbison’s voice says more than any dialogue ever could.
Season 4
Simon & Garfunkel: ‘Bleecker Street’
At the end of the classic episode “The Suitcase,” in which Don and Peggy pull an all-nighter on an account, Simon & Garfunkel sing one of their lesser-known New York songs, whose lyrics evoke a bygone New York: “Fog’s rollin’ in off the East River bank/Like a shroud it covers Bleecker Street/Fills the alleys where men sleep/Hides the shepherd from the sheep.”
Season 4: Finale closing credits song
Sonny & Cher: ‘I Got You Babe’
It should be a happy ending to Season 4. Don is pictured awake in bed with his new partner, Megan, who is sleeping soundly. But as Sonny & Cher’s cheery folk love song starts up, Don looks distractedly out the window. It seems the “babe” on his mind is still his ex-wife, Betty.
Season 5
Jessica Paré: ‘Zou Bisou Bisou’
Rather than play the original sexy French ditty by Gillian Hills, creator Matthew Weiner incorporated the love song “Zou Bisou Bisou” into the season opener by having Megan Draper (Paré) sing it to Don at his surprise birthday party. He is definitely not into the party — until Megan, dressed from head to toe in skintight black, says to the band, “Un, deux, trois, quatre,” and stuns the party guests with her seductive performance.
When she finishes the song, Megan sits on Don’s lap and Roger Sterling turns to his then-wife and says, “Why don’t you sing like that?”
Season 5: Finale closing credits song
Nancy Sinatra: ‘You Only Live Twice’
Megan has begun her acting career, and as Don sits at a bar while she films a commercial, the sound of Sinatra’s seductive purr seems to curl around him as she sings, “One life for yourself/And one for your dreams.” The temptation of another existence offers itself up again when a woman asks if he is alone. The season ends before he replies, but we all know what Don’s dreams are made of.
Season 6: Finale closing credits song
Judy Collins: ‘Both Sides Now’
Having just been put on paid leave at the agency, Don shows his children his humble beginnings by driving them to a rundown neighborhood and stopping in front of a shabby house — the brothel where he was raised. His perspective is underscored by Judy Collins’ delicate “Both Sides Now,” a Joni Mitchell song that ends with the gut-wrenching line “I really don’t know life at all.”
As Don exchanges an embarrassed glance with his daughter, Sally, you can’t help but feel a little sorry for him.
Season 7
We don’t know the final song for the closing credits yet, but the season has so far produced some memorable songs that were linked to key storyline moments:
Spencer Davis Group: ‘I’m a Man’
Played as background music when Don flies to LA to meet his wife, Megan, this Spencer Davis Group hit with Steve Winwood’s passionate singing (“I’m a man/Yes, I am/And I can’t help but love you so”) is the perfect accompaniment as Don steps out of the airport and into Megan’s green convertible sports car.
The Zombies: ‘This Will Be Our Year’
This ballad by the British group better known for its rock hits “Time of the Season” and “She’s Not There” is played during Don’s reconciliation scene with his daughter, Sally, as he drives her back to school after she goes looking for him in his office and discovers that he doesn’t work there anymore.
One line in the song, “I won’t forget the way you helped me up when I was down,” seems to express the debt Don owes Sally for not ratting on him when she discovered him with his ex-mistress.
Frank Sinatra: ‘My Way’
Sinatra had a hit single with this ballad in 1969, and “Mad Men” played it at one of the season’s best moments — Don and Peggy’s slow dance in the office. He comforts her frustration at not having found a husband and shows her that he is her best friend.