Rain Man: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by various artists
Released	February 22, 1989 (original) February 11, 2025 (extended)
Genre	Electronic jazz funk soul blues rock pop folk world country
Length	40:41(original) 45:21 (extended)
Label	Capitol (original) La-La Land (extended)
Producer	Allan Mason Barry Levinson (exec.) Mark Johnson (exec.)
Singles from Rain Man
"Iko Iko" Released: 1988 "Scatterlings of Africa" Released: 1989

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic

Rain Man: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album from the film of the same name release in 1989 by Capitol Records.

Contents

• Production
• Track listing
• Rain Man: Music from the MGM Motion Picture
• Deluxe edition bonus tracks
• Deluxe edition original album tracks
• Personnel
• Charts
• Year-end charts
• References

The soundtrack featured various artists, including The Belle Stars' version of "Iko Iko", Etta James, and a score by Hans Zimmer who performed synths, woodwinds, and percussion. Zimmer was nominated for Best Original Score at the 61st Academy Awards ^[1] for Grusin's winning score for The Milagro Beanfield War . ^[2] According to Allmusic, the album "remains more popular [than ever] from the mid-'80s", and the album's hits still define the bombastic, melodramatic sound that dominated the pop charts of the era." ^[3]

In 2025, the album was reissued as a "Special Expanded Edition" with electronic synth music composed and conducted by Zimmer from the original MGM Motion Picture Score on La-La Land Records. ^[4]

Production

Hans Zimmer, who had scored various non-American films since 1982, received his breakthrough score opportunity with Rain Man, blending synthesizers with traditional instruments. Allan Mason and Jay Rifkin co-produced.

My First Hollywood offer was something called Rain Man with Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise and Barry Levinson. And I [eventually would] get an Oscar Nomination for it, and… my mom was very proud of me. And suddenly I could pay my bills.

Zimmer's approach to the Rain Man soundtrack was driven by a desire to create something different. He and director Barry Levinson decided to avoid the typical musical clichés associated with road movies. Instead, Zimmer sought to capture the essence of Raymond's character, who he felt was "on Mars" in terms of his unconventional perception of the world. This led him to experiment with a unique blend of musical styles, incorporating African, Cuban, and electronic influences. The resulting score is characterized by a recurring melody that never fully resolves, reflecting Raymond's fragmented thought patterns and the interruptions he experiences.^{[ citation needed ]}

Track listing

Personnel

• Music composer – Hans Zimmer
• Music producer – Hans Zimmer, Allan Mason
• Recording and mixing – Al Clay, Jay Rifkin
• Editing and mastering – Maxime Marion
• Design – DZN, The Design Group
• Art direction – Tommy Steele
• Album coordinator – Sharon Swab
• Music coordinator – Ken Friedmann, Tim Devine
• Executive producer – Barry Levinson, Mark Johnson
• Music supervisor – Allan Mason
• Liner notes – Kaya Savas
• Photographer – Steve Vaughan
• Score editor – James Flamberg*, Laura Perlman
• Additional production and remixing ("Iko Iko") – Jellybean Benítez

Instruments

• Hans Zimmer – keyboards, synthesizers, arranger
• Paul Jackson Jr. – guitar ("Las Vegas")
• Bobby Z., Luis Jardim, Paulinho Da Costa – percussion ("Las Vegas")
• Darryl Phinnessee – vocals ("Las Vegas")

Charts

Weekly charts

References