Boardwalk Empire "Pilot": The Town Went Dry

It's not hard to tell that Martin Scorsese directed this new series from HBO -- in part thanks to a $20 million budget. The use of music, while from a different era than we're used to in Marty's toolbox, but songs move high in the mix for effect, like the use of Sophie Tucker's rendition of "Some of These Days" as Nucky Thompson peers through a boardwalk window. Tucker, in fact, is a character in the series, along with Eddie Cantor (shown on a marquee as a featured performer).

For the music to Boardwalk Empire, Music Supervisor extraordinaire Randall Poster utilized remastered 78s, and recreated music from nickelodeons making some of what you hear in the series recordings and compositions that have not been heard in a very long time. Prohibition era music is a bit of a blindspot for me right now -- but thanks to Boardwalk Empire, consider me in school.

"Some of These Days" - Sophie Tucker
"Avalon" - Al Jolson
"I Never Knew I Had a Wonderful Wife (Until the Town Went Dry)" - Eddie Cantor