Music from the Motion Picture Josie and the Pussycats is the soundtrack album to the 2001 film of the same name, starring Rachael Leigh Cook, Rosario Dawson, and Tara Reid. It was released on March 27, 2001 by Playtone, in conjunction with Epic, Riverdale Records and Sony Music Soundtrax.
Production
Producer and singer-songwriter Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds served as the executive producer of the songs for the film. The soundtrack was released by Sony Music SoundTrax, the day before the film was released. The songs in the film were actually performed with Kay Hanley, singer for Letters to Cleo, as the singing voice of Josie. Rachael Leigh Cook lip synched to the songs in the film. However, Cook, Dawson and Reid provided backup vocals on all of the songs. Despite the film's underperformance at the box office, the soundtrack was well received and was quickly certified as a gold album for selling more than 500,000 copies. The album peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard 200.
In addition to Hanley, other contributors include Bif Naked, Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne, Ivy), Dave Gibbs and Steve Hurley (Gigolo Aunts), Jason Falkner (Jellyfish), Matthew Sweet, Jane Wiedlin (The Go-Go's), Adam Duritz (Counting Crows), Anna Waronker (That Dog) and Michael Eisenstein (Letters to Cleo).
Legacy
On September 26, 2017, a belated celebration commemorating the movie's 15th anniversary took place at the Ace Hotel in Los Angeles, featuring a screening of the film, a Q&A with writer-director Kaplan and stars Cook, Dawson and Reid, and a set of five songs from the film performed by Hanley and the song's original sessions players, including Schlesinger. The event also marked the debut release of the soundtrack on vinyl by Mondo, featuring a leopard print design, a bonus 7-inch single of the two DuJour songs and a 12-page booklet.
Track listing
Credits
Credits adapted from CD liner notes, unless otherwise indicated.
Lead vocalists
Kay Hanley – Josie
John Stephan – DuJour
J'son Thomas – DuJour
Additional musicians
Rachael Leigh Cook – background vocals
Rosario Dawson – background vocals
Tara Reid – background vocals
Bif Naked – background vocals
Matthew Sweet – unspecified duties
Technical
Babyface – producer (tracks 1–5) Dave Gibbs – co-producer (tracks 1–5) David J. Holman – mixing (tracks 1–10, 13) Adam Schlesinger – producer (tracks 6–10, 13) Presidential Campaign – producer (tracks 11–12) Guliano Franco – producer (track 12) Kevin Thomas – mixing (tracks 11–12) Paul Boutin – engineer (tracks 1–5, 11–12) Edward Quesada – additional vocal recording (tracks 1–5, 11–12) Mike Denneen – engineer (tracks 6–10, 13) Matthew Ellard – assistant engineer (tracks 6–10, 13) Matt Beaudoin – assistant engineer (tracks 6–10, 13) Anthony President – additional programming (tracks 11–12) Stephen Marcussen – mastering Stewart Whitmore – digital editing Angie Rubin – music editor Jeff Potokar – assistant music editor Aimee Macauley – package design