Austin Powers Soundtrack: Composer and Song List

George S. Clinton is the only composer credited on the three Austin Powers films, scoring Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) and Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002). Clinton holds the score credit on each film, so the composer stays the same across the saga while the songs change.

The 1999 film has one soundtrack album, "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me: Music from the Motion Picture", released by Maverick on May 31, 1999, with 12 tracks. Its track titles include "Beautiful Stranger", "My Generation", "American Woman", "Word Up", "Time of the Season" and "Just the Two of Us (Dr. Evil mix)". Those are the titles to look for if you want the pop songs from that film.

The 2002 film has "Austin Powers in Goldmember: Music From & Inspired by the Motion Picture", also released by Maverick, on July 16, 2002, with 12 tracks. Its track titles include "Hey Goldmember", "Groove Me", "Shining Star", "Evil Woman", "1975" and "Work It Out".

No album is credited to the 1997 film. Its songs appear as individual tracks: "Soul Bossa Nova" by Quincy Jones and His Orchestra, "Austin's Theme" by The James Taylor Quartet, "Incense and Peppermints" by Strawberry Alarm Clock, "The Look of Love" by Susanna Hoffs and "The Magic Piper (of Love)" by Edwyn Collins. The 1999 film reuses "Soul Bossa Nova" as "Soul Bossa Nova (Dim's Space-A-Nova)", again credited to Quincy Jones and His Orchestra.

So, who made the music? For the score, the answer is George S. Clinton. For the songs, the answer is the artists on these albums and on the 1997 film's track list. If you are new to the saga, the Austin Powers movies in order page shows where each film sits, and the Austin Powers cast page covers the people on screen.

The signature songs of the Austin Powers films are "Secret Agent Man" and "Soul Bossa Nova" in the first film, "Beautiful Stranger" and "American Woman" in the second, and "Hey Goldmember" in the third. Each film mixes 1960s pop covers, soundtrack recordings and a few songs written for the film itself.

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), directed by Jay Roach and scored by George S. Clinton, leans on period pop. "Secret Agent Man" by Johnny Rivers plays during the attack on Dr. Evil's compound, and "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" by Nancy Sinatra plays during the Fembot presentation. Quincy Jones and His Orchestra supply "Soul Bossa Nova", Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66 perform "Mas Que Nada", and Strawberry Alarm Clock perform "Incense and Peppermints". Susanna Hoffs sings "The Look of Love", and Burt Bacharach and The Posies cover "What the World Needs Now Is Love". The film also includes "Austin's Theme" by The James Taylor Quartet, "I Touch Myself" by Divinyls, "Call Me" by The Mike Flowers Pops and "The Magic Piper (of Love)" by Edwyn Collins.

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999), also scored by George S. Clinton, moved toward bigger names. Its album, "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me: Music from the Motion Picture", came out on Maverick on May 31, 1999, with twelve tracks. "Beautiful Stranger" by Madonna, "American Woman" by Lenny Kravitz and "Just the Two of Us (Dr. Evil mix)" by Dr. Evil were written for the film. Other songs on the album include "Word Up" by Melanie Brown, "My Generation" by The Who, "Draggin' the Line" by R.E.M., "Espionage" by Green Day, "Buggin'" by The Flaming Lips, "Time of the Season" by Big Blue Missile and Scott Weiland, and "Alright" by The Lucy Nation. The film's song list also includes "Soul Bossa Nova (Dim's Space-A-Nova)" by Quincy Jones and His Orchestra, and "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" by Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello.

Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), also scored by George S. Clinton, built its music around the 1975 setting. Its album, "Austin Powers in Goldmember: Music From & Inspired by the Motion Picture", was released by Maverick on July 16, 2002. "Hey Goldmember" by Foxxy Cleopatra, Devin Vasquez and Solange was written for the film, and Foxxy Cleopatra performs the disco medley at the Studio 69 nightclub. In a prison scene, Dr. Evil and Mini-Me perform a rap-video style parody of "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem) (Dr. Evil Remix)". The album also carries "Work It Out", "Miss You (Dr. Dre remix 2002)", "Boys (Co-Ed remix)", "Groove Me", "Shining Star", "Evil Woman" and "1975".

Our picks: the best songs in the Austin Powers films (opinion)

• "Soul Bossa Nova" by Quincy Jones and His Orchestra: in my opinion, the brassy groove sets the tone for the whole saga in a few bars.
• "Secret Agent Man" by Johnny Rivers: it suits the attack on Dr. Evil's compound, because the song already sounds like a spy chase.
• "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" by Nancy Sinatra: I think it is the best pairing of song and set piece in the series, since it lands so well on the Fembot presentation.
• "The Look of Love" by Susanna Hoffs: a softer cover that shows the first film could be stylish as well as silly.
• "Beautiful Stranger" by Madonna: a song written for the film that still stands on its own as a pop single.
• "American Woman" by Lenny Kravitz: it gives the second film a heavier, rock driven sound.
• "Hey Goldmember" by Foxxy Cleopatra, Devin Vasquez and Solange: I believe the Studio 69 medley is the best original number in the series, because it captures the 1975 disco setting.