Over the course of almost fifteen years on television, Supernatural developed one rocking soundtrack. Mostly in keeping with the classic rock theme, the show brings decades-old music into a modern-day setting, whether it's playing soft tones on Bobby's radio or blasting through the Impala's speakers as Sam and Dean drive down the road.
Of course, a good music moment in a TV show isn't determined by the music alone. How well the song fits the scene and storyline is also a factor. Supernatural has definitely taken fans on some emotional roller coasters in its day, and the music chosen provides a backdrop for the story as a whole, a hugely important task. Let's take a look at which ones proved to be the most successful.
Charlie's Theme
Charlie Bradbury became a fan favorite immediately upon her introduction to the series. She brings a fun quirkiness to the team, so the Walking on Sunshine song choice during her first scene in "The Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo" set the mood for her contribution to the show.
A later episode, "Pac-Man Fever," played the song again over a montage of her "losing the novelty tees" in favor of an outfit for her FBI agent disguise. There's no wondering why this Katrina and the Waves song is considered by many fans to be Charlie's theme song.
Bobby's Theme
If Charlie's theme is Walking on Sunshine, then Kenny Rogers' The Gambler is definitely Bobby's. Season 6's "Weekend at Bobby's" pays tribute to everything he does to keep the Winchesters, not to mention all the other hunters in his charge, on track.
The song plays over a montage of Bobby breaking into a library and thumbing through the lore books, interrupted only by his occasional exclamations of "Balls!" He s the many characters who are killed later in the series, but season 10 brings him back for the episode "Inside Man," which finds him in his own personal Heaven, where the song is playing again.
Boston Plays Out Season 2
The episode "Hook Man" preludes Supernatural's Boston run with Peace of Mind playing at the end of the episode, but the show doesn't create a truly outstanding music moment with the band until season 2's two-part finale, "All Hell Breaks Loose." The first part begins as Sam and Dean drive up to a diner while Foreplay / Long Time plays over the radio. The moment begins the emotional plot of the yellow-eyed demon kidnapping Sam, Dean selling his soul to save his brother's life, and their team closing the gate to Hell.
As they drive off to hunt down the demons who escaped, with the declaration of "We've got work to do," the Boston song Don't Look Back plays. Supernatural not only used a song that perfectly fits the tone of the closing scene but also one that calls back to the earlier tone of the narrative and highlighting how much had changed.
Rock Of Ages
This Def Leppard hit is first heard on the Supernatural soundtrack in "Bugs," but the season 5 finale features the song on a much grander, more theatrical scale. The episode "Swan Song" finds Lucifer and Michael going head to head in Sam and Adam's bodies in a battle that would have brought on the apocalypse and surely killed both vessels.
Dean, unwilling to let his brother die alone, drives his Impala straight onto the battlefield, blasting Rock of Ages from the speakers. The music sets the backdrop to one of the most emotional, life-changing moments in the Supernatural universe.
Lost Angel
The first and only song from the classic female-fronted band Heart to be featured in Supernatural comes at an opportune time: "Mamma Mia." One of the first episodes of season 12, "Mamma Mia" introduces (or, rather, reintroduces) Mary, the show's most-featured female character to date. The song plays during Mary's time in the bunker while she reconnects and bonds with her sons after having returned to their lives 33 years after her death.
The song is on the slower side and emotionally heavy, which lines up with the tone of the scene as the three Winchesters reunite. It's also possibly a prelude to her story and relationship with her family later in the season.
The Wayward Sisters' Theme
Halestorm, fronted by Lzzy Hale, recorded this song that plays over the recap at the beginning of the episode "Wayward Sisters," the backdoor pilot to a spin-off of the same name. Wayward Sisters was set to follow the adventures of Sheriff Jody Mills and her adoptive daughters as she trains them as hunters.
The song has a hard rock quality characteristic of Supernatural's soundtrack, albeit a modern feminine twist that lent its voice to the new show. Although the spin-off wasn't picked up, I Am the Fire remains the Wayward Sisters anthem in the eyes of the fans.
The Wanted Men
At the end of the season 2 episode "Nightshifter," Sam and Dean had been tracked down by federal agents, forcing them into hiding. It makes Renegade, an ode to the criminal, a perfect fit.
The song starts slowly with a pure vocal intro by Tommy Shaw, the lead singer for Styx at the time the track was written, as the brothers are getting into their car in their SWAT team disguises. The music pauses while Dean sums up their situation with a "We are so screwed," then jumps straight into a hardcore beat as they drive off.
Eye Of The Tiger
One of the most iconic Supernatural music moments (in fact, one of the most iconic Supernatural moments, period) comes at the tail end of one of Rocky III, Supernatural fans will recognize it as the song Dean rocks out to in "Yellow Fever."
More memorably is the outtake that was featured at the end of the episode showing Jensen Ackles lip-syncing the entire song, with air-drumming, collar-popping, face-scrunching, and everything.
An Honorary Theme Song
In lieu of proper theme music, Supernatural has adopted Kansas' Carry On Wayward Son as its unofficial theme song. The song was originally released as the premier track on their 1976 Leftoverture album and would be one of the band's most successful songs.
In Supernatural, the song plays during the "Road So Far" recap of every season finale (except in season 1, where it plays in the second to the last episode). It encapsulates the show's theme, tone, and story perfectly. Most fans have drawn parallels between the song's narrator and Sam, but over the years, both the song and the character have grown to mean much more to the Supernatural family.
Fan Fiction
To celebrate the show's 200th episode, the producers decided to pay tribute to the fans. The episode follows teenage fans of the in-universe books entitled "Supernatural," which follow all of Sam and Dean's adventures, who have written a musical based on the books. In order to defeat Calliope, the Greek goddess who inspires directors just to eventually eat them, the heroes' goal becomes to make sure the show goes on without any issues.
The musical features three original songs written by Robbie Thompson, lead writer of the episode, along with Christopher Lennertz and Jay Gruska, long time composers of the show. The show ends with a soft rendition of Carry On Wayward Son.