St. Vincent, H.E.R., Phoebe Bridgers and Gary Clark Jr. to feature on Minions: The Rise of Gru soundtrack

Forthcoming movie Minions: The Rise Of Gru is set to feature a soundtrack packed with electric guitar talent, including St. Vincent, Phoebe Bridgers, Gary Clark Jr., H.E.R. and Tame Impala.

The soundtrack has been helmed by Bleachers man (and all-round savior of pop production) Jack Antonoff and sees an array of artists perform covers of ’70s classics, in keeping with the prequel’s timeline.

As such, St. Vincent covers Lipps Inc.’s iconic Funky Town, while Bridgers takes on The Carpenters hit Goodbye To Love and Gary Clark Jr. handles Vehicle, which was originally released by The Ides of March.

Elsewhere, Tierra Whack picks up Santana’s Black Magic Woman, Brittany Howard and Verdine White take on the latter’s Earth, Wind and Fire hit Shining Star, while Caroline Polachek covers Nancy Sinatra’s Bang Bang. We also particularly look forward to hearing Thundercat’s interpretation of the Steve Miller Band’s trippy trademark, Fly Like an Eagle.

In addition to the string of covers comes a new original track, Turn Up The Sunshine, which sees Tame Impala in an unlikely pairing with soul icon Diana Ross. 

It’s a line-up that could only have come together in this circumstance, with the combined pull of Hollywood commerce and the appeal of Antonoff’s involvement.

Music has long been a big feature of the enormously successfully Minions/Despicable Me franchise. The ’60s-set Minions featured songs from The Spencer Davis Group, The Kinks, The Who, Donovan and The Turtles, while Despicable Me 2 set the high-water mark when it launched Pharrell William’s giganto-hit Happy, which would top the charts in some 24 countries worldwide.

Minions: The Rise of Gru tracklist

1. Turn Up The Sunshine – Diana Ross ft. Tame Impala
2. Shining Star – Brittany Howard ft. Verdine White (Earth, Wind & Fire 1975)
3. Funkytown – St. Vincent (Lipps Inc in 1979)
4. Hollywood Swinging – BROCKHAMPTON (Kool & The Gang 1974)
5. Desafinado – Kali Uchis (Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto 1959)
6. Bang Bang – Caroline Polachek (Nancy Sinatra 1966)
7. Fly Like an Eagle – Thundercat (Steve Miller Band 1976)
8. Goodbye To Love – Phoebe Bridgers (The Carpenters 1972)
9. Instant Karma! – Bleachers (John Lennon 1970)
10. You’re No Good – Weyes Blood (Linda Ronstadt 1975)
11. Vehicle – Gary Clark Jr. (The Ides of March 1970)
12. Dance to the Music – H.E.R. (Sly and The Family Stone 1967)
13. Black Magic Woman – Tierra Whack (Santana 1970)
14. Cool – Verdine White   
15. Born To Be Alive – Jackson Wang (Patrick Hernandez 1979)
16. Cecilia – The Minions (Simon & Garfunkel 1970)
17. Bang Bang – G.E.M. (Nancy Sinatra 1966)
18. Kung Fu Suite – RZA
19. Minions: The Rise of Gru Score Suite – Heitor Pereira

Minions: The Rise Of Gru original motion picture soundtrack will be released along the film’s opening on July 1. Pre-save or pre-order your copy.