The music soundtrack of the Fallout series is composed of both licensed music from the mid-century's Jazz Age to the Space Age, as well as original scores by Mark Morgan, Matt Gruber, Devin Townsend, Inon Zur, and Ramin Djawadi. The series also features original songs and covers commissioned for the games as diegetic music heard in the world of Fallout.
Much of the licensed music used in the Fallout series includes popular hits recorded in the 1940s and 1950s in accordance with its atompunk retrofuturistic setting influenced by the post-war culture of 1950s United States in a post-apocalyptic version of the 21st, 22nd and 23rd centuries. However, with the introduction of 2010's Fallout: New Vegas, the Fallout series has also featured licensed recordings from each of nine consecutive decades from the 1920s to the 2000s.
Fallout
The original score for Fallout was composed by Mark Morgan as an ambient album and includes samples and remixes from other works. The score was released on CD by Interplay Productions in 1997. A selection of tracks was released to fans for free on May 10, 2010, as part of the Vault Archives album.
Fallout 2
The original score for Fallout 2 was composed by Mark Morgan as an ambient album and includes samples and remixes from other works as well as previous tracks from Fallout. The score was released on CD by Interplay Productions in 1998. A selection of tracks was released to fans for free on May 10, 2010, as part of the Vault Archives album.
Fallout 3
The original score for Fallout 3 was composed by Inon Zur as an orchestral album. The score was officially released on the iTunes digital store.
The Fallout 3 score was also released several times as a vinyl LP. In 2015 coinciding with the release of Fallout 4, a 14-track picture disc version of the Fallout 3 score was released through Hot Topic. It was reissued as a single LP in 2017 through ThinkGeek. In addition, record label Spacelab9 released a complete 29-track box set for the Fallout 3 score. In 2019, this was reissued as a 10th Anniversary Ultimate Edition which also included the licensed music LP Galaxy News Radio - Radio Selections from the Fallout 3 Soundtrack.
Fallout 3 also features a licensed soundtrack largely from the 40s and 50s which is broadcast as diegetic music on the in-game radio stations: Galaxy News Radio, Enclave Radio, and the Vault 101 PA System. According to the game's credits, the radio features songs from Decca (Geffen), Columbia (Brunswick), King (De Luxe), and RCA Victor Records. Several songs were licensed from Soundies Inc. which had digitized songs from transcription discs made available to the public for the first time. The Ink Spots song "Maybe" was reprised from the 1997 release of Fallout.
Portions of the licensed Fallout 3 soundtrack have been released on official compilation albums. A 5-song sampler CD of the licensed soundtrack and the score was given as a pre-order bonus for Fallout 3 at GameStop retailers. The CD was styled as a 45 rpm record from the game's radio station, Galaxy News Radio. In 2019, a 10-song sampler LP Galaxy News Radio - Radio Selections from the Fallout 3 Soundtrack was released by Spacelab9 with Googie-inspired cover art also styled after Galaxy News Radio; it was released as a standalone LP or bundled with the 10th Anniversary Fallout 3 score boxset. Three songs were not publicly issued on vinyl before. Due to licensing restrictions, the LP features the later 1947 version of Billie Holiday's "Easy Living" released under Decca Records with the Bob Haggart orchestra instead of the in-game 1937 version of Billie Holiday's "Easy Living" released under Brunswick Records with the Teddy Wilson orchestra.
Certain songs were used in promotional material, but not in the game itself. The Fallout 3 cinematic trailer presented at E3 2008 on July 15 featured the Bing Crosby cover of "Dear Hearts and Gentle People" which was omitted from the rest of the Bing Crosby songs used in the final game. "Dear Hearts and Gentle People" would later be included with the other Bing Crosby songs in 2015's Fallout 4 and 2018's Fallout 76. Warner Chappell Production Music provided the opening track for the live-action portion of the trailer, "Picnic Prattle" composed by Cyril Watters. The rest of the E3 gameplay demonstration featured instrumental songs from Enclave Radio.
Fallout: New Vegas
The original score for Fallout: New Vegas was composed by Inon Zur as an orchestral album. The game also reprises several Mark Morgan score pieces from the Fallout 1 and 2 soundtracks as listed above. The score was officially released on the iTunes digital store.
The 2010 downloadable content Dead Money features two musician characters, Dean Domino and Vera Keyes. Dean Domino can perform the song "Saw Her Yesterday", a retitled and unedited clip of Bing Crosby's "Something's Gotta Give", previously featured on the main game's radio station. Additional song titles are mentioned, but are unplayable. Vera Keyes sings an original composition, "Begin Again", which serves as the "theme song" of the downloadable content. The song was produced by various members of the Obsidian developer staff: Vera Keyes is voiced by art intern Stephanie Dowling (née Stephanie DeBrule, original credit) with music by Justin Bell, sound designer. Chris Avellone, creative lead, and Mikey Dowling, audio producer, wrote the lyrics. The song "Begin Again" was featured again on the Mysterious Broadcast radio tied to the 2011 downloadable content Old World Blues. The Bethesda blog released an official download in 2011 followed by official sheet music for the song in 2012.
Certain songs were used in promotional material, but were not used in the game itself. The 1950 song "Orange Colored Sky" by Nat King Cole was featured in a television commercial promoting Fallout: New Vegas in 2010. The song was not included in the final game, but would be featured in 2015's Fallout 4 and 2018's Fallout 76 as well as 2024's Fallout TV series.
Fallout 4 Original score
The original score for Fallout 4 was composed by Inon Zur as an orchestral album. The score was officially released on the iTunes digital store.
The Fallout 4 score was also released several times as a vinyl LP. In 2016, a 8-track picture disc version of the Fallout 4 score was released through GameStop and ThinkGeek. In addition, record label Spacelab9 released a complete 65-track box set for the Fallout 4 score.
An additional digital EP was officially released on iTunes in 2015 featuring the original covers sung by Lynda Carter in the game, covered more fully below.
Licensed soundtrack Fallout 4 also features a licensed soundtrack which is broadcast as diegetic music on the in-game radio stations. A number of atomic and nuclear themed novelty songs were added to the soundtrack when audio director Mark Lampert was shown and become interested in "a pocket of music that [he] hadn't heard before" and as a 1950s commentary of "there's almost a naiveté to the lyrics in these songs – as if these were children playing with something [atomic weapons] they didn't understand." Lynda Carter also provides original songs for the character Magnolia which can be optionally unlocked and added to the game's main radio station, Diamond City Radio. In total in addition to 5 songs from Magnolia, 25 songs are new to the Fallout series radio with 12 songs being reprised.
Original songs and covers
Certain songs may be optionally unlocked by completing an in-game task. Upon completion the character Magnolia can have her songs added to the Diamond City Radio setlist. Actress and singer Lynda Carter provided the voice for Magnolia in addition to writing the songs along with songwriter John Barlow Jarvis and guitarist Kerry Marx. Session players from Nashville included director/drummer Paul Leim and horn player "Blue Lou" Marini. The 5 songs were officially released as a digital EP on the iTunes digital store.
Nuka-World
The game also features an additional radio station tied to the 2016 downloadable content Nuka-World. It features original songs performed by the character RedEye who also hosts the radio station. Musician Andrew W.K. wrote and performed the songs in addition to voicing the character. He described working on character as, "When I pictured RedEye, I kind of imagined myself being more filthy and ravaged than ever - like I would be after not sleeping for two months and drinking nothing but radioactive cola. That's actually pretty close to how I actually felt during the voiceover recording sessions for the game. I was drinking super intense custom energy drinks and I hadn't slept in days. I think it worked great as a method for getting into character - I was totally fried and sizzling!"
The Nuka World downloadable content also features the titular theme song and jingle which plays over the theme park's loudspeaker systems on repeat. It was produced by COPILOT Music and Sound and officially released as a digital single on the iTunes digital store.
Promotional Certain songs were used in promotional material, but were not used in the game itself. During E3 2016, the promotional trailer for the downloadable content the Contraptions Workshop featured Raymond Scott's "Powerhouse" instrumental.
The promotional trailer for the virtual reality version of Fallout 4 (Fallout 4 VR) shown at E3 2017 featured "Mr. Sandman". The song would later be used in 2018's Fallout 76.
Fallout 76
The original score for Fallout 76 was composed by Inon Zur as an orchestral album. The score was officially released on the Apple Music digital store.
Portions of Fallout 76 score were also released as a vinyl record and CD. In 2018, French retailer Micromania offered a pre-order bonus 10-track LP featuring 5 songs from the Fallout 76 score and 5 songs from the Fallout 4 score.(In French) (In French) A 5-track sampler CD was also offered at various game retailers.
Two additional singles of the covers of "Take Me Home, Country Roads" and "Ring of Fire" by Spank were also officially released on Apple Music, covered more fully below.
Another score installment was added with the early 2020 downloadable content Wastelanders. The score was officially released on the Apple Music digital store.
An additional score installment was added for the late 2020 downloadable content Steel Dawn. The score was officially released on the Apple Music digital store.
Additional licensed tracks
In 2018, APM Music released a statement revealing it had provided "100+ cues licensed for Fallout 76". APM Music also released an official digital album in 2018 featuring 39 tracks licensed for the game. Several tracks serve as background music for the game's item store, the Atomic Shop, with seasonal Halloween and Christmas song variants. Others play during gameplay such as on the game's jukeboxes, gramophones, and specific quests including "Jazz Potatoes" from the Wasted on Nukashine quest and "One More Pils" for a quest based on Fastnacht.
Original songs and covers Two original covers of the songs "Ring of Fire" and "Take Me Home, Country Roads" were recorded by New York-based doo wop group Spank, produced by COPILOT Music and Sound, and arranged by Ravi Krishnaswami. "Country Roads" was introduced in the debut trailer for Fallout 76 in 2018 while "Ring of Fire" was introduced in the trailer for the 2019 downloadable content Nuclear Winter. The cover of the 1971 song "Country Roads" is the second original cover of a pre-existing modern song used in the Fallout series, the first being the cover of the 1993 song "Cobwebs and Rainbows" from Fallout: New Vegas.