Forget Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates — when it comes to music, Tom Hanks has a box stuffed with Buddy Holly, Fats Domino, Freddie King, Buddy Guy, The Coasters and The Rolling Stones. And frankly, his taste is absolutely bloody tidy. 🤘
Tom Hanks might be one of Hollywood’s most recognisable actors, but lurking underneath the Oscar-winning performances, typewriter obsession and seemingly limitless supply of wholesome charm is something we can absolutely get behind here at The Riff Report:
The bloke loves rock ’n’ roll.
And not simply the massive stadium-filling classics everybody knows.
Oh no.
Hanks has gone properly digging through the crates.
His musical world stretches back towards the foundations of rock ’n’ roll — surf instrumentals, blues, garage rock, soul, rhythm and blues and gloriously strange records that sound like they should be blasting from a battered jukebox at 1am.
For Hanks, music has represented something much bigger than entertainment.
It has been companionship, discovery, identity and that wonderful feeling every genuine music obsessive understands — becoming part of something greater than ourselves.
And THAT, butt, is exactly why we’re diving in. 🎶🔥
🎬 TOM HANKS: HOLLYWOOD STAR, SECRET ROCK ’N’ ROLL NERD
Hanks was born in 1956, meaning his childhood unfolded right alongside one of the biggest cultural explosions of the 20th century.
Rock ’n’ roll was arriving.
Elvis Presley was shaking hips and terrifying parents.
Buddy Holly was helping define the guitar-band blueprint.
Chuck Berry was rewriting the rulebook.
Rhythm and blues was feeding directly into this dangerous new teenage music.
Then came The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and the British Invasion.
Basically, Hanks couldn’t have picked a better time to grow ears.
His childhood also involved plenty of moving around. By the age of ten, Hanks had reportedly lived in ten different homes, and music, movies and popular culture became constants while everything else changed around him. (Far Out Magazine)
That’s important.
Because anyone who has ever disappeared into an album during a difficult, lonely or confusing period knows exactly what music can become.
It’s not background noise anymore.
It’s yours.
A band you’ve never met suddenly understands you better than half the people you actually know.
A three-minute single becomes somewhere to hide.
A record collection becomes home.
Proper powerful stuff, mun. ❤️🎸
🎧 HANKS GETS BEHIND THE DECKS
We got a particularly brilliant glimpse into Hanks’ musical brain when he celebrated his 65th birthday in 2021.
Rather than simply sticking on a greatest-hits compilation and cracking open the birthday cake, Hanks put together an hour-long guest DJ set for Boss Radio 66, diving into obscure rock ’n’ roll, garage, surf, blues and soul. (Pitchfork)
And this wasn’t some celebrity playlist consisting entirely of songs everybody’s nan could name after two pints.
Hanks went DEEP.
His selections included everyone from Buddy Holly & The Crickets and Fats Domino to Irma Thomas, Freddie King, Buddy Guy, The Coasters, Dolly Parton and The Rolling Stones, alongside considerably more obscure artists and recordings. (Far Out Magazine)
It’s the sort of playlist where you’re constantly going:
“Hang on… who’s THIS?”
Then you’re down a musical rabbit hole for the next four hours.
Which is precisely how rock ’n’ roll discovery should work.
🤘 BUDDY HOLLY & THE CRICKETS – ‘MAYBE BABY’
Now we’re talking.
Hanks included ‘Maybe Baby’ by Buddy Holly & The Crickets among his selections, and you don’t need us to explain Holly’s importance to the story of rock music.
The glasses.
The Stratocaster.
The songs.
The tragically short career.
But beyond the mythology was a songwriter who helped establish a blueprint countless guitar groups would follow.
‘Maybe Baby’ captures that magical early-rock simplicity where melody, rhythm and youthful optimism collide.
No 15-minute guitar solo.
No pyro.
No bloke emerging from a giant inflatable demon.
Just a cracking song.
Sometimes that’s enough.
🌊 JACK NITZSCHE – ‘THE LONELY SURFER’
Then Hanks throws Jack Nitzsche’s ‘The Lonely Surfer’ into the mix.
And suddenly we’re cruising down some imaginary Californian highway with the windows down.
Nitzsche would become an enormously influential arranger, producer and composer, but ‘The Lonely Surfer’ captures another side of early-1960s musical culture.
It’s cinematic.
Atmospheric.
Almost widescreen.
Which somehow feels completely appropriate for Tom Hanks.
The man apparently can’t even pick records without accidentally creating a movie soundtrack.
🎹 FATS DOMINO – ‘DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO MISS NEW ORLEANS’
Hanks’ choices also venture into one of the most important cities in the entire story of popular music.
New Orleans.
Fats Domino was one of rock ’n’ roll’s foundational giants, helping bridge rhythm and blues with the emerging sound that would completely transform youth culture.
Hanks selected ‘Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans’, bringing a little warmth and soul into proceedings.
This isn’t merely about distortion and rebellion.
It’s about where the music came from.
And Hanks clearly understands that rock history didn’t magically begin when somebody plugged a Les Paul into a Marshall stack.
There are roots.
Deep ones.
🔥 FREDDIE KING – ‘SITTIN’ ON THE BOAT DOCK’
Speaking of roots…
Freddie King.
One of the legendary Three Kings of electric blues alongside B.B. King and Albert King, Freddie’s influence can be heard throughout generations of guitar music.
Hanks’ playlist included ‘Sittin’ On The Boat Dock’.
Blues sits right at the heart of rock ’n’ roll, and exploring artists like Freddie King means following the genre’s family tree backwards.
Before hard rock.
Before heavy metal.
Before arena rock.
Before someone discovered that Marshall amplifiers sound significantly better when turned up to levels capable of upsetting the neighbours.
There was the blues.
🎸🔥
🕺 THE COASTERS – ‘DANCE!’
The Coasters also make Hanks’ collection with ‘Dance!’
And that’s another reminder of something rock occasionally forgets while busy trying to look dangerous:
Rock ’n’ roll was supposed to make people MOVE.
Before the enormous stages, conceptual albums and £400 deluxe vinyl box sets came teenagers dancing to singles.
Sweaty clubs.
Jukeboxes.
Radio.
Three-minute explosions of energy.
That’s the spirit running through Hanks’ selections.
🎸 BUDDY GUY – ‘AMERICAN BANDSTAND’
Then we’ve got another genuine guitar legend.
Buddy Guy.
Hanks selected ‘American Bandstand’, bringing Chicago blues swagger into his musical journey.
Guy’s importance to electric guitar cannot be overstated.
His fiery playing influenced generations of guitarists who subsequently pushed blues into increasingly louder territory.
Follow that road long enough and eventually somebody invents heavy metal.
Probably while standing next to an amplifier with smoke coming out of it.
Beautiful. 😂🤘
👅 THE ROLLING STONES – ‘NOT FADE AWAY’
And then we hit a band Riff Report readers certainly won’t need introducing to.
The Rolling Stones.
Hanks chose ‘Not Fade Away’, the Buddy Holly-associated classic that became an early Stones single in 1964.
It’s almost perfect for this particular collection.
Why?
Because it connects generations.
American rock ’n’ roll and rhythm and blues inspired young British musicians.
Those British musicians repackaged those influences and sent them roaring back across the Atlantic.
Then another generation heard THAT and started bands.
And the wheel kept turning.
That’s rock history happening inside one song.
🌎 AND THEN THINGS GET REALLY WEIRD…
What makes Hanks’ selections particularly enjoyable, though, is that he doesn’t stick exclusively with household names.
His DJ set also ventured through artists including Los Saicos, The Bobby Fuller Four, Irma Thomas, Joe Tex, Lou Christie, James Booker, Dino, Desi & Billy, Gino Washington and Los Holy’s, among others. (Far Out Magazine)
That’s where his enthusiasm becomes infectious.
He’s not treating rock history like a museum exhibit.
He’s treating it like a treasure hunt.
And there is ALWAYS another record waiting to be discovered.
🎶 TOM HANKS’ ROCK ’N’ ROLL PICKS
Among the selections associated with Hanks’ Boss Radio 66 set were:
- Michael Lynch – ‘Throw Deep, Baby’
- Hal Blaine & The Young Cougars – ‘Challenger II’
- Los Saicos – ‘Demolición’
- The Bobby Fuller Four – ‘KRLA King Of The Wheels’
- Buddy Holly & The Crickets – ‘Maybe Baby’
- Jack Nitzsche – ‘The Lonely Surfer’
- Fats Domino – ‘Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans’
- Irma Thomas – ‘Hittin’ On Nothing’
- Joe Tex – ‘You’re Right Ray Charles’
- Freddie King – ‘Sittin’ On The Boat Dock’
- Lou Christie – ‘Guitars and Bongos’
- James Booker – ‘Smacksie’
- The Coasters – ‘Dance!’
- Donald & The Delighters – ‘Wang Dang Dula’
- Dino, Desi & Billy – ‘She’s So Far Out She’s In’
- Gino Washington – ‘I’ll Be Around’
- Buddy Guy – ‘American Bandstand’
- The Heartbeats – ‘I Found A Job’
- The Rolling Stones – ‘Not Fade Away’
- Dolly Parton – ‘Don’t Drop Out’
- Los Holy’s – ‘Holys Psicodélicos’
And that’s only part of the wonderfully eccentric musical journey. (Far Out Magazine)
🇬🇧 AND YES… TOM HANKS LOVES THE BEATLES
Of course he does.
Hanks has previously spoken particularly warmly about The Beatles’ ‘There’s A Place’, a comparatively less obvious choice than automatically reaching for ‘Hey Jude’, ‘Yesterday’ or ‘Let It Be’.
He described discovering music at a certain age as finding something that feels uniquely yours, and regarded ‘There’s A Place’ as a pivotal early Beatles moment. (Far Out Magazine)
And that sentiment absolutely nails the experience of becoming obsessed with music.
Everyone remembers their band.
That moment when music stops simply being something playing on the radio and becomes part of your personality.
You start buying records.
Then shirts.
Then gig tickets.
Then more records.
Then limited-edition records.
Then another shirt because apparently the previous 37 weren’t enough.
Next thing you know you’re standing in a muddy Welsh field holding a £7 pint while screaming the lyrics to a song you’ve heard 900 times.
That’s the good stuff. 🤘😂🍺
🎬 ‘THAT THING YOU DO!’ MAKES EVEN MORE SENSE NOW
Hanks’ affection for this era also puts his 1996 directorial debut, That Thing You Do!, into wonderful perspective.
The film follows fictional 1960s band The Wonders as one infectious song launches them towards sudden fame before the realities of the music industry begin pulling everything apart.
It’s drenched in affection for the era of screaming fans, radio DJs, matching suits, record labels and bands desperately chasing that magical hit single. (Pitchfork)
Knowing how deeply Hanks loves early rock ’n’ roll makes the film feel even more personal.
It wasn’t merely somebody recreating the 1960s.
It was a genuine fan getting the chance to play inside the musical world he loved.
❤️ SOMETHING GREATER THAN OURSELVES
And ultimately, that’s what makes Tom Hanks’ relationship with music so relatable.
Because strip away the Oscars, movie premieres and Hollywood career and you’re left with something incredibly familiar.
A bloke who loves records.
Someone who hears a song and gets transported somewhere else.
Someone fascinated by the musicians who came before.
Someone who understands that discovering music can make you feel connected to people you’ve never met.
That’s the magic, isn’t it?
A kid in California can discover Buddy Holly.
A teenager in Wales can discover Black Sabbath.
Someone can hear Metallica for the first time tomorrow and immediately decide they need a guitar.
Another person can discover a tiny unsigned band playing to 40 people in Cardiff and spend the next ten years telling everyone who’ll listen that they saw them before they were massive.
Music creates communities out of complete strangers.
You walk into a gig surrounded by people you’ve never met.
The lights disappear.
The first chord lands.
And suddenly everyone in that room understands each other.
Something greater than ourselves.
That’s rock ’n’ roll, butt. ❤️🤘
🤘 THE RIFF REPORT VERDICT
Tom Hanks could easily have picked a predictable collection of enormous classic-rock staples.
Instead, his musical tastes send us backwards through the history books — through garage rock, blues, soul, surf music, rhythm and blues and those gloriously scruffy early records that helped create everything we love today.
And we absolutely respect it.
So next time you’re scrolling endlessly through the same albums wondering what to play, take a page from Tom Hanks’ book.
Go digging.
Find something weird.
Find something old.
Find a band you’ve never heard before.
Because somewhere out there is a record waiting to become your record.
And discovering it?
That’s the bloody magic of music. 🎸🔥
Proudly Welsh. Proudly Loud. 🐉🤘
What classic rock ’n’ roll song would YOU stick on Tom Hanks’ playlist? Get involved and let us know — and if anybody needs us, we’ll be three hours deep into obscure 1960s garage singles wondering where the afternoon went.
