Here’s The Backstory To Sam Phillips' “Gilmore Girls” La La Score
If you’re as much of a fan of the Gilmore Girls as we are, you know that there’s an unseen character that is as much a staple of the show as Rory or Lorelai. It’s composer Sam Phillips' score, featuring an acoustic guitar and a dream-like voice singing “la-la-la.” And now we know how that unforgettable score came to be.
Image via Saeed Adyani/Netflix
The la la is there from the very beginning, when Rory meets Dean for the first time, and it’s also there in the Gilmore Girls revival that came out in 2016. All in all, throughout the show’s eight seasons, these la la moments happen hundreds of times. And most of those are original performances by Sam Phillips.
“Usually you don’t even notice a score, you don’t feel that score is personal, you feel like it’s background,” she tells BuzzFeed News. “It’s been so touching that the people who love the show named my score ‘the la las.’ It’s such a compliment.”
Sam originally wasn’t even interested in making music for TV. As a Grammy nominated singer-songwriter, she was focused on writing and touring when Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino approached her to compose for her upcoming show, and Sam jumped at the chance.
Image via Saeed Adyani/Netflix
“She wanted something different, and she told me she wanted my voice in there as a character in Lorelai and Rory’s head,” Sam continues. “I tried writing some lyrics, but because of all the dialogue, that didn’t really work.”
“Every time I tried to do a little something like maybe bring in heavy strings or other instruments, she really wanted to go back to that very plain guitar and vocals."
And that’s how the la las came to be. All in all, we totally believe this score is perfect for the show because of cozy yet magical, low-key yet ethereal it is every time we hear it.
“I appreciated that Amy let me just kind of do something different, and she was always protective of me in terms of getting notes. I just basically did what I wanted to do,” Sam says. “When the show was over, Amy wrote me a very beautiful email that said, ‘Thank you for writing these little masterpieces.’”
Sam Phillips might not be done with these masterpieces just yet. Netflix is in early talks to continue with Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life season 2 and make more episodes, so we’ll just have to keep our fingers crossed for more la las in the near future.
What’s your favorite Sam Phillips' "la la" Gilmore Girls moment? Tweet us @BritandCo!
Lead image via Saeed Adyani/Netflix
This post has been updated.
