"A Star Is Born" had critics raving before it was released in theaters, and many said the soundtrack was one of the best they have heard in years.
Starring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga, the goal was to have a completely original soundtrack, and to accomplish the task, Cooper and Gaga brought in some of the best songwriters around to work with them, and many of those songwriters came from Nashville.
“I write Country songs man, so this whole thing is pretty far out," Aaron Raitiere, a Nashville songwriter, said of writing for the movie.
Raitiere said he got a call from award-winning producer Dave Cobb, asking him if he could fly out to Los Angeles for a week to write for the movie, and he didn't hesitate in saying yes.
Raitiere wrote three songs that made the film with Lady Gaga and Nashville songwriters Natalie Hemby, Lori McKenna, and Hillary Lindsey.
“They were still writing the script while we were there, and they just kind of had a basic idea of... They were like, we need a big Country song for this scene, we need a magical ending song for this," Raitiere recalled, adding that Bradley Cooper joined them to play on the drums, and Lady Gaga was on the piano. “I mean, I think we all wanted to make sure that she was happy with what we were doing, but as far as I could tell, she was just another person just hanging out, doing the thing.”
It was a week of firsts for Raitiere. Not only had he never written a song for a movie, but he had never been to Los Angeles.
“I’d never been to L.A. before, so the air was different and the water was different and the people were different," Raitiere explained. “The Foo Fighters were in the same studio at the same time, so that was a highlight I think.”
Looking back through his notebook that he wrote the songs in during the trip, Raitiere is still amazed that the whole thing happened, and he's pleased with the results.
“It was just a good day fishing, you know? We just had a good day at the lake," Raitiere said. “It’s pretty amazing. I think it’s just, the stars lined up kind of thing for that, you know? I know 150 other people that could have been in that room and done a great job, and for some reason or another, they picked this guy.”
