Once Upon a Time in the West - Yamaha Genos Cover

Once Upon a Time in the West: The Original Soundtrack Recording is a soundtrack composed by Ennio Morricone, from the 1968 western film of the same name directed by Sergio Leone, released in 1972. The film score sold about 10 million copies worldwide.

The soundtrack features leitmotifs that relate to each of the main characters of the film (each with their own theme music), as well as to the spirit of the American West. The theme music for Jill McBain, Claudia Cardinale's character, has wordless vocals by Italian singer Edda Dell'Orso.

It was Leone's desire to have the music available and played during filming. Leone had Morricone compose the score before shooting started and would play the music in the background for the actors on set.

In 2018, for the 50th anniversary of the film, the Italian records company "Beat Records" released a limited 500 copies edition.

In 2020, in a retrospective on CineAction, Mark Lager wrote that "Morricone’s music in Once Upon a Time in the West and The Great Silence is magnificent in its melodic splendor and its revolutionary textures."