Shepard’s Song

29 Sep, 2009 By: John Latchem

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From 1997 to 2002, “Ally McBeal” built a loyal following due in no small part to the show’s heavy musical influence.

The artist most identified with the music of the show is singer Vonda Shepard, who often appeared as the house act at the local bar Ally and her friends visited after work.

Shepard says she is very excited for the release of the series on DVD. Oct. 6 sees the release of Ally McBeal: Season One ($39.98) and Ally McBeal: The Complete Series ($199.98) from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

Shepard became involved with the series after producer and longtime friend David E. Kelley saw her perform in Los Angeles.

Kelley — creator of such shows as “Picket Fences,” “Chicago Hope,” “Boston Public,” “The Practice” and “Boston Legal" — was in the process of creating a new legal series that would become “Ally McBeal,” which would incorporate music into the narrative in a way rarely seen on TV.

“He was looking for a musical voice for the show,” Shepard said. “I guess when he saw me playing the light bulb went off in his head.”

Seeing long-term potential in the series, Shepard relocated from New York to Hollywood, and it wasn’t long before her music began to influence the show. Producers originally wanted to use a new version of the classic Exciters song “Tell Him” for the opening theme, but Shepard wanted to use one of her own songs.

“[My manager and I] got the producers in a rehearsal room and I played five songs for them,” Shepard said. “David said that if I could squeeze ‘Searchin' My Soul’ down to a minute, it could be the theme song.”

So she did. Shepard originally wrote the song for her 1992 album The Radical Light, but the consensus was that it fit the show perfectly.

“We didn’t have to change the lyrics to fit the character,” Shepard said. “I think it was just a connection between me and Ally, and David thinking along the same lines, giving the show an emotional life.”

In addition to performing in nearly every episode, Shepard became the show’s music producer behind the scenes, though she credits Kelley for much of the show’s musical direction.

“David Kelley is the mastermind behind all of it,” Shepard said. “He was specific about which song and which section of the song he wanted. He wrote it into the script as dialogue. I would get the script, see the song and interpret it for the performance. But he really chose all the music.”

The show’s unique musical identity began to attract a bevy of ‘A’-list musicians wanting to guest star, such as Barry Manilow, Tina Turner, Sting, Barry White and Josh Groban.

“It was so exciting to have this cast of rock stars and R&B singers,” Shepard said. “Every time I got a new script, I’d look at the bottom for the song list and to see who was appearing on that show.”

Shepard recalls a particularly memorable recording session with Al Green.

“He’s singing ‘To Sir With Love,’ and he tries to perform an R&B lick but he can’t find one that works,” Shepard says. “So then he looks up and starts talking to God for help. And then apparently God sent him an idea, but he yelled out ‘Not that one!’ Then I guess he found something because we went on to record a badass track.”

During the course of the series, Shepard released four CDs of music from the show, as well as two albums of her own.

“Six albums in five years is an insane amount of work,” Shepard said.

The complete-series set includes the music CD The Best of Ally McBeal: The Songs of Vonda Shepard, which is also being released separately by Legacy Recordings Oct. 6.

The CD offers 12 tracks, including “Searchin’ My Soul”; “Chances Are,” a duet between Shepard and Robert Downey Jr.; “Tell Him”; “Something About You,” which has not yet been released on CD; and a new song, “I Know Better.” The standalone version offers two extra tracks: “Home Again” and “Maryland.” (Get the Ally McBeal music widget here.)

A video for “I Know Better” is included on the bonus disc of the complete series.

Since the end of the show, Shepard stayed busy with her music career, taking advantage of her newfound exposure with two new albums and several tours (her appearance schedule is available at VondaShepard.com).

Inevitably, the subject of an “Ally” reunion comes up, often in the form of a movie or Broadway show, but Shepard said it’s mostly wishful thinking at this point.

“If the DVD does well, or the Best of CD, maybe something will happen,” Shepard said. “I think doing a Broadway show would be really fun. Ally McBeal on Broadway! I’m ready to rock again.”

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