Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid Songwriting Credits by Bob Dylan

Released in 1973 alongside Sam Peckinpah's western film of the same name, this soundtrack marked Dylan's first feature film scoring work and his only album of entirely new material between Nashville Skyline and Planet Waves. Dylan was initially hired solely to write the title song but was eventually enlisted to compose the entire score and also appeared on screen in the acting role of Alias. The most enduring result was "Knockin' on Heaven's Door," written for a scene depicting the death of a sheriff's deputy, which became one of Dylan's most-covered and recognizable songs. The album's production process was contentious, Peckinpah's usual composer Jerry Fielding was unhappy at being sidelined, and Peckinpah himself initially resisted Dylan's involvement as a studio imposition. The soundtrack received a Grammy nomination for Album of Best Original Score and a BAFTA nomination for Film Music, marking an unusual crossover into cinematic composition for a rock musician of Dylan's stature.