'Mad Men' Final Episodes: A Look Back At The 10 Best Music Moments Before The Premiere

“Mad Men” is a period piece and the music is just as important as the clothes and set design in making the world of the show come alive. The “Mad Men” exhibit at the Museum of the Moving Image revealed that creator Matthew Weiner sometimes writes scenes for the purpose of including certain songs. There has been no shortage of great music moments over the series’ seven seasons and there will likely be more when the final episodes arrive, beginning April 5.

Here are the 10 best music moments on "Mad Men":

1. “Zou Bisou Bisou” – Season 5, Episode 1 (“A Little Kiss, Part 1”)

Leave it to “Mad Men” to make a scene with a young woman singing at a birthday party -- Megan Draper’s (Jessica Paré) performance of “Zou Bisou Bisou” -- one of the most shocking moments in the series. Despite Megan’s radiant sex appeal while singing the French song, fans could not help but feel how uncomfortable Don was in this moment. Any hopes viewers had for a happily-ever-after for the newlywed couple should have ended here. The real treat of the scene is watching the pitch-perfect reactions of every other character – from Roger’s (John Slattery) jealousy to Stan’s (Jay R. Ferguson) arousal – elevate the scene from a great music moment to simply one of the best scenes in the whole series.

Watch the scene below:

2. “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” – Season 1, Episode 13 (“The Wheel”)

Fresh off his powerful Kodak Carousel speech about the pain of nostalgia, Don Draper returned home to a fantasy that he was joining his happy wife and kids to go visit family for Thanksgiving. However, in reality they were long gone and Don found himself alone, sitting on the stairs wondering if his family was slipping away from him. This melancholy Bob Dylan cut was the perfect accompaniment to the final heartbreaking moment of one of the show’s greatest episodes.

3. “My Way” – Season 7, Episode 6 (“The Strategy”)

This easily could have been the series ender. As Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) lamented turning 30 and Don lamented, well, everything, the pair shared a dance to the Frank Sinatra classic in a scene that needed no sexual tension or romance to be perfectly moving. The two central characters of “Mad Men” know each other better than anyone else and, though they often butt heads, the best scenes of the show often come when the two lonely souls fully let their walls down with each other.

Watch the scene below:

4. “The Charleston” – Season 3, Episode 3 (“My Old Kentucky Home”)

Much like the “Zou Bisou Bisou” scene, this one is all about the reactions. Pete (Vincent Kartheiser) and Trudy (Alison Brie) step out to dance a Charleston at Roger’s Kentucky Derby party and become the center of attention as the older generation – Don and Roger with their wives – watch the much younger couple have their moment of spontaneous fun. However, what makes the scene great is how obvious it becomes that Pete is just using Trudy to show off for his bosses.

5. “The Best Things in Life Are Free” – Season 7, Episode 7 (“Waterloo”)

Bert Cooper (Robert Morse) had been dead for only a few hours before Cutler (Harry Hamlin) used the opportunity to try and push Don out of the company. Luckily, Roger came up with a last-minute plan to protect Don’s job, but after a meeting where the partners agree to sell the firm, Don has a vision of Bert singing and dancing – along with a group of secretaries – to this 1920s standard. The hallucination was a reminder to an emotional Don – who had just lost a second marriage – that there are more important things than work. The scene also served as a fitting send-off for a fan favorite character.

6. “You Really Got Me” – Season 5, Episode 11 (“The Other Woman”)

Peggy quitting – and tearing up as Don kissed her hand – was one of the more emotional scenes of the series. Though as sad as it was, fans knew she was doing the right thing getting out from under Don’s thumb. Peggy knew it too. By the time she reached the lobby there were no more tears. She cracked a smile as she got on the elevator and the first iconic chords of the Kinks’ “You Really Got Me” signaled that she had finally taken control of her own life.

Watch the scene below:

7. “Early in the Morning” – Season 2, Episode 8 (“A Night to Remember”)

The set-up here – Don spending the night in the office after being kicked out of his house and Father Gill (Colin Hanks) wrestling with his priestly obligations to "help" Peggy – is not nearly as important as the execution. The scene begins with Father Gill begins playing Peter, Paul and Mary’s “Early in the Morning” on the guitar in his bedroom. That becomes the soundtrack to Don sipping on a beer alone in the office kitchen, but when the credits roll, Peter, Paul and Mary take over, picking up right where Father Gill left off. That’s how you end an episode!

8. “Tobacco Road” – Season 4, Episode 1 (“Public Relations”)

Season 4 began with Don and Co. still trying to get the newly formed Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce on the map. That meant sending the company’s poster boy – Don – to do some interviews with the press. After blowing his first with Advertising Age, he gets another chance at the end of the episode with the Wall Street Journal where Bert tells him he must not be too modest to talk about himself. Don responds with an arrogant retelling of how he started the new agency as the Nashville Teens song roars into the credits.

Watch the scene below:

9. “The Twist” – Season 1, Episode 8 (“The Hobo Code”)

An example of the show’s period perfection, this scene saw Peggy confidently dancing to the Chubby Checker classic fresh off her successful Belle Jolie campaign. She tries to get Pete to dance with her, but he refuses – a microcosm of the dynamic that will play out between them for the rest of the series.

10. “Reach Out of the Darkness” – Season 6, Episode 7 (“Man With a Plan”)

This song’s placement created a brilliant, ironic juxtaposition. Sylvia (Linda Cardellini) had just broken things off with Don and he returned home to find his wife Megan crying over television reports that Robert F. Kennedy had been shot and killed. The upbeat lyrics to the Friend and Lover hit -- “I think it’s so groovy now, that people are finally getting together” – taunt Don as he looks out into the New York night.

What’s your favorite “Mad Men” music moment? Tweet your thoughts to @Ja9GarofaloTV.