Music has played a significant role in setting the mood for viewers since the days of silent cinema. It is one of the numerous ways viewers can tell if a scene is intended to be romantic, sad, or terrifying. From, ‘Evergreen’ by Barbra Streisand to ‘Lose Yourself’ by Eminem, here are 30 Iconic Songs That Made The Movie Popular.
1. ‘Evergreen’ by Barbra Streisand
This love theme from the 1976 film “A Star is Born” was a collaboration between Paul Williams and Barbra Streisand, who also starred in the film. Of his initial meeting with the actor, Williams recalled: “She picked up a guitar and played the melody. I thought it was beautiful”.
2. ‘It Must Have Been Love’ by Roxette
Originally titled “Christmas for the Broken Hearted,” the Swedish duet Roxette remade the holiday song “It Must Have Been Love” for the 1990 film “Pretty Woman,” which starred Julia Roberts and Richard Gere.
3. ‘To Sir, With Love’ by Lulu
“To Sir, With Love” was written for the 1967 movie of the same name, which starred Sidney Poitier as a man who, while waiting for an engineering job to become available, accepts a teaching position at an inner-city school. The song was sung in the movie by singer and actress Lulu.
4. ‘Lonely Boy’ by Paul Anka
This song was written by Paul Anka for the 1959 drama “Girls Town,” which follows a disobedient adolescent who is transferred to a girls’ school after she is implicated in an unintentional killing. Playing a well-known teen idol named Jimmy Parlow, who plays “Lonely Boy” in the film, was one of Anka’s first feature film roles.
5. ‘Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)’ by Christopher Cross
The 1981 film “Arthur,” which depicts the story of a playboy millionaire who falls in love with a down-to-earth waitress, was set to the beautiful tune of Christopher Cross. At the 1982 Academy Awards, the theme tune won an Oscar for Best Original tune. The movie’s title character, Dudley Moore, was a talented pianist as well, and he and Christopher Cross frequently performed the song together on television.
6. ‘Crazy for You’ by Madonna
“Crazy for You” was sung by Madonna for the 1985 coming-of-age movie “Vision Quest,” which tells the story of a high school athlete who develops feelings for an older woman. As the two main characters dance slowly, Madonna appears in the movie as a singer who performs the song at a bar.
7. ‘Separate Lives’ by Phil Collins & Marilyn Martin
Although Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin sang “Separate Lives” on the soundtrack of the 1985 movie “White Nights,” Collins did not write the song. Stephen Bishop, the author, was a singer of popular songs including “On and On” and “Save it for a Rainy Day.”
8. ‘Footloose’ by Kenny Loggins
Dean Pitchford and Kenny Loggins wrote the title theme for the 1984 film “Footloose,” which was released prior to the film’s premiere. The song was already a Billboard smash when the movie “Footloose” came out.
9. ‘Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)’ by Phil Collins
Phil Collins sent over a song he hadn’t used for his 1981 debut solo album “Face Value,” then after director Taylor Hackford requested him to write a song for his 1984 film “Against All Odds,” he modified the song for the movie.
10. ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ by UB40
The 1961 Elvis Presley song was covered by UB40 and appeared in the 1993 movie “Sliver.” Despite not receiving the same response as the movie for which it was written, it became one of the band’s biggest hits (surpassed only by “Red Red Wine”).
11. ‘Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now’ by Starship
The #1 hit song “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” by Starship, a continuation of the popular band Jefferson Starship, was featured in the romantic comedy “Mannequin,” which starred Kim Cattrall and ’80s heartthrob Andrew McCarthy. Diane Warren and Albert Hammond co-wrote the song, which was released as a sequel to Starship’s 1985 debut album “Knee Deep in the Hoopla”.
12. ‘The Power of Love’ by Huey Lewis and the News
Producer Steven Spielberg, director Robert Zemeckis, and writer Bob Gale asked Huey Lewis to compose a song for “Back to the Future” for the very straightforward reason that they thought the film’s protagonist, Marty McFly would have been a huge fan of the band from the 1980s. The outcome was “The Power of Love,” and Lewis even made a brief appearance in the film as a school official.
13. ‘Ghostbusters’ by Ray Parker Jr.
The theme music for the 1984 mega-hit “Ghostbusters” was written and recorded by Ray in a matter of days. A number of celebrities, including Teri Garr, Carly Simon, Danny DeVito, and Chevy Chase, lip-synced to the theme in the popular music video.
14. ‘I Just Called to Say I Love You’ by Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder’s “I Just Called to Say I Love You” and Gene Wilder’s romantic comedy “The Woman in Red,” which starred Kelly LeBrock, are two examples of how sometimes, a great song doesn’t just make a film, it outshines it entirely. The song won an Oscar for Best Original Song and soared to the top of the Billboard Hot 100.
15. ‘La Bamba’ by Los Lobos
The classic Mexican folk song “La Bamba” was included on the B-side of Ritchie Valens’ popular song “Donna.” However, Los Lobos performed the version on this list for the 1987 film about Valens, who, along with Buddy Holly and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, died in a 1959 plane crash at the age of 17.
16. ‘Magic’ by Olivia Newton-John
The popular song “Magic,” written and produced by John Farrar and sung by Australian singer Olivia Newton-John, was taken from the soundtrack of the 1980 musical fantasy movie “Xanadu.” Alongside dancing icon Gene Kelly, Newton-John also acted in the movie.
17. ‘Kiss From a Rose’ by Seal
In the movie “Batman Forever,” which starred Nicole Kidman, Jim Carrey, and Val Kilmer, “Kiss From a Rose” was featured. No one, not even Seal himself, seems to be able to comprehend the meaning behind the line, “Kiss from a rose on the grey,” which has led to much discussion over the song’s meaning. Seal sings on a rooftop over Gotham while a bat signal is intercut with movie footage in the music video.
18. ‘Blaze of Glory’ by Jon Bon Jovi
The song from the Western movie “Young Guns II” appeared on Jon Bon Jovi’s first solo studio album of the same period. A cinema screen shows snippets from “Young Guns II” in the background as Bon Jovi sings and plays guitar in the middle of a canyon and a desert full of rocks in the music video.
19. ‘Stay (I Missed You)’ by Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories
In Ben Stiller’s Gen X coming-of-age film “Reality Bites,” “Stay (I Missed You)” is the standout song on the album. Living in New York City across the street from one of the movie’s stars, Ethan Hawke, Lisa Loeb was an undiscovered musician at the time. Stiller and the film’s music supervisor took “Stay (I Missed You)” from Hawke, and they played it throughout the closing credits.
20. ‘Don’t Let Go (Love)’ by En Vogue
The song “Don’t Let Go (Love)” was recorded for the 1996 film “Set It Off,” which starred Vivica A. Fox, Queen Latifah, and Jada Pinkett Smith. Dawn Robinson, who sang lead vocals on the song but soon departed the group owing to contract issues, appeared on the final En Vogue single.
21. ‘9 to 5’ by Dolly Parton
When Dolly Parton accepted the role of performing in, writing, and singing the theme song for the comedy “9 to 5,” which also features Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, she poured herself a cup of aspiration. With the opening chords evoking the dread of going to the office every morning, the title tune explores the drudgery and misogyny of working in the corporate world.
22. ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’ by Simple Minds
“Don’t You (Forget About Me)” was written for one of the most iconic coming-of-age films of the 1980s. It appears during the opening and closing credits of the well-known John Hughes film “The Breakfast Club,” which centers on a group of teenagers who are compelled to spend a Saturday together in detention despite having nothing in common.
23. ‘Kiss’ by Prince and the Revolution
Prince’s classic song “Kiss” is maybe most famously used in the 1990 film “Pretty Woman,” where Julia Roberts’ character Vivian sings along with her Walkman while having a bubble bath at a luxurious hotel in Beverly Hills.
24. ‘St. Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion)’ by John Parr
This title track was written by David Foster and John Parr for the Brat Pack film “St. Elmo’s Fire.” The two-year Man in Motion globe wheelchair tour, which Canadian track and field athlete Rick Hansen undertook to raise awareness about individuals with disabilities and to help discover a treatment for spinal cord injuries, served as the inspiration for the song, even though it was created with the movie in mind.
25. ‘Can’t Stop the Feeling!’ by Justin Timberlake
“Can’t Stop the Feeling!,” written and produced by Shellback, Max Martin, and Justin Timberlake, was an unavoidable hit in the summer of 2016. Six months before the theatrical premiere of the movie for which it was composed, “Trolls,” it was made available as a single in May of that year.
26. ‘Maniac’ by Michael Sembello
This synth-heavy song was initially written by Michael Sembello and Dennis Matkosky with horror films in mind. A simple lyric change from “He’s a maniac, he just moved next door / He’ll kill your cat and nail it to the floor” to “She’s a maniac, maniac on the floor / And she’s dancing like she’s never danced before” was all it took for “Flashdance” star Jennifer Beals to make it a smash.
27. ‘Shakedown’ by Bob Seger
“Beverly Hills Cop” is a fast-paced, catchy song sung by Bob Seger in the second episode of the Eddie Murphy comedy franchise. Seger co-wrote the song’s lyrics with Harold Faltermeyer and Keith Forsey, who composed the music. The smash hit song “(I’ve Had) the Time of My Life,” sung by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, from “Dirty Dancing,” defeated “Shakedown”.
28. ‘Cradle of Love’ by Billy Idol
Originally released as the lead single from Billy Idol’s 1990 album “Charmed Life,” “Cradle of Love” was also included on the soundtrack of the Andrew Dice Clay comedy “The Adventures of Ford Fairlane.” The song video, which was directed by David Fincher, cleverly gets around Idol’s injuries from a motorbike accident by having him sing in framed paintings.
29. ‘Lose Yourself’ by Eminem
A uncommon hip-hop song on this list, “Lose Yourself” from “8 Mile” brought rapper-turned-actor Eminem a great deal of success in the industry and on the charts. He became the first rapper to win an Oscar for Best Original Song and two Grammys for the song.
30. ‘Because You Loved Me’ by Céline Dion
Diane Warren wrote the song “‘Because You Loved Me,” David Foster produced it, and Céline Dion sang it in the 1996 movie “Up Close & Personal.” Warren claimed that her father’s encouragement of her musical career served as the song’s inspiration. “I felt that when I wrote that song, it was better than I was at the time if that makes sense,” she said in an interview with Billboard in 2018.
