Best Movie Songs

A word from our sponsor:

Printer-friendly version

Author: 

This week I watched the latest segment of Ted Lasso. They skillfully use Raindrops Keep Fallin on My Head in a scene with Jamie teaching Roy how to ride a bike.

I started thinking about songs in movies and eventually created a list of my favorite songs used in movies.

I was amazed to see two Dolly Parton songs in my top ten. Most people probably think of I Will Always Love You as a Whitney Houston song -- but Dolly wrote it and made over ten million dollars in royalties from the Whitney version.

I also noted that "droppin" a "g" seems like a good way to create a hit song.

I’m wide open to your comments.

Moon River (When sung by Audrey Hepburn https://www.google.com/search?gs_ssp=eJzj4tFP1zcsNjAty84zKzZ...

I Will Always Love You
9 to 5
Unchained Melody
Happy
Raindrops Keep Fallin on My Head
When You Wish Upon a Star
Over the Rainbow
Mrs. Robinson
Tonight
Lara's Theme
Stayin Alive
Stand by Me
Raindrops Keep Fallin on My Head
Rawhide
Happy
Hopelessly Devoted to You (RIP)
Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend
As Time Goes By
Eye of the Tiger
Footloose
Danger Zone
Rainbow Connection
High Noon
The Sounds of Silence
Beauty and the Beast
Let It Go
My Heart Will Go On
Falling Slowly (Once)
Aquarius
Zip a Dee Doo Dah
Afternoon Delight
The Wind Beneath My Wings
Streets of Philadelphia
Singin in the Rain
Circle of Life
Sound of Music
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
The Power of Love
Up Where We Belong
Ain't No Sunshine
The Entertainer
Born to Be Wild
I'm Alright (Caddie Shack)
Born Free
Chariots of Fire
Summertime
Puttin on the Ritz
You've Got a Friend in Me
I'm Easy
To Sir with Love
The Way You Look Tonight
Everybody's Talkin
Arthur's Theme
Oh, Pretty Woman
A Whole New World
Mona Lisa
Thus Spoke Zarathustra
La Bamba
High Hopes
The Windmills of Your Mind
Don't You Forget About Me
Let's Go Crazy
Love on the Rocks
Return to Sender
Can't Stop the Feeling
I Just Called to Say I Love You
How Deep Is Your Love
Endless Love
Johnny B. Goode
Fame
Skyfall
Oh Yeah
Goldfinger
Evergreen
White Christmas
Que Sera, Sear
St. Elmo's Fire
In Your Eyes
Maniac
I Say a Little Prayer for You
Tiny Dancer
Glory

Jill

Comments

Not going to fall down this rabbit hole too deeply

I spent way too much time with your last list so just want to add.

Superman (the original movie)
The Ten Commandments
Gone With The Wind

If you are asking for non-pure instrumental movie theme songs then ignore the above.

I would definitely include 'Flashdance' (oh what a feeling) by Irene Cara.

Quite the list, Jill!

Emma Anne Tate's picture

I noticed you added some that weren’t “songs,” as such, including Also Sprach Zarathustra and Chariots of Fire — both outstanding and memorable! But, if you are going to throw in orchestral pieces that were composed for particular movies, I would add the theme music from The Great Escape, The Bridge Over the River Kwai, The Guns of Navarone, Patton, A Bridge Too Far, MacArthur, The Magnificent Seven (the original, with Yule Brinner), The Godfather, The Mission, Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Superman. In the category of existing orchestral pieces that you can’t hear without thinking of a movie, I would add The Ride of the Valkyries and — although the movie is less well known and something of a cult classic — O Fortuna.

Emma

Yep

I woke up this morning and said, "I forgot Star Wars."

How dreary would have Bridge and Escape been without those songs?

Jill

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)

Dammit

“I Say a Little Prayer for You?” Now I’m going to have to watch My Best Friend’s Wedding again and it’s your fault. ;-)

Yikes

That sure is a lot of food for earworms.

Ron

Another orchestral piece

charlie98210's picture

Theme from the 1986 BBC miniseries Edge of Darkness (starring Bob Peck and Joanne Whalley). The musical theme was written, arranged and performed by Eric Clapton with Michael Kamen. The BBC miniseries won a total of six British Academy Awards, one of them for Best Original Television Music.
Edge of Darkness Theme.

charlie

Eric Clapton

I live a hundred yards away from a restaurant whose mission is to help people in rehab. Their staff is largely populated by men and women who have gone through Hazelden.

Urban legend has it that Eric Clapton was a waiter there after his Hazelden stint.

Jill

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)

Restaurant

Delancey Street?

I visited that restaurant while visiting my friend in Silicon Valley.

It was a very nice restaurant.

St. Paul

Restaurant is in St. Paul.

Jill

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)

Aren't you

Andrea Lena's picture

just down the road, so to speak, from Hibbing?

  

To be alive is to be vulnerable. Madeleine L'Engle
Love, Andrea Lena

Just Ask Bob Dylan. . .

. . .for directions.

Really - don't think twice, it's alright.

Jill

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)

Well

Andrea Lena's picture

Evergreen, The Days of Wine and Roses. Moon River (Andy Williams AND Audrey Hepburn Versions) What Are You Doing for the Rest of Your Life? Goldfinger, To Sir with Love. I'll forgo Musicals only because I'd be here forever...

But this...Somewhere Out There
Words and music by
James Ingram and James Horner
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Smc5FHbZtG4
James Ingram was so good and it breaks my heart that he is gone and that Linda Ronstadt can no longer sing. We lost James Horner to a tragic plane accident. He excelled at songs and scores.

  

To be alive is to be vulnerable. Madeleine L'Engle
Love, Andrea Lena

Musicals

Oh Goddess no. Naming all those would be an eternity. Don't get us started on all those Disney ones.

Frankly I have better things for 4 hours of my life ^_^

Disney

Reflection

from Mulan

nuff said

Yes

The best part of Pete's Dragon.

My favorite Disney song other than Beauty and the Beast, might be Under the Sea.

Jill

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)

That's quite a list Jill

Dee Sylvan's picture

It certainly brings back a lot of memories of songs and favorite movies. I'll add my two cents.
In Rodanthe
Sinnerman (in remake of Thomas Crown Affair)

:DD

DeeDee

Made Me Think

. . .of two other movie songs:

Don't Worry Be Happy

Kokomo

Jill

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)

Thank you Jill, I can get a bit neurotic sometimes

laika's picture

When people get nostalgic it sometimes has a weird effect on me.
My take on TV show songs,film music and even comfort food
(who the hell has Singapore rice noodles for a comfort food,
and never wants to see Mom's meat loaf + mashed taters ever again?)
can makes me feel like an outsider looking in. Being a weirdo was fun
when I was young, but now it's like I grew up in some parallel universe
with no common point of reference with other people my age.

I had a whole list of songs/theme music that blew my mind
in the theater, and I listen to a lot; but they were from films
nobody has ever heard of. Let me repost the links & you'll see what I mean:
Popul Vul's lush, hypnotic score from Werner Herzog's-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrokMa1QlKo&t=61s
(spoilers, the mighty Nazi-analogous conquistadors all die in the end)
Mikis Theodorakis's title theme + great music
from Costa Gavra's tense political thriller
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbaS5o_yBME&t=4s
The music and title song from Terry Gilliam's BRAZIL,
Alan Price's music that were like a running commentary
on Nick's (Malcolm McDowell) adventures in
n Lindsay Anderson's O LUCKY MAN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bk5IgQbDuEE
And from one of the greatest dystopian satires of all time
(the FUN version of the Hunger Games that predicted "Reality TV";
and how this gem from 1965 is not a cult classic on par with Big Lebowski
I'll never know.... Ursula Andress really rocked that brassiere gun!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XDNJHBe3ak
~anywho, that's my artsy fartsy crap no one ever heard of. Hugs. Veronica

Neurotic? It's Just a Jump to the Left

It's great to hear your mom was into Meatloaf.

Your list, one I couldn't play, made me think of Time Warp which should have been in my top five.

Thanks for the Memories. . .also could have been on my list.

Jill

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)

What, no Ghostbusters?!

And I don't think I see a single Kenny Loggins song in the bunch! *Shame.*

:P

*hugs*

Melanie E.

Dangerzone

Dee Sylvan's picture

The Top Gun Kenny Loggins classic is on the list.

DeeDee

I'm alright

Andrea Lena's picture

But definitely in the opening credits of Caddyshack! Gotta have a dancing gopher!

  

To be alive is to be vulnerable. Madeleine L'Engle
Love, Andrea Lena

One vote

erin's picture

One vote for an obscure song from an obscure TV movie: "I'm All Alone in the World," from Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol 1962.

There's another good song in there, too. "We're Despicable: The Plunderers March."

Hugs,
Erin

= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.

Obscure

I disagree on it being obscure. It's been on the racks of DVDs back when they were popular for many a year.

However, people thought it would always show up online (other than youtube natch) or on cable but it goes to show that if you don't own it then you are at the mercy of a provider.

Every year

Emma Anne Tate's picture

We watched it every year, without fail. Also worth a mention in that masterpiece -- Ringle, ringle and Lord's Bright Blessing. But then, I'll confess to an occasional weakness for razzilberry dressing. :D

Emma

Jim Backus

Even Thurston had his Lovey.

Jill

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)

You Have To Include

joannebarbarella's picture

The Ennio Morricone spaghetti western themes for A Fistful Of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More, The Good The Bad And The Ugly and Once Upon A Time In The West.

Two Kinds of People

Those with loaded guns, and those who dig.

Jill

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)

I Had One Dionne Song

. . .and should have had more.

And, totally unrelated other than about the same time. . .Ben In retrospect this might have "been" what pushed Michael over the edge.

Jill

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)

I wanna be

Andrea Lena's picture

Annie Potts when I grow up!

  

To be alive is to be vulnerable. Madeleine L'Engle
Love, Andrea Lena

Again

I see the list and know the movies and I think they, both movies and music, are not bad. Then I wonder that some excellent music isn't mentioned at all. Even from good movies and good music. Even American pieces.

Everything from behind the iron curtain is sure the far end of exotic. You hadn't seen the movies and didn't hear the music.

But British "Photographing Fairies" and its full soundtrack.

Then American "Midnight, the Stars and You" from "The Shining", "You never can tell" from "Pulp fiction" or "Little green bag" (not American, but the movie American) from "Reservoir dogs", "That's Amore" from "Grumpier Old Men".

Is my taste really so different from others?

Like a Big Pizza Pie

I owned the Dean Martin record in the sixties so your taste isn't so "different" from mine..

I also think Jimmy Durante's Make Someone Happy in Sleepless in Seattle is hard to beat.

Jill

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)

Duke Ellington

The score for Anatomy of a Murder is much better than the rest of the movie.

Confession of an anachronistic audiophile

So, yes I love music of all sorts (Well, almost all sorts, still having issues with ska, and some few others). And I blame my parents for my love of soundtracks (Mancini anyone?!?). And one that I have not seen mentioned here is Wendy Carlos, who had the following soundtracks:
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
The Shining (1980)
Tron (1982)
Along with other recording albums. She is someone who shows that we can acieve our dreams, even when others actively try to destroy them. Historical fact from her Wikipedia page:

Finally, the commercial success of Switched-On Bach allowed Carlos to undergo sex reassignment surgery in May 1972,[4] although for marketing reasons she released two more albums as Walter Carlos (1973's Switched-On Bach II and 1975's By Request.)[30]

Carlos disclosed her transgender status in a series of interviews with Arthur Bell held between December 1978 and January 1979 and published in the May 1979 issue of Playboy magazine. She explained in Playboy that she had "always been concerned with liberation, and [I was] anxious to liberate myself".[7] In 1985, Carlos spoke about the reaction to her transition: "The public turned out to be amazingly tolerant or, if you wish, indifferent [...] There had never been any need of this charade to have taken place. It had proven a monstrous waste of years of my life."[30]

The first album released after the Playboy interview, Switched-On Brandenburgs (1980), and all subsequent releases and re-releases have been issued under the name Wendy Carlos.

I gave up on this comment since it hates paragraphs... /sigh

Thank You

Very interesting. Had no idea.

Jill

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)

Best Movie song

Besides the ones listed, I like Broken Bridges song by Lindsay Haun

garfieldwritingsf.jpg
If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.”
― Toni Morrison