We searched for YouTube clips that contain footage of how each song is featured in its respective movie whenever possible. This brings each song and its impact front-and-center, so we can all see the popularity each movie song had on the big screen. Let's listen to and watch 10 more!
#160: "From Now On" by Hugh Jackman and The Greatest Showman Ensemble (from the movie The Greatest Showman--2017)
Benj Pasek and Justin Paul wrote this uplifting song for The Greatest Showman in 2017.
P.T. Barnum, played by Hugh Jackman, is the acclaimed showman who put together a show of human freaks, but gets caught up in the quest for fame and fortune. When his venue is burnt to the ground and all seems lost, Barnum finally figures out what is really important to him (his wife and family). This realization when Jackman sings the song in the movie leads to the famous and spectacular barroom dance by the cast of The Greatest Showman. After starting the song and getting his crew a round of drinks, Barnum has the inescapable thought to get to his family.
The soundtrack has sold over 500,000 copies.
The Greatest Showman was nominated for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy and Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globe Awards, for Top Soundtrack at the Billboard Music Awards and for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media at the Grammys.
The movie, which revived the musical in popular culture, grossed $459 million.
#158: "Can't Stop The Feeling" by Justin Timberlake (from the movie Trolls--2016)
Justin Timberlake co-wrote this song with Max Martin and Shellback for the movie Trolls, in which Timberlake also voiced the character of Branch and served as the film's executive music producer.
Gwen Stefani, Anna Kendrick and Zooey Deschanel joined Timberlake on the voices for Trolls, which follows the story of two trolls named Poppy (played by Kendrick) and Branch, who must save their village from destruction by the Bergens, giant creatures who happen to eat trolls.
Timberlake was a cast member of The All New Mickey Mouse Club in the mid-90's, where he met and worked with JC Chasez, whom he later performed with in the group NSYNC. Some may have dismissed that boy band, but Timberlake proved his worth when he started a solo career in 2002 as his first two albums each sold over 10 million copies. He's had success with songs such "Cry Me A River", "Rock Your Body", "Sexyback" and others.
Justin also began acting, with two very good movies worth checking out--The Social Network (about the beginnings of the tech network with Bill Gates and Steve Jobs) in 2010 and Friends with Benefits the following year.
"Can't Stop The Feeling" was a worldwide Top 10 hit, going to #1 in the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, Mexico, Scotland, Sweden and Switzerland and #2 in the U.K. The song was a major seller in nearly every country in the world, approaching 11 million worldwide and over 3 million in the United States alone.
Timberlake earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Achievement in Music Written for the Motion Pictures, a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song and Best Song Written for Visual Media at the Grammy Awards.
The soundtrack album reached #1 in the U.K. and Australia (#2 U.S.) and has topped 2 million in sales and scored an American Music Award nomination for Top Soundtrack.
Trolls made a gross of $347 million at the box office.
#157: "This Kiss" by Faith Hill (from the movie Practical Magic--1998)
Written in 1998 by Beth Nielsen Chapman, Robin Lerner and Annie Roboff, Song #157* is by Faith Hill and featured on the "Practical Magic" Soundtrack, which has gone Gold.
Practical Magic stars Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, who play sisters Sally and Gillian Owens, who come from a long family line of witches. As their parents died from a family curse, the two girls were raised by their aunts and taught the uses of practical magic. Sally and Gillian must use their magic to overcome the evil spirit of Gillian's abusive boyfriend. Dianne Wiest, Stockard Channing and Aiden Quinn also star in the movie, which made $68 million.
Ever since her breakthrough in the thriller Speed in 1994, Bullock has enjoyed a "girl next door" type of image. She's gone on to become a top leading lady with the great romantic comedy While You Were Sleeping, the thrilling The Net, Premonition, The Lake House, Miss Congeniality, The Proposal, Oceans 8, The Blind Side (which gave her a Best Actress honor at the Academy Awards) and Gravity among her top credits from over 50 movies.
"This Kiss" reached #7 in the U.S. (#3 Adult Contemporary) and #2 on the Canada Adult Contemporary chart and earned Grammy nominations for Best Country Song and Best Female Country Vocal Performance. The single has sold over one million copies. Hill earned a Blockbuster Entertainment Award nomination for Favorite Song from a movie.
#156: "Independent Women" by Destiny's Child (from the movie Charlie's Angels--2000)
Destiny's Child recorded this next one, written by Beyonce Knowles, Samuel Banes, Cory Rooney and Jean-Claude Olivier, for the 2000 movie Charlie's Angels.
Charlie's Angels was a popular TV show in the 1970's, and the film adaptation included a trilogy of movies, starring Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, Bill Murray (as John Bosley) and Tim Curry.
The Angels (Diaz, Barrymore and Liu) work for unseen millionaire Charlie Townsend, who instructs the three to find software wizard Eric Knox, who is believed to have been kidnapped by Roger Corwin, who runs the communications-satellite company Redstar.
Diaz, whose films have grossed over $3 billion, began her career at the age of 21 in the movie The Mask with Jim Carrey. Since then, she's starred in films such as There's Something About Mary, My Best Friends Wedding, Being John Malkovich, Vanilla Sky, Charlie's Angels, Knight and Day and The Holiday.
"Independent Women" was a smash, holding on to the #1 position for 11 straight weeks in the United States, and also hit the top in the U.K., Canada and New Zealand. It has sold over 2 million copies, including 1 million in the U.S., and earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media and a Billboard Music Award for Soundtrack Single of the Year.
Charlie's Angels grossed $264 million worldwide.
#155: "Hero" by Chad Kroeger Featuring Josey Scott (from the movie Spider-Man--2002)
In 2002, the lead singer of Nickelback (Chad Kroeger) and the lead singer of Saliva (Josey Scott) combined for this entry from the blockbuster Spider-Man, starring Tobey Maguire, William Dafoe, James Franco, Kirsten Dunst, Cliff Robertson and Rosemary Harris.
Spider-Man, the first of a movie trilogy, is based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Shortly after the film starts, Peter Parker (Maguire) is bitten by a genetically-engineered spider while he and his high school classmates are visiting a Columbia University genetics laboratory. Parker soon finds himself endowed with superhuman qualities, such as being able to shoot "webs" out of his wrists and the ability to cling to walls.
But changes are taking place with his friend's father (Franco) as well, as an experiment at his corporation goes wrong and Franco is transformed into the evil Green Goblin. Spider-Man must confront the Goblin to preserve good and decency.
Maguire had aspired to be a chef as a child, but after his mother offered to give him $100 to take a drama class, he never looked back. In addition to the three Spider-Man movies, Tobey has starred in Seabiscuit, The Cider House Rules, Brothers and The Great Gatsby.
"Hero" raced to #1 in Canada, #2 in Ireland, #3 in The United States and #4 in the U.K. and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. The soundtrack reached #2 in Canada and #4 in the U.S. and has sold over one million copies.
Spider-Man grossed $825 million worldwide. It received the People's Choice Award for Favorite Motion Picture, an American Music Award for Favorite Soundtrack and Academy Award nominations for Best Sound and Best Visual Effects.
#154: "Shakedown" by Bob Seger (from the movie Beverly Hills Cop II--1987)
Harold Faltermeyer and Keith Forsey wrote this next one, "Shakedown" from Beverly Hills Cop II in 1987. It was originally written for Glen Frey, whose big hit "The Heat Is On" was featured on the first Beverly Hills Cop movie. But Frey didn't like the lyrics and then developed laryngitis, so the song was given to Bob Seger, who was added to the songwriting credits.
Eddie Murphy returned as Detroit police detective Axel Foley, who teams with Beverly Hills detectives Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and John Taggart (John Ashton) to stop a criminal gang after Captain Andrew Bogomil (Ronny Cox) is shot and severely wounded.
Seger is famous for struggling for 10 years before finally making it big with the 1975 album Night Moves. That landmark LP and the follow-up Stranger in Town are two of the finest back-to-back releases you'll hear. Bob went on to become The #30 Artist of the Rock Era*.
"Shakedown" was one of The Top Songs of 1987* after having reached #1 in the United States and Canada. Seger was nominated for Best Original Song at the Golden Globe Awards and the Academy Awards, but lost both to "(I've Had) The Time Of My Life" from Dirty Dancing.
The soundtrack hit #8 in the United States after selling over one million copies.
Beverly Hills Cop II has made nearly $300 million at the box office.
No matter what you think you pull you'll find it's not enough
No matter who you think you know you won't get through
It's a given L.A. law
Someone's faster on the draw
No matter where you hide I'm comin' after you yeah
No matter how the race is run it always ends the same
Another room without a view awaits downtown
You can shake me for a while
Live it up in style
No matter what you do I'm gonna take you down
Shakedown
Breakdown
Takedown
Everybody wants into the crowded line
Breakdown
Takedown
You're busted
Let down
Your guard
Honey, just about the time you're thinkin' it's alright
Breakdown
Takedown
You're busted
This is a town where everyone is reachin' for the top
This is a place where second best will never do
It's okay to want to shine
But once you step across that line
No matter where you hide I'm comin' after you
Shakedown
Breakdown
Takedown
Everybody wants into the crowded line
Breakdown
Takedown
You're busted
Shakedown
Breakdown
Honey, just about the time you're thinkin' it's alright
Breakdown
Takedown
You're busted
Ah, busted
Aw aw
Shakedown
Breakdown
Takedown
Everybody wants into the crowded line
Breakdown
Takedown
You're busted
Shakedown
Breakdown
Honey, just about the time you're thinkin' it's alright
Breakdown
Takedown
You're busted
Shakedown
Breakdown
Takedown
Everybody wants into the crowded line
Breakdown
Takedown
You're busted
Let down
Your guard
Honey, just about the time you're thinkin' it's alright
Breakdown
Takedown
Ah, you're busted
Shakedown
Breakdown
Takedown
Everybody wants into the crowded line
Breakdown
Takedown
You're busted
Let down
Your guard
Honey, just about the time you're thinkin' it's alright
#153: "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be) (from the movie The Man Who Knew Too Much--1955)
Jay Livingston and Ray Evans composed this song from the Alfred Hitchcock movie The Man Who Knew Too Much for Doris Day, who also stars in the movie with James Stewart. It is one of 10 in the special from the 50's.
The song has particularly high impact in the movie, as Day sings it late in the plot as a cue to her kidnapped son.
The movie opens as Dr. Ben McKenna, his wife, singer Josephine "Jo" Conway McKenna and son "Hank" are vacationing in French Morocco. While traveling from Casablanca to Marrakesh, the McKennas meet Louis Bernard from France. He seems friendly, but Jo is suspicious of his many questions.
Ben and Jo meet an English couple named Edward and Lucy Drayton at dinner. Bernard arrived at the same restaurant but sits elsewhere and appears to ignore them.
The following day, while shopping with the Draytons, a man is chased by police. The man is stabbed in the back, but manages to approach Ben, who notices he is Bernard in disguise. Bernard tells Ben he must tell authorities that a foreign statesman will be assassinated in London. Lucy returns Hank to the hotel while the other three go in for police questioning about Bernard's death.
As Ben learns that Bernard was a French intelligence agent, he receives a call at the station that Hank has been kidnapped, but the boy will be unharmed if the McKennas don't say anything about Bernard's warning. Ben sends Edward to locate the boy, but soon figures out that is the Draytons who are responsible for the kidnapping.
The Draytons take Hank to a foreign embassy, knowing it is exempt from an investigation. But the McKennas are able to obtain an invitation from the prime minister, who asks Jo to sing. Jo belts out the tune, hoping Hank will hear it and have hope.
With his amazing talent, good lucks and relatability to the common man, Stewart became one of the Top 5 or 10 top actors of all-time, starring in 80 movies from 1935 to 1991 (The American Film Institute puts him third on their list.) From You Can't Take It With You, The Philadelphia Story, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, It's a Wonderful Life, Anatomy of a Murder and The Man Who Knew Too Much to The Glenn Miller Story, Rear Window, Vertigo, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and How The West Was Won, Stewart always had great respect, both for his movie choices and acting as well as his life offscreen. Truly one of the great guys of all-time.
Day was a multi-talented performer and another highly-regarded person who began in music with the classic "Sentimental Journey" from 1945 and recorded over 650 songs through 1967. Doris was also one of the top leading ladies of the 50's and 60's, starring in Calamity Jane, Pillow Talk, I'll See You in My Dreams, Love Me or Leave Me and Please Don't Eat the Daisies.
Day raced to #1 in the U.K. and #2 in the United States as "Que Sera, Sera" won the 1956 Oscar for Best Original Song.
The Man Who Knew Too Much grossed $11 million.
#152: "Theme From 'Valley Of The Dolls'" by Dionne Warwick (from the movie Valley of the Dolls--1967)
Andre and Dory Previn wrote this one in 1967 for Dionne Warwick and the movie Valley of the Dolls. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Jacqueline Susann.
Judy Garland was originally slated to sing the theme but was fired from the film. Actress Barbara Parkins suggested Warwick to sing it. Dionne included the song as the B-side to her big hit "I Say A Little Prayer".
Parkins, Patty Duke, Sharon Tate, Lee Grant and Paul Burke star. Parkins, Duke and Tate strike up a friendship as all three young women are trying to build careers in entertainment. But all three make the mistake of using barbiturates. Richard Dreyfuss and Marvin Hamlisch appear in the movie but are uncredited.
The theme from Warwick turned out to be a hit in its own right, reaching #2 on both the Popular (#2 for 4 weeks) and Easy Listening charts in the U.S. and selling over one million copies. The song was stuck behind two classics, "Love Is Blue" by Paul Mauriat and "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay" by Otis Redding, something none of today's songs can even remotely claim.
Warwick has won six Grammy Awards and is in the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. 56 of her singles made the U.S. charts in Dionne's career, including the .huge hits "Walk On By", "I Say A Little Prayer", "Do You Know The Way To San Jose", "I'll Never Fall In Love Again", "Then Came You", "I'll Never Love This Way Again", "Heartbreaker" and "That's What Friends Are For".
Dionne ranked at #16 on Inside The Rock Era's 2014 countdown of The Top 100 Female Artists of the Rock Era* and #93 in our list of The Top 100 Artists of the Rock Era* in 2021.
The soundtrack made it to #6 on the Album chart and sold over 500,000 copies.
Valley of the Dolls grossed $44 million and was nominated for Best Original Score at the Golden Globe Awards as well as the Grammys. Tate was nominated at the Golden Globes for Most Promising Female Newcomer, but she threw all of that away when she became associated with Charles Manson.
#151: "Late In The Evening" by Paul Simon (from the movie One-Trick Pony--1980)
Simon wrote this song in 1980 for use in his movie One-Trick Pony. Although one would expect the list to be dominated by songs from the main strength in the Rock Era (the 60's and 70's), it is the 80's which contain the most with an incredible 63. Although the 60's (29) and 70's (32) are well represented, it took a while for the superb quality of those two decades to find their way onto the big screen.
The unique drum beat in this song was formed when drummer Steve Gadds used two pairs of drumsticks - one in each hand - to give the impression of two drummers playing together.
One-Trick Pony was released along with the movie of the same name, in which Simon also starred along with Rip Torn, Blair Brown, Joan Hackett and Lou Reed. Simon plays Jonah Levin, once a popular Folk-Rock musician who has not enjoyed success in 10 years and now opens for groups such as the B-52's.
Levin is working on a new album but facing pressure from record company executive Walter Fox (played by Torn) to write a hit, with help from his producer (Reed). Jonah is also trying to repair his relationship with his estranged wife, Marion (Brown) and keep a relationship with his son Matty, played by Michael Pearlman.
Simon is one of The Top Lyricists of the Rock Era*, one of a select few who have been superstars as both part of a duo or group as well as a superstar solo artist. As Simon & Garfunkel, Paul wrote and recorded some of the classics of a generation, including "Bridge Over Troubled Water", "The Sound Of Silence", "Mrs. Robinson" and "The Boxer".
Since going out on his own in 1972, Paul has recorded an incredible variety of material, ranging from his introspective Still Crazy After All These Years to his foray into World Music on the landmark album Graceland and its follow-up The Rhythm of the Saints.
"Late In The Evening" reached #6 in the U.S. and #9 in the Netherlands and was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male.
The soundtrack album hit #2 in Norway and was certified Gold while the movie earned $843,000 at the box office.
We've heard 50 songs so far in our special. Inside The Rock Era returns tomorrow with more cinema magic!
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