We are excited to kick off our newest music special, The Top 200 Songs of the Rock Era*!
A few ground rules:
1. The movie must have been released between 1955 and 2025 for the song to be eligible.
2. The song must have either been featured in the movie or on the movie soundtrack to be eligible. For instance, the #1 smash "The Morning After" by Maureen McGovern is a remake of the song featured in The Poseidon Adventure and McGovern's version is neither included in the movie nor its soundtrack. The big hit "Alfie" by Dionne Warwick is not in the movie of the same name, though the version by Cher that is in the movie is eligible. "Theme From 'A Summer Place'" by Percy Faith, "For All We Know" by the Carpenters and "You Light Up My Life" by Debby Boone are classics whose songs were in movies, but not by those artists.3. The movie in question must have been released within a few months of the song's recording (either before or after); a song featured in a movie years into the future was not created for that movie. There is some leeway with the main question being: Was the song already popular when it was included in the movie or did the song become popular as a result of or in conjunction with the movie? Also, a song must be associated with a single movie in its year of release. A remake of a song featured in a new movie is eligible.
"All You Need Is Love" was the closest call; it was featured in the animated movie Yellow Submarine, but not until a full year after its initial release and popularity and is therefore ineligible.
We evaluated all eligible songs for the past 70 years and ranked them with our copyrighted formula. We then slightly adjusted the rankings based on the impact of the song in its movie. As a result of the adjustment, a few songs on the bubble moved into The Top 200* and a few fell out. Several songs moved up significantly within The Top 200* due to their impact in the movie.
Several other lists out there show songs that were not featured in either the movie or the soundtrack. Remaking a song or including a different version of a song in a movie doesn't make it a song from the movie. Billboard got that part right in their ranking, but they still mistakenly think that weeks at #1 magically easily tells them where the songs should be ranked. It doesn't.
No, they must evaluate each song based on its competition (as we do in the book "The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*") through our elaborate and exclusive formula). A #1 song of 4 weeks from 1955 is not the same as a #1 song of 4 weeks from 1969, which is not the same as a #1 song of 4 weeks from 2023.
With that cleared up, let's jump right in!
#200--"Axel F" by Harold Faltermeyer (from the movie Beverly Hills Cop--1984)
Here's one of 10 instrumentals in The Top 200*--an electronic number from German composer and producer Harold Faltermeyer. It's the recognizable theme to the 1984 movie Beverly Hills Cop. Faltermeyer was also the music director and composed the score for the film.
Eddie Murphy plays Axel Foley, a detective from Detroit, Michigan who travels to Beverly Hills, California to solve the murder of his best friend. Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Lisa Eilbacher and Ronny Cox co-star. Murphy's character (Axel Foley) is how "Axel F" got its name.
Faltermeyer was born in Munich, Germany and has perfect pitch. Harold was an engineer on many classical music sessions and soon became a protégé of Giorgio Moroder, one of the most accomplished producers and arrangers since the late 70's. Faltermeyer has worked with Barbra Streisand, Donna Summer, Bob Seger, Billy Idol, Glenn Frey, Blondie, Laura Branigan and the Pet Shop Boys, to name a few.
As a student of Moroder, Faltermeyer was well versed in the newest music technology, and he used a Roland JUPITER-8 to create the melody of the song. In the video, Faltermeyer is flanked on three sides by synthesizers as he bounces from one to the other.
"Axel F" was a Top 10 hit in every major country in the world except Sweden, reaching #1 in the Netherlands, #2 in the U.K., Canada and Switzerland, #3 in the United States, #5 in New Zealand and #6 in Australia.
The soundtrack went to #1 in the U.S., #2 in Switzerland, #3 in Sweden and #4 in Germany and has sold over two million copies. It scored a Grammy nomination for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special.
Beverly Hills Cop grossed $316 million at the box office and received Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical and Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical for Murphy and an Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay.
We mentioned that there are 10 instrumentals within The Top 200*. Four are in The Top 100*--see if you can guess what they are!
Famous composer Elmer Bernstein wrote this memorable theme for the 1960 movie The Magnificent Seven.
"Every once in a while — it doesn’t happen often — you hit on something that really feels quite thrilling,” Bernstein said in an interview. “I remember being very excited when I found that opening rhythm. It was like a surge of energy.”
The film, directed by John Sturges, has to be the blueprint for all Westerns--it shows what movies are supposed to be about: values, integrity, and morals. The Magnificent Seven is based on the film Seven Samurai from 1954 and features an all-star cast of Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, James Coborn, Brad Dexter and Horst Buchholz as seven gunfighters who are to protect a small village in Mexico from a group of bandits led by Eli Wallach.
Bernstein composed over 150 original film scores and another 75 or so scores for television projects. In addition to The Magnificent Seven, he composed scores for The Ten Commandments, To Kill a Mockingbird, True Grit, My Left Foot and also worked on Ghostbusters, Animal House and Trading Places. Bernstein was nominated for Best Musical Score for The Magnificent Seven at the Academy Awards, one of 14 career nominations.
The movie grossed just short of $10 million. Vaughn was nominated for Most Promising Male Newcomer at the Golden Globe Awards.
#198. Tonight by Marni Nixon & Jimmy Bryant (from West Side Story--1961)
Here's one of those songs that made The Top 200 Movie Songs of the Rock Era* due to its impact in the movie West Side Story. Stephen Sondheim wrote the lyrics with music from Leonard Bernstein. Marni Nixon & Jimmy Bryant recorded the song, mouthed in the movie by Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer.
Tony and Maria (played by Beymer and Wood, respectively) sing the song while Tony visits Maria on the fire escape outside her apartment. This scene is an adaptation of the famous "balcony scene" in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the landmark play that West Side Story is based on.
Wood began acting at the age of four and co-starred in the original version of Miracle on 34th Street at the age of eight. Wood was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Rebel Without a Cause. She was also nominated for Best Actress for Splendor in the Grass in 1961 and Love with the Proper Stranger in 1963. On November 29, 1981, Wood drowned just off Catalina Island in the Pacific Ocean at the age of 43, taking a break from working on what was to be her comeback film Brainstorm, released in 1983.
West Side Story was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and won 10, including Best Picture and Best Director. With $19 million, it was the highest-grossing musical film of all-time until The Sound of Music in 1965. The United States Library of Congress designated West Side Story as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and the movie was selected for preservation by the U.S. National Film Registry in 1997.
Nixon & Bryant failed to chart with "Tonight"--the most famous version is that of the duo of American pianists known as Ferrante & Teicher, who hit #8 later in the year with their instrumental version.
[Maria:]
Only you, you're the only thing I'll see forever
In my eyes, in my words and in everything I do
Nothing else but you
Ever
[Tony:]
And there's nothing for me but Maria
Every sight that I see is Maria
[Maria:]
Tony, Tony...
[Tony:]
Always you, every thought I'll ever know
Everywhere I go, you'll be
[Maria:]
All the world is only
[Both:]
You and me
[Maria:]
Tonight, tonight
It all began tonight
I saw you and the world went away
Tonight, tonight
There's only you tonight
What you are, what you do, what you say
[Tony:]
Today, all day I had the feeling
A miracle would happen
I know now I was right
[Both:]
For here you are
And what was just a world is a star
Tonight
Tonight, tonight
The world is full of light
With suns and moons all over the place
Tonight, tonight
The world is wild and bright
Going mad, shooting sparks
Into space
Today the world was just an address
A place for me to live in
No better than all right
But here you are
And what was just a world is a star
Tonight
Good night, good night
Sleep well, and when you dream
Dream of me
Tonight
#197--"Some Enchanted Evening" by Mitzi Gaynor & Giorgio Tozzi for the movie South Pacific--1958.
"Some Enchanted Evening" is a show tune from the 1949 [Richard] Rodgers and [Oscar]Hammerstein musical South Pacific. The song was written for the leading man, Emile, in which he sings about first seeing a stranger, knowing he will see her again, dreaming of her, and finally coming face to face with his "love at first sight".
Bing Crosby enjoyed a #1 hit with his remake of the song later in 1949, and Mitzi Gaynor and Giorgio Tozzi (Tozzi's vocals were mouthed by actor Rossano Brazzi) sang their version of the song for the 1958 movie South Pacific, set on an island in the South Pacific during World War II.
Gaynor was one of the last surviving members of Hollywood's "Golden Age", passing away on October 17, 2024 at the age of 93. South Pacific was her crown jewel, but Mitzi also appeared in The Lady Eve, There's No Business Like Show Business and The Joker Is Wild, among many others.
Gaynor was a guest on The Ed Sullivan Show between two sets by the Beatles, and recounted that the four mop-top lads borrowed her hair dryer backstage. Paul McCartney asked for Mitzi's autograph at that occasion. The picture above from Gaynor's Facebook page is from a dinner party at The Sullivan Show.
The "South Pacific" Soundtrack was the #1 album in the U.S. for seven months and remained at #1 in the U.K. for a record 115 weeks. The movie was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress - Motion Picture Comedy or Musical (for Gaynor) at the Golden Globe Awards and three Academy Awards, winning for Best Sound for Fred Hynes.
Some enchanted evening
You may see a stranger,
You may see a stranger
Across a crowded room.
And somehow you know,
You know even then,
That somewhere you’ll see her again and again.
Some enchanted evening
Someone may be laughing,
You may hear her laughing
Across a crowded room—
And night after night,
As strange as it seems,
The sound of her laughter will sing in your dreams.
Who can explain it?
Who can tell you why?
Fools give you reasons—
Wise men never try.
Some enchanted evening,
When you find your true love,
When you feel her call you
Across a crowded room—
Then fly to her side
And make her your own,
Or all through your life you may dream all alone.
Once you have found her,
Never let her go.
Once you have found her,
Never let her go!
This could take us all night long
I looked at the moon, and I felt blue
Then I looked again, and I saw you
Eyes like fire in the night
Bridges burning with their light
Now I want to spend the whole night through
And Honey yes, I'd like to spend it all on you
Love, look what you've done to me
Never thought I'd fall again so easily
Oh love, you wouldn't lie to me
Leading me to feel this way
They might fade and turn to stone
Let's get crazy all alone
Hold me closer than you'd ever dare
Close your eyes, and I'll be there
After all is said and done
After all you are the one
Take me up your stairs and through the door
Take me where we don't care anymore
Love, look what you've done to me
Never thought I'd fall again so easily
Oh love, you wouldn't lie to me, would you
Leading me to feel this way
Love, look what you've done to me
Never thought I'd fall again so easily
Oh love, you wouldn't lie to me
Leading me to feel this way
Meeting you with a view to a kill
Face to face in secret places, feel the chill
Nightfall covers me, but you know the plans I'm making
Still overseas, could it be the whole Earth opening wide
A sacred why, a mystery gaping inside
A week is why, until we
Dance into the fire
That fatal kiss is all we need
Dance into the fire
To fatal sounds of broken dreams
Dance into the fire
That fatal kiss is all we need
Dance into the fire
The choice for you is the view to a kill
Between the shades assassination standing still
Earth's crystal tears, the fall of snowflakes on your body
First time in years to drench your skin in lover's rosy stain
A chance to find the phoenix for the flame
A chance to die, but can we
Dance into the fire
That fatal kiss is all we need
Dance into the fire
To fatal sounds of broken dreams
Dance into the fire
That fatal kiss is all we need
Dance into the fire
When all we see is the view to a kill
#194--"Somewhere" by Marni Nixon & Jimmy Bryant (from the movie West Side Story--1961)
Marni Nixon and Jimmy Bryant make a return to The Top 200* with another cinema classic song from West Side Story--"Somewhere".
As was the case with "Tonight" at #198*, Nixon and Bryant provide the voices for this one as well with Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer mouthing the words to "Somewhere". Bernstein and Sondheim wrote this one as well for the movie.
Nixon frequently was the ghost singer for leading actresses during the late 40's, 50's and 60's, singing for Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, Deborah Kerr in The King and I and An Affair to Remember, singing the high notes for Marilyn Monroe in "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" in 1953's Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and dubbing her voice for Natalie Wood in West Side Story (heard above), though her work was concealed from audiences at the time.
Bryant was a singer, arranger and composer who alsodubbed his singing voice in movies. Bryant, who died in2022 at the age of 93, sang in the group that recorded the theme to the television show Batman and his work as an orchestrator included the television series Lost in Space.
"Somewhere", which failed to chart, is another song outside The Top 200* that inched its way in based on its impact in the movie. It is featured after the rumble in which Tony stabs Maria's brother Bernardo. Tony runs to Maria, whohas learned of her brother's death and the circumstances.Tony enters Maria's room through the balcony window. Maria first pounds against Tony's chest, then realizes she still loves him despite her anger and asks Tony to hold her. Mariacries out, "It's not us...it's everything around us." Tony answers, "Then I'll take you away, where nothing can get to us" and then begins singing "Somewhere" to her.
As mentioned above, West Side Story (with a gross of $19 million), was nominated for 11 Academy Awards andwon 10, including Best Picture and Best Director.
Barbra Streisand recorded what has become the bestversion of the song when she featured it on her 1985Grammy Award-winning release The Broadway Album.
There's a place for us,
Somewhere a place for us.
Peace and quiet and open air
Wait for us somewhere.
There's a time for us,
Someday a time for us.
Time together with time to spare,
Time to learn, time to care.
Someday, somewhere
We'll find a new way of living,
We'll find a way of forgiving,
Somewhere.
There's a place for us,
A time and place for us.
Hold my hand and we're halfway there
Hold my hand and I'll take you there,
Somehow, someday, somewhere.
Someday, somewhere
We'll find a new way of living,
We'll find a way of forgiving,
Somewhere.
There's a place for us,
A time and place for us.
Hold my hand and we're halfway there
Hold my hand and I'll take you there,
#193--"I Could Have Danced All Night" by Marni Nixon (from the movie My Fair Lady-1956)
Nixon makes her third appearance in The Top 200*, dubbing the singing voice of Audrey Hepburn, who plays Eliza Doolittle.
Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lemer teamed up to write The #193 Movie Song of the Rock Era*, "I Could Have Danced All Night", from the wildly popular My Fair Lady in 1956.
Doolittle, a flower girl, takes speech lessons from Professor Henry Higgins so that she may "pass as a lady". Although Higgins is cynical by nature, he becomes attracted to her.
Eliza, thrilled after a dance with Higgins, sings the song (with the dubbed voice of Nixon) in the wee hours of the night despite two maids and the housekeeper pleading with her to go to bed.
Hepburn was one of the classiest stars of her generation, highly regarded in both film and fashion. The American Film Institute ranked Audrey as the third-greatest female film legend from the Classic period and Hepburn was inducted into the International Best Dressed Hall of Fame.
She performed as a chorus girl in several West End musical productions in London before her Academy and Golden Globe Award-winning performance in Roman Holiday in 1953 ignited her career.
In later years, Hepburn spent much of her time volunteering for UNICEF, working in the poorest places of Africa, Asia and South America between 1988 and 1992, receiving the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of that service.
My Fair Lady won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and grossed $72.7 million at the box office.
Bed, bed I couldn't go to bedMy head's too light to try to set it downSleep, sleep I couldn't sleep tonightNot for all the jewels in the crownI could have danced all nightI could have danced all nightAnd still have begged for moreI could have spread my wings and done a thousand thingsI've never done beforeI'll never know what made it so excitingWhy all at once my heart took flightI only know when he began to dance with meI could have danced, danced, danced all nightIt's after three nowDon't you agree now?She ought to be in bed!I could have danced all night, I could have danced all nightAnd still have begged for moreI could have spread my wings and done a thousand thingsI've never done beforeI'll never know what made it so excitingWhy all at once my heart took flightI only know when he began to dance with meI could have danced, danced, danced all nightI understand, dearIt's all been grand, dearBut now it's time to sleepI could have danced all night, I could have danced all nightAnd still have begged for moreI could have spread my wings and done a thousand thingsI've never done beforeI'll never know what made it so excitingWhy all at once my heart took flightI only know when he began to dance with meI could have danced, danced, danced all night
#192--"Ready To Take A Chance Again" by Barry Manilow (from the movie Foul Play--1978)
This international smash was written by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel in 1978 for Barry Manilow, who recorded the song for the opening section of the hilarious Foul Play, starring Chevy Chase, Goldie Hawn, Dudley Moore, Brian Dennehy and Burgess Meredith.
While the song is playing, we see Hawn (as librarian Gloria Mundy) pick up a man (Bob "Scotty" Scott), who has car trouble. We soon find out a key part of the puzzle--the man slips a roll of film into a pack of cigarettes and gives it to Gloria, who is unaware of the film.
Possessing that film, however, puts Mundy at risk for herlife, as she soon finds out. Remembering the advice ofa friend who encourages the recently divorced Gloria tobe more open to new experiences, she accepts Scotty'sinvitation to see a movie. But when she arrives, he is notthere, so she regretfully heads into the theatre alone.Scotty eventually gets there and sits down next to her,but is severely wounded and dies in the theatre.
Before he dies, he warns Gloria to "be aware of thedwarf". Neither she nor we knows what that means, butit turns out to be a killer named Rupert Stiltskin, who has been hired along with albino Whitey Jackson and aman with a scar to carry out a major assassination inSan Francisco.
Dudley Moore is funny as always as a British immigrantwho meets Gloria in a singles bar and thinks he gotfarther than he did with Gloria. Chase plays LieutenantTony Carlson, assigned to the case after Gloria callsthe police only to have evidence of the violence allaround her disappear. Dennehy is Tony's assistant,"Fergie" Ferguson, while Meredith plays Gloria's toughbut caring landlord.
Manilow took "Ready To Take A Chance Again" to #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart and #4 overall in Canada, #5 in Sweden and #5 AC and #11 overall in the United States and was nominated for Best Original Song at both the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards.
Foul Play grossed $45 million at the box office and scored seven Golden Globe nominations--Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical, Best Actor and Actress in a Comedy or Musical for Chase and Hawn, Best Supporting Actor for Moore, Best Motion Picture Acting Debut for Chase and Best Screenplay in addition to the nomination for Best Original Song.
You remind me I live in a shellSafe from the past and doin' okay but not very wellNo jolts, no surprises, no crisis arisesMy life goes along as it shouldIt's all very nice, but not very goodAnd I'm ready to take a chance againReady to put my love on the line with youBeen livin' with nothing to show for itYou get what you get when you go for itAnd I'm ready to take a chance again with youWhen she left me, in all my despairI just held on, my hopes were all goneThen I found you thereAnd I'm ready to take a chance againReady to put my love on the line with youBeen livin' with nothing to show for itYou get what you get when you go for itAnd I'm ready to take a chance againReady to put my love on the line with youBeen livin' with nothing to show for itYou get what you get when you go for itAnd I'm ready to take a chance againReady to take a chance again with youWith you
#191--"Partyman" by Prince (from the movie Batman--1989)
Song #191* is featured prominently in the 1989 movie Batman, starring Jack Nicholson, Michael Keaton, Michael Caine and Kim Basinger in which Nicholson (as The Joker) wreaks havoc on the city of Gotham. "Partyman" was inspired by a meeting on-set between Prince and Nicholson, a big fan of the singer.
After meeting Vicki Vale (played by Basinger), The Joker and his minions deface exhibits in the Gotham City Art Museum. Nicholson instructs his goon Lawrence to start the tape on CD player, and "Partyman" plays in the background while The Joker and his crew do their evil deeds.
Keaton, who previously had been known mostly for comedic roles, such as Night Shift, Mr. Mom and Beetlejuice, proved he could do drama with Batman, which served him well in movies such as Birdman and Spotlight.
But the star is clearly Nicholson, who should have won Best Actor hands-down for his performance. It is one of the Academy Awards' biggest blunders of all-time. Many of Nicholson's best lines were ad-libs that he created on the spot or on his own.
"Partyman" reached #14 in the U.K. and #18 in the United States. Prince was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television. Batman received an Academy Award for Best Set Decoration and People's Choice Awards for Favorite Motion Picture and Favorite Dramatic Motion Picture while Nicholson received a much-deserved nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical from the Golden Globes.
Gentlemen, let′s broaden our mindsLaurence?Oh, yeah, yeahAll hail the new king in townYoung and old, gather 'round (yeah)Black and white, red and green (yeah, funky)The funkiest man you′ve ever seenTell you what his name isPartyman, PartymanRock a party like nobody canRules and regulations, no place in this nationPartyman, PartymanParty people say it now (yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)Somebody holla if you wanna party"Ladies and gentlemen, no pictures please"Get it up, oh yeahPartyman, P-PartymanGet it up, g-get it up, yeah"Oh, I love purple!"I rock the party, I rock the houseI rock the whole world north, east and southIn the west, seventeen horns blowin'Partyman, Partyman (lose me old boy)Get it up, sing!"All hail the new king in town!"Ain't nothin but a muffinWe got a lotta butter to go(Say I oughta knock you in, but don′t come, no)If it break when it bendYou better not put it inGet it up (ride ′em, boy)Partyman, P-Partyman (P-P-Partyman, Partyman)(Partyman, Partyman)Young and old, gather 'roundEverybody hail the new king in town
The first ten songs in our feature are in the books, or "in the can", as they would say in the movie industry. How many of the films have you seen? We'll let you catch up on your movie watching, then join us back here on Inside The Rock Era for the second installment of The Top 200 Movie Songs of the Rock Era*!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.