The Top Movie Songs of the Rock Era, Part Thirteen (#80-71)

 

Inside The Rock Era is bringing you the best and most impactful songs from movies!  Be sure to start from Part One*.  We're up to Part Thirteen*, bringing you ten more great cinema songs!

   

#80--"Theme from 'Shaft'" by Isaac Hayes (from the movie Shaft--1971)

Isaac Hayes wrote and performed this #1 song for the 1971 movie Shaft.  The single version was edited down and released two months after the movie's soundtrack album was released. 

Private detective John Shaft is hired by a mobster from Harlem to rescue his daughter from Italian mobsters who kidnapped her.  Richard Roundtree played Shaft with Moses Gunn and Charles Cioffi also starring.

Roundtree not only starred in Shaft but four of its sequels as well as the two-year television series of the same name.  Roundtree also starred in the TV series Roots, Generations and Beverly Hills, 90210.  

Hayes played a significant role in the famous Stax Records in the 60's--he was the in-house songwriter with partner David Porter and also played as a session musician and producer.  Hayes and Porter wrote "Soul Man" and "Hold On, I'm Comin'" for Sam & Dave during this period as well as "Deja Vu" for Dionne Warwick in 1979.

Hayes was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005.  

"Theme from 'Shaft'" earned the Oscar for Best Original Song as Hayes became the first recipient of that award who both wrote and performed the song.  Hayes also won Grammy Awards for Best Instrumental Arrangement and Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special.  In 1999, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Shaft grossed $13 million at the box office.

Who's the black private dick that's a sex machine to all the chicks?
(Shaft)
You're damn right

Who is the man that would risk his neck for his brother man?
(Shaft)
Can you dig it?

Who's the cat that won't cop out when there's danger all about?
(Shaft)
Right on

They say this cat Shaft is a bad mother
(Shut your mouth)
But I'm talkin' 'bout Shaft
(Then we can dig it)

He's a complicated man
But no one understands him but his woman
(John Shaft)

#79--See You Again by Wiz Khalfia & Charlie Puth (from the movie Furious 7--2015)

Rapper Wiz Khalfia recorded this track with Charlie Puth, who co-wrote the song with Cameron Thomaz, Justin Franks and Andrew Cedar, for use in the 2015 film Furious 7.  The quartet wrote it as a tribute to Fast & Furious actor Paul Walker, who died in an automobile crash in 2013.  

Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Kurt Russell and Tyrese Gibson also star.

Dominic Toretto (Diesel), Brian O'Conner (Walker) and team are recruited by Mr. Nobody (Russell) to prevent terrorist Mose Jakande (Hounsou) from having the hacking program called God's Eye.

Diesel became known for appearing in Saving Private Ryan in 1998.  He then played in Boiler Room, The Pacifier and the Fast & Furious series.  

Russell is one of a select few in history to make a successful transition from being a child actor to being an adult star.  He appeared in Disney classics like The Barefoot Executive and The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes as part of a ten-year contract he signed.  He then played Elvis Presley for the television movie Elvis in 1979, which earned him a nomination for a Primetime Emmy.  

Russell earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor--Motion Picture for his performance in Silkwood.  Kurt starred in Escape from New York and Escape from L.A., The Thing, Big Trouble in Little China, Overboard (with partner Goldie Hawn), Backdraft, Tombstone, Vanilla Sky, three installments of the Fast & Furious series, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and the new Christmas staples The Christmas Chronicles and The Christmas Chronicles 2.

"See You Again" spent 12 weeks at #1 in the U.S. and 2 at the top in the U.K., while also leading the way in Germany, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Austria and Switzerland.  It was nominated for Best Original Song at the Golden Globe Awards and Song of the Year, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Song Written for Visual Media at the Grammy Awards.

"See You Again" has gone over the 14 million mark in sales in the United States and over 23 million worldwide.

It's been a long day without you, my friend
And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again
We've come a long way from where we began
Oh, I'll tell you all about it when I see you again
When I see you again

Damn, who knew?
All the planes we flew, good things we been through
That I'd be standin' right here talkin' to you
'Bout another path, I know we loved to hit the road and laugh
But somethin' told me that it wouldn't last
Had to switch up, look at things different, see the bigger picture
Those were the days, hard work forever pays
Now I see you in a better place (see you in a better place)
Uh

How can we not talk about family when family's all that we got?
Everythin' I went through, you were standin' there by my side
And now you gon' be with me for the last ride

It's been a long day without you, my friend
And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again (I'll see you again)
We've come a long way (yeah, we came a long way)
From where we began (you know where we started)
Oh, I'll tell you all about it when I see you again (let me tell you)
When I see you again

Oh, oh
Ooh (yeah)

First, you both go out your way and the vibe is feelin' strong
And what's small turned to a friendship, a friendship turned to a bond
And that bond'll never be broken, the love will never get lost
(The love never get lost)
And when brotherhood come first, then the line'll never be crossed
Established it on our own when that line had to be drawn
And that line is what we reached, so remember me when I'm gone
(Remember me when I'm gone)

How can we not talk about family when family's all that we got?
Everythin' I went through, you were standin' there by my side
And now you gon' be with me for the last ride

So let the light guide your way, yeah
Hold every memory as you go
And every road you take
Will always lead you home, home

It's been a long day without you, my friend
And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again
We've come a long way from where we began
Oh, I'll tell you all about it when I see you again
When I see you again

Oh (uh), oh (yeah-yeah, yeah)
Ooh (yo, yo, uh)
When I see you again (see you again, yeah, yeah)
Oh (yeah), oh (yeah, yeah, oh-oh)
Ooh (uh-huh, yup)
When I see you again

 

#78--"The Sound Of Music" by Julie Andrews (for the movie The Sound of Music--1965)

Oscar Hammerstein II wrote the lyrics and Richard Rodgers the music for this incredible song at #78*.  Julie Andrews, who landed the role of aspiring nun Maria in the film version of The Sound of Music, opens the movie with this song after the camera pans shots of the Austrian Alps.  Maria is all caught up in the moment of enjoying life and nature in its fullest but alas, she realizes she is late at the abbey.  It is one of the most iconic openings in cinema history.

The Sound of Music originally appeared on stage in 1959 and is an adaptation of the 1949 memoir The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria von Trapp.  Set in Salzburg, Austria, it is a fictionalized retelling of Maria's story of how she came to be a governess to seven children, her eventual marriage to Captain Georg von Trapp (played by Christopher Plummer) and their escape from the Nazis in 1938.

The songwriting team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were an unstoppable force on Broadway in the 1940's and 50's, writing some of the best-known and most-loved soundtracks of all-time.  The duo wrote music for Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I and The Sound of Music.  Hammerstein (with Jerome Kern) also wrote the masterpiece musical Show Boat,

Rodgers and Hammerstein won 34 Tony Awards, 15 Academy Awards two Pulitzer prizes (for Oklahoma! and South Pacific) and two Grammy Awards.

Released in 1965, the movie played to universal acclaim, becoming the #1 film in four weeks.  By the end of the year, it was the top movie of the year and by November of 1966, The Sound of Music surpassed Gone with the Wind as the highest-grossing film of all-time.  It held on to that title for five years and is still among the all-time movie earnings champs when adjusted for inflation.  

The Sound of Music broke box office records in 29 countries and played in theatres for four-and-a-half years.  283 million people saw it during that time for a gross of $286 million.  For a 2025 movie to match that, that gross in 1965 is the equivalent of $2.88 billion today.

Richard Haydn starred as Max Detweiler, Peggy Wood superbly played Mother Abbess and Eleanor Parker played Baroness Elsa von Schraeder with Charmian Carr (Liesl), Nicholas Hammond (Friedrich), Heather Menzies (Louisa), Duane Chase (Kurt), Angela Cartwright (Brigitta), Debbie Turner (Marta) and Kym Karath (Gretl) playing the von Trapp children.

The Sound of Music won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Sound, Best Film Editing and Best Musical Score and was nominated for Best Actress for Andrews, Best Supporting Actress for Wood, Best Cinematography, Best Set Decoration and Best Costume Design.  At the Golden Globe Awards, it earned honors for Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical, Best Actress - Comedy or Musical for Andrews, Best Director and Best Supporting Actress for Wood.

The hills are alive
With the sound of music,
With songs they have sung,
For a thousand years.

The hills fill my heart,
With the sound of music.
My heart wants to sing every song it hears.
My heart wants to beat like the wings
Of the birds that rise from the lake
To the trees.
My heart wants to sigh
Like a chime that flies
From a church on a breeze,
To laugh like a brook when it trips and falls
Over stones on its way,
To sing through the night,
Like a lark who is learning to pray.

I go to the hills
When my heart is lonely.
I know I will hear
What I heard before.
My heart will be blessed
With the sound of music
And I'll sing once more.

 

#77-"Star Wars (Main Title)" by John Williams and the London Symphony Orchestra (from the movie Star Wars:  A New Hope--1977)

Not all are going to recognize every song in this list, but this next entry is instantly known by nearly every human on the planet.  Composed by the brilliant John Williams and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, it ushered in what has become the greatest franchise in history when it played over the movie summary in the first Star Wars film (A New Hope) in 1977, just has it did for the next eight movies in the series.  By the way, a movie song doesn't rack up points for every movie it appeared in, just the first one.

The initial thriller starred Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, who turned out to be the pivotal player throughout, with the great Harrison Ford as Hans Solo, Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia, Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anthony Daniels as C3PO, Kenny Baker as R2D2, Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca, Peter Cushing playing Grand Moff Tarkin, commander of the Death Star, and the unforgettable voice of James Earl Jones as Darth Vader.

Few outside of producer George Lucas and the cast thought the movie would do well and even Lucas may not have anticipated its worldwide impact--Star Wars (A New Hope) opened in just a few theaters, but did so well that the number of theaters expanded.  When all the numbers were counted in its initial run, the movie had grossed $410 million, topping Jaws as the highest-grossing film of all-time.

Subsequent re-releases have boosted the worldwide total to $775 million.

Ford, who had been in several films before Star Wars, saw his career take off after the original Star Wars trilogy (also including The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi). He appeared in American Graffiti in 1973 and The Conversation in 1974, then parlayed his newfound notoriety from Star Wars into another blockbuster franchise beginning with Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981 and continuing with the series finale in 2023.  

Ford has also starred in the Blade Runner franchise, Apocalypse Now, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, Witness (which earned him a Best Actor nomination), The Mosquito Coast, Working Girl, Presumed Innocent, the classic The Fugitive, Air Force One, What Likes Beneath and K-19:  The Widowmaker.

Harrison is one of the highest-grossing actors in the world (his movies have grossed $4.7 billion) and has won five Golden Globe Awards and an Oscar  and received the Cecil B. DeMille Awards and the AFI Life Achievement Award.  

Ford is also a licensed pilot and often helps emergency services out in rescue missions near his home in Wyoming.

Lucas  founded not only two of the greatest franchises in movie history (Star Wars and Indiana Jones) but also Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound, pioneering the way Hollywood makes action films.  Lucas became known just four years after graduating from the University of Southern California when he wrote and directed American Graffiti in 1973.  

His next film was Star Wars, which became the biggest-grossing film of all-time, followed by The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.  Lucas then teamed with Steven Spielberg to create, produce and co-write Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Temple of Doom and The Last Crusade.  

After re-releasing the Star Wars trilogy with modifications to take advantage of improved technology, Lucas directed the Star Wars prequels--The Phantom Menace in 1999, Attack of the Clones in 2002 and Revenge of the Sith in 2005. Lucas has thus directed or written 10 of the Top 100 movies of all-time and through his technological production companies has been involved with nearly every big movie from the 1980's to 2012, when he sold them to Disney.

Despite all this, the Motion Picture Academy has seen fit just to "nominate" him for a grand total of four awards, their combined jealousy evident for the world to see.

"Star Wars" (Main Title)" reached #10 in the United States (#10 on the Adult Contemporary chart) and #13 in the Canada.  Meco also had a big worldwide hit with his disco version, one that is ineligible for this special as it was neither featured in the movie nor the movie soundtrack.

The song would rank much lower based on an analysis of its chart position, sales and awards, and at the end of this special we will unveil the rankings based on the song itself.  In this special, we alter the rankings slightly taking into account each song's appearance in their corresponding movies and the song's impact in that movie and in this case, the fact that this song transcends popular culture as well.

The "Star Wars" Soundtrack has sold over 1 million copies and reached #2 on the Album chart.  The movie was selected by the U.S. Library of Congress as one of 25 films to preserve for the National Recording Registry in 1989, and the soundtrack was added to the U.S. National Recording Registry in 2004.

Star Wars (A New Hope) would have grossed $2.16 billion in today's dollars in its first year alone.  Factor in inflation for the total box office gross of $775 million and we're talking well over $3 billion.  The Star Wars films in total have now grossed a phenomenal $10.2 billion during their initial runs, with merchandise sales adding an estimated $29 billion to the total worth of the franchise.

 

 #76--"Tears In Heaven" by Eric Clapton (from the movie Rush--1991)

Guitarist and artist Eric Clapton wrote this in collaboration with Will Jennings to portray the sense of loss Eric felt when his four-year old son Conor died after falling from a 53rd-floor New York City apartment belonging to a friend of Conor's mother.  The song appears on the 1991 soundtrack to the movie Rush.  According to Jennings, Clapton wrote the lyrics for the first verse and then asked him to write the rest.

Rush is the story of two undercover police officers  who become drug addicts and, by order of the chief of police, falsify evidence.  It stars Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jason Patric.

In addition to "Tears In Heaven", Jennings wrote "My Heart Will Go On" for Celine Dion (a winner of Song and Record of the Year), "Higher Love", "The Finer Things" and "Back In The High Life Again" with Steve Winwood, "Up Where We Belong" for Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes, "Looks Like We Made It" and "Somewhere In The Night" for Barry Manilow, "I'll Never Love This Way Again" for Dionne Warwick and "Where Are You Christmas?" for Faith Hill.  Jennings won two Golden Globe Awards, two Academy Awards and three Grammys and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.  

"Tears In Heaven" vaulted to the Top 10 in over 20 countries (including #1 in Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, Denmark, Argentina, Brazil, Japan and Iceland and #2 in the United States).  The song earned Double Platinum status for selling over 2 million copies.  It won Grammy Awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, a Billboard Award for Best-Selling Soundtrack Single and a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Original Song.

Would you know my name if I saw you in heaven?
Would it be the same if I saw you in heaven?
I must be strong and carry on,
'Cause I know I don't belong here in heaven.

Would you hold my hand if I saw you in heaven?
Would you help me stand if I saw you in heaven?
I'll find my way through night and day,
'Cause I know I just can't stay here in heaven.

Time can bring you down, time can bend your knees.
Time can break your heart, have you begging please, begging please.

Beyond the door there's peace I'm sure,
And I know there'll be no more tears in heaven.

Would you know my name if I saw you in heaven?
Would it be the same if I saw you in heaven?
I must be strong and carry on,
'Cause I know I don't belong here in heaven.

 

#75--"Purple Rain" by Prince (from the movie Purple Rain--1984)

Prince wrote both the music and lyrics to this next winner, the title song from his movie Purple Rain in 1984.  The title came from the lyrics to America's 1972 hit "Ventura Highway".  Purple Rain is another soundtrack with three songs in The Top 100*.  

In the movie, Prince plays The Kid, lead singer of The Revolution.  He's had a troubled time growing up and escapes from his problems by rehearsing every night at the First Avenue nightclub.  Morris Day and the Time are another of three groups which own the most favorable time slots at the venue, but Day wants to upset the apple cart and undermine The Revolution.  

The song landed at #1 in Finland, Scotland and the Netherlands, #2 in the U.S., #3 in Canada and Australia, and #6 in the U.K.  and has gone Gold in the U.S. with over 2 million sales worldwide.  Prince took home the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.  Following Prince's death in 2016, "Purple Rain" re-entered the chart and peaked at #4 in the U.S.  

The "Purple Rain" Soundtrack is among The Top Soundtracks of the Rock Era*, holding on to the #1 position on the Album chart for 24 weeks and remaining a top-seller for 167 weeks.  The album has gone over the 13 million mark in U.S. sales, with 25 million units sold globally and captured the American Music Award for Top Soundtrack, an Oscar for Best Original Score  and the Grammy for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special.  

The movie grossed over $70 million at theaters.  

I never meant to cause you any sorrow
I never meant to cause you any pain
I only wanted one time to see you laughing
I only wanted to see you laughing in the purple rain

Purple rain, purple rain
Purple rain, purple rain
Purple rain, purple rain
I only wanted to see you bathing in the purple rain

I never wanted to be your weekend lover
I only wanted to be some kind of friend, hey
Baby, I could never steal you from another
It's such a shame our friendship had to end

Purple rain, purple rain
Purple rain, purple rain
Purple rain, purple rain
I only wanted to see you underneath the purple rain

Honey, I know, I know, I know times are changin'
It's time we all reach out for something new, that means you too
You say you want a leader, but you can't seem to make up your mind
And I think you better close it and let me guide you to the purple rain

Purple rain, purple rain
Purple rain, purple rain (ooh!)
If you know what I'm singin' about up here, come on, raise your hand
Purple rain, purple rain
I only want to see you, only want to see you in the purple rain

 

#74--"9 To 5" by Dolly Parton (from the movie Nine to Five--1981)

The great and lovable Dolly Parton recorded this song that she wrote herself for the movie in which she starred in, 9 to 5.  Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin starred with Parton about office workers trying to overcome (or even put up with!) the prejudices of their boss (played by Dabney Coleman).

The movie title pays tribute to 9to5, a group organized in 1973 to secure fair pay and treatment for female workers.

You'll hear the clacking sound of a typewriter in the background of this song.  Parton told Steven Chupnick of MovieWeb that she came up with that sound by running her acrylic fingernails back and forth against one another.  Guitarist Jeff Baxter of Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers and longtime session musician Larry Knechtel are among those backing Parton on the track.

Fonda has been a fixture in entertainment for over six decades.  She made her debut in 1960 and starred in Cat Ballou, Barefoot in the Park, winning Best Actress honors for Klute and Coming Home, starring in The Electric Horseman, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, the classic The China Syndrome, On Golden Pond, 9 to 5 and Monster-in-Law.

On Broadway, Fonda was nominated for a Tony for Best Featured Actress in a Play for There Was a Little Girl in 1960 and won the Tony for 33 Variations in 2009.   She also became known for exercise tapes, with her Jane Fonda's Workout becoming the top-selling videotape at the time.

Jane has won seven Golden Globe Awards, two Academy Awards, two Tony Awards and a Primetime Emmy.  She has won the Cecil B. DeMille Award, the AFI Life Achievement Award and the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.

Parton is another much-loved entertainment star of 60 years.  She has transcended the much-smaller Country format and crossed over to broader success many times.  Dolly has written over 3,000 songs, led by "I Will Always Love You", which became the #1 Song of the Rock Era when Whitney Houston covered it.  

Dolly has starred in 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, each getting Best Actress nominations, as well as Steel Magnolias.

"9 To 5" became a #1 smash in the United States and Canada and has gone over the 3-million mark in sales in the U.S.  and over 5 million worldwide.  The tune, which is one of The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*, earned an Academy Award and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song, a nomination at the Grammys for Song of the Year and the People's Choice Award for Favorite Song from a Motion Picture.

Parton also co-owns The Dollywood Company, which includes the Dollywood theme park, the Splash Country water park and several dinner theatre venues.

The soundtrack was nominated for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television at the Grammy Awards.

9 to 5 earned a gross of $103 million, with Parton nominated for Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical and New Star of the Year in a Motion Picture - Female.

Tumble outta bed and I stumble to the kitchen
Pour myself a cup of ambition
And yawn and stretch and try to come to life
Jump in the shower and the blood starts pumpin'
Out on the street the traffic starts jumpin'
The folks like me on the job from nine to five.

Workin' nine to five, what a way to make a living
Barely gettin' by it's all takin' and no givin'
They just use your mind and they never give you credit
It's enough to drive you crazy if you let it
Nine to five, for service and devotion
You would think that I would deserve a fair promotion
Want to move ahead but the boss won't seem to let me
I swear sometimes that man is out to get me.

They let you dream just to watch 'em shatter
You're just a step on the boss-man's ladder
But you got dreams he'll never take away
You're in the same boat with a lotta your friends
Waitin' for the day your ship'll come in
Then the tide's gonna turn and it's all gonna roll your way.

Workin' nine to five what a way to make a livin'
Barely gettin' by it's all takin' and no givin'
They just use your mind and you never get the credit
It's enough to drive you crazy if you let it
Nine to five, yeah, they got you where they want you
There's a better life and you think about it, don't you
It's a rich man's game no matter what they call it
And you spend your life puttin' money in his wallet.

Nine to five, whoa, what a way to make a livin'
Barely gettin' by it's all takin' and no givin'
They just use your mind and they never give you credit
It's enough to drive you crazy if you let it.

Nine to five, yeah, they got you where they want you
There's a better life and you dream about it, don't you
It's a rich man's game no matter what they call it...

 

#73--"Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds (from the movie The Breakfast Club--1985)

Up next, the smash hit from the movie which should be required viewing for high school students.  Of course, with the marijuana scenes and language, no high school teacher would be allowed to show it to their students.  But all high school students should see it.  It is the best movie ever about high school life.

Keith Forsey and Steve Schiff co-wrote it for Simple Minds for use in the landmark movie The Breakfast Club.  It's featured prominently at both the beginning and the climatic end of the film.

The Breakfast Club is unique in that it takes place in a single day at a high school, when five students have to attend a Saturday detention because of various things they did.  They drive the school official assigned to watch them crazy, but the incredible value of the movie is showing how not only five very different people can grow to accept each other (what a lesson for the world), but that they all have more in common than it may seem.  

They start out making fun of each other but by the end of the day after talking and really listening to each other, they reach a deep understanding of their classmates and why each is the way they are; in other words, they are all unique human beings.

The movie features a superb cast of Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy, Anthony Michael Hall, Molly Ringwald and Judd Nelson, some of the great up-and-coming young actors and actresses at the time.  Paul Gleason stars as Richard Vernon, the cocky vice president who perhaps also learns something that day.  John Kapelos' performance as janitor Carl Reed is also memorable.

Sheedy was one of the most-promising actresses at the time, starring in The Breakfast Club, St. Elmo's Fire, WarGames, Fear, High Art and Short Circuit.  At the age of 12, she wrote and published a book called She Was Nice to Mice, which became a bestseller.  Since 2021, Ally has been a professor of theater at the City College of New York.  

Simple Minds was at first reticent to record the song but Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders, the wife of Simple Minds' lead singer Jim Kerr, convinced him to do it.

Simple Minds made their first public appearance on January of 1978 at Glasgow, Scotland.  They released several albums before finally catching on with this song.

"Don't You (Forget About Me)" controlled the U.S. chart for three weeks and also hit #1 in Canada and the Netherlands.  It was a universal hit (#2 in Italy, #3 in New Zealand, Ireland and Greece, #5 in Austria, #6 in Australia, #7 in the U.K., #8 in Switzerland and #10 in South Africa) with over two million in worldwide sales.

The movie grossed $51 million in its time.  In 2016, The Breakfast Club was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."  Indeed.  

Hey, hey, hey, hey
Ooh, woah

Won't you come see about me?
I'll be alone, dancing, you know it, baby

Tell me your troubles and doubts
Giving everything inside and out and
Love's strange, so real in the dark
Think of the tender things that we were working on

Slow change may pull us apart
When the light gets into your heart, baby

Don't you, forget about me
Don't, don't, don't, don't
Don't you, forget about me

Will you stand above me?
Look my way, never love me
Rain keeps falling, rain keeps falling
Down, down, down

Will you recognize me?
Call my name or walk on by
Rain keeps falling, rain keeps falling
Down, down, down, down

Hey, hey, hey, hey
Ooh, woah

Don't you try and pretend
It's my feeling we'll win in the end
I won't harm you or touch your defenses
Vanity and security, ah

Don't you forget about me
I'll be alone, dancing, you know it, baby
Going to take you apart
I'll put us back together at heart, baby

Don't you, forget about me
Don't, don't, don't, don't
Don't you, forget about me

As you walk on by
Will you call my name?
As you walk on by
Will you call my name?
When you walk away

Or will you walk away?
Will you walk on by?
Come on, call my name
Will you call my name?

I say
La, la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
When you walk on by
And you call my name
When you walk on by

 

#72--"Groovy Kind Of Love" by Phil Collins (from the movie Buster--1988)

Carole Bayer Sager and Toni Wine wrote Song #72*, originally performed by Diane & Annita in 1965 and remade into a #2 hit by the Mindbenders in 1966.  

Phil Collins thought the song would work well in the 1988 movie Buster in which he starred in and recorded a demo for the producers.  Those producers used the demo in the film, so Collins recorded a full version of the song to be released as a single and included on the film's soundtrack.

The Collins version differs from the 1966 hit in that the Mindbenders' version is much more upbeat and guitar-driven, while Collins' is a ballad featuring keyboard and strings.

Wine is a much-accomplished songwriter who not only wrote this song but also "Candida" for Tony Orlando and Dawn.  She attended the Juilliard School of Music and then worked as a songwriter for Screen Gems Publishing.  Wine also sang the female vocals for the cartoon music group the Archies on "Sugar, Sugar" and sang backing vocals on "Knock Three Times" for Tony Orlando and Dawn.  

"Groovy Kind Of Love" scored Top 10 placings nearly everywhere in the world, led by #1 spots in the U.S., United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark, Belgium, Portugal and South Africa.  The single has sold over one million units worldwide.

When I'm feelin' blue
All I have to do
Is take a look at you
Then I'm not so blue
When you're close to me
I can feel your heart beat
I can hear you breathing in my ear

Wouldn't you agree?
Baby, you and me got a groovy kind of love

Anytime you want to, you can turn me on to
Anything you want to, anytime at all
When I kiss your lips
Ooh, I start to shiver
Can't control the quivering inside

Wouldn't you agree?
Baby, you and me got a groovy kind of love

When I'm feelin' blue
All I have to do is take a look at you
Then I'm not so blue
When I'm in your arms, nothin' seems to matter
My whole world could shatter, I don't care

Wouldn't you agree?
Baby, you and me got a groovy kind of love
We got a groovy kind of love
We got a groovy kind of love
Oh-oh-oh

We got a groovy kind of love

 

 

#71-"Let's Go Crazy" by Prince (from the movie Purple Rain--1984)

Prince wrote this classic, the second of three in the Top 100*, for his 1984 movie Purple Rain, 

"Let's Go Crazy" was a #1 smash in one of the best years for music in the Rock Era and it has sold one million in the U.S. and 2 million globally.

As mentioned above, the soundtrack was #1 on the Album chart for 24 weeks and has sold over 25 million copies worldwide.  It captured an American Music Award for Top Soundtrack, the Academy Award for Best Original Score  and the Grammy for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special.  

Purple Rain had a box office gross of $70 million.

Dearly beloved
We are gathered here today
To get through this thing called "life"
Electric word, life
It means forever and that's a mighty long time
But I'm here to tell you there's something else
The afterworld
A world of never ending happiness
You can always see the sun, day or night

Let's go crazy (woo)
Let's go crazy
Let's go crazy
Let's go crazy

If you don't like
The world you're living in
Take a look around
At least you got friends
You see I called my old lady
For a friendly word
She picked up the phone
Dropped it on the floor
Ah, ah is all I heard

Are we gonna let the elevator bring us down?
Oh no, lets go

Let's go crazy
Let's get nuts
Let's look for the purple banana
Until they put us in the truck, let's go

Oh yeah, yeah ,yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, there it is
Yeah, yeah, no, no (oh yeah)

All excited (all excited)
Don't know why (I don't know why)
Maybe it's 'cause
We're all gonna die
When we do
What's it all for? (What's it all for?)
Better live now
Before the Grim Reaper comes knocking on your door

Tell me, are we gonna let the elevator bring us down?
Oh no, let's go

Let's go crazy (let's go crazy)
Let's get nuts (let's get nuts)
Let's look for the purple banana
Until they put us in the truck, let's go

C'mon, baby
Let's get nuts
Yeah
Oh (Crazy)

Are we gonna let the elevator bring us down?
Oh no, let's go

Let's go crazy (let's go crazy)
Let's get nuts (let's get nuts)
Let's look for the purple banana (let's look)
Until they put us in the truck, let's go ('til they put us in the truck)
Let's go

Dr. Everything'll be alright
Make everything go wrong
Oh
Yeah yeah, let's go

The cream of the crop is coming up in our presentation of The Top 200 Movie Songs of the Rock Era*, exclusively on Inside The Rock Era!