Taking you back to much better times, Inside The Rock Era continues our look at the best songs from 70 years of movies with Part Eight*. Some great songs in this segment!
#130--"Angel" by Sarah McLachlan (from the movie City of Angels--1998)
We kick off this segment off with this song, written and sung by Sarah McLachlan. She wrote it about the death of musician Jonathan Melvoin of the Smashing Pumpkins from a heroin overdose. "Angel" was the fourth single from her album Surfacing, released in September of 1998 after gaining notoriety in the film City of Angels, which was released in March. It is one of 37 cinema songs from the 90's to make this special.
City of Angels is an excellent movie starring Nicholas Cage and Meg Ryan that tells the story of an angel (Seth, played by Cage) who falls in love with a Doctor Maggie Rice (Ryan) while observing her in the course of his role as an angel who meets people when they die and guides them to the next life. Cage desires to become human so he can be with Ryan and with the help of a patient of Ryan (Dennis Franz, who has already made the transition from an angel to a human), Cage falls to Earth and initiates the human experience.
Though Cage's movie choices can sometimes be suspect, no one can doubt his acting ability and he has accounted for many good films during his career--The Cotton Club, The National Treasure series, Peggy Sue Got Married, Moonstruck, the Ghost Rider series, Raising Arizona and The Rock.
McLachlan has been one of the brightest stars to come from Canada, She learned how to play the ukulele when she was four. The period that included the albums Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, Surfacing and Afterglow was her peak. "Building A Mystery" earned Sarah Best Pop Female Vocal Performance and helped the album Surfacing sell an astonishing 16 million copies worldwide. Sarah also released the Christmas album Wintersong--her versions of Joni Mitchell's "River" and the holiday standard "O Little Town Of Bethlehem" are particularly noteworthy.
As for this song, Darryl McDaniels of DMC was so moved by "Angel" that it inspired him to reassess his life and career.
"Angel" dominated the Adult Contemporary chart for 12 weeks, ending the year 1999 as the #1 Adult song of the year. It also peaked at #4 on the Popular chart in the U.S. and #7 in Canada. It went Gold in the U.S.
The soundtrack album reached #2 for three weeks and has now sold over 5.5 million units in the United States alone and 7 million worldwide. It also hit #1 in Australia, New Zealand and Switzerland.
City of Angels racked up $198 million in box office receipts. Cage won a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actor while Ryan was nominated for Favorite Actress and Franz picked up a nomination for Favorite Supporting Actor.
#129. "The Streets Of Philadelphia" by Bruce Springsteen (from the movie Philadelphia--1993)
Written and performed by Bruce Springsteen, "The Streets Of Philadelphia" is featured in the 1993 movie Philadelphia, which stars Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington. Philadelphia is a heart-wrenching film about attorney Andrew Beckett (Hanks), who seeks the help of personal injury attorney Joe Miller (played by Washington) to sue his former employer, who fired him after finding out he was gay and had AIDS. Jason Robards, Mary Steenburgen, Antonio Banderas and Joanne Woodward round out a superb cast.
Springsteen recorded the demo of his song at Thrill Hill Recording in Beverly Hills, California. He sent the song to movie director Jonathan Demme who had requested it for the film. "My wife and I sat down and listened to it," Demme told author Christopher Sandford for the 1999 book SPRINGSTEEN Point Blank, "and we were literally weeping by the end."
Although the soundtrack version includes Ornette Coleman on saxophone and vocals by "Little" Jimmy Scott and Tommy Sims, Springsteen played all the instruments on the single and is the sole vocalist.
Springsteen is one of the most dynamic stage performers, putting every ounce of energy into his shows. All seven singles from his Born in the U.S.A. album from 1984 reached the U.S. Top 10, an unheard-of feat. He ranks #24 all-time in Inside The Rock Era's Top 100 Artists of the Rock Era* (1955-2023)
Hanks is one of a handful of megastars who hasn't let fame go to his head but has remained true to himself. His level-headedness, honesty and empathy are just some of the reasons he and his wife Rita Wilson have been married for 37 years.
While he rose up the ladder on mostly comedies, such as Splash, The Money Pit, Big, Forrest Gump, Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail and provided the voice for Sheriff Woody in the Toy Story franchise, Hanks has more than proven his mettle in dramas such as Philadelphia, Saving Private Ryan, Apollo 13, The Green Mile, Charlie Wilson's War, Captain Phillips, Catch Me If You Can, Bridge of Spies and The Post. And one can count on one hand the number of actors who could carry an entire movie by himself the way Hanks did in Cast Away.
Hanks has won four Golden Globe Awards, two Academy Awards and seven Emmy Awards and every organization has recognized his career body of work--Tom has received Kennedy Center Honors, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award and the AFI Life Achievement Award. His 49 films have grossed nearly $10 billion at the box office. And, he is a relative of the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln.
The single went all the way to #1 in Canada, Germany, Austria, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway and Italy and reached #9 in the U.S. It has sold over 1 million in the United States and is approaching 3 million in global sales. Springsteen captured both the Golden Globe and the Academy Award for Best Original Song and took home Grammys for Song of the Year, Best Rock Song, Best Male Rock Vocal Performance and Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television. It is also included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
The soundtrack reached the Top 10 in several countries and has gone Platinum in the U.S. and is over 2 million in worldwide sales.
Philadelphia grossed $206.7 million worldwide, the 9th highest-grossing film of 1993 and was nominated for five Oscars with Hanks winning Best Actor at both the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards.
#128. "Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman?" by Bryan Adams (from the movie Don Juan DeMarco--1995)
Another famous Canadian, Adams wrote this song with Michael Kamen and producer Robert "Mutt" Lange for the 1995 movie Don Juan DeMarco, which stars Johnny Depp, Marlon Brando and Faye Dunaway. Flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia's work on the track is a major part of its success.
"Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman?" was a #1 smash for five weeks in the U.S., also reaching the top in Canada, Australia, Austria and Switzerland and the Top 10 in 21 countries. It has exceeded 1 million in worldwide sales.
The melody is used throughout the movie and Adams' song is featured over the closing credits.
Depp plays John DeMarco, who believes he is the best lover in the world. DeMarco seeks psychiatric treatment from Dr. Jack Mickler, played by Brando to cure him of his delusion. But several people on the staff are inspired by DeMarco, including Mickler himself, who reignites the flame in his own marriage.
Lange made a name for himself in 1979 and 1980 when he produced the back-to-back AC/DC albums Highway to Hell and Back in Black, the latter of which is currently the #2 album seller of all-time. Lange also produced Foreigner 4 in 1981, their best career album, the Cars' Heartbeat City, the top album of 1984, and the monumental Def Leppard Hysteria as one of four albums Mutt produced for that great group.
Another major achievement for Lange was producing one of Bryan Adams' career-best albums, Waking Up the Neighbours in 1991, with its 16 weeks at #1. In 1997, Lange produced then-wife Shania Twain's album Come On Over, the top-selling studio album ever by a female artist and the ninth-top-selling album in U.S. History. Lange has also written and/or produced for Celine Dion, Heart, Tina Turner, Huey Lewis & the News, Lady Gaga, Michael Bolton, Maroon 5 and Billy Ocean.
Depp's films have grossed $8 billion, with the large portion of that coming from his Pirates of the Caribbean series and his iconic portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow. Depp has also starred in Chocolat, Edward Scissorhands, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
"Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman?" was nominated for Best Original Song at the Golden Globes, the Grammys and the Academy Awards.
Don Juan DeMarco finished its theatre run with $68 million gross.
You gotta know her deep inside
Hear every thought, see every dream
And give her wings when she wants to fly
Then when you find yourself lying helpless in her arms
You know you really love a woman
When you love a woman, you tell her that she's really wanted
When you love a woman, you tell her that she's the one
'Cause she needs somebody to tell hеr that it's gonna last forever
So tell mе, have you ever really, really, really ever loved a woman?
To really love a woman, let her hold you
'Til you know how she needs to be touched
You gotta breathe her, really taste her
'Til you can feel her in your blood
And when you can see your unborn children in her eyes
You know you really love a woman
When you love a woman, you tell her that she's really wanted
When you love a woman, you tell her that she's the one'Cause she needs somebody to tell her that you'll always be together
So tell me, have you ever really, really, really ever loved a woman? (Yeah)
But you got to give her some faith, hold her tight
A little tenderness, you gotta treat her right
She will be there for you, taking good care of you
You really gotta love your woman, yeah
And when you find yourself lying helpless in her arms
You know you really love a woman
When you love a woman, you tell her that she's really wanted
When you love a woman, you tell her that she's the one
'Cause she needs somebody to tell her that it's gonna last forever
So tell me, have you ever really, really, really ever loved a woman? (Yeah)
Just tell me, have you ever really, really, really ever loved a woman? (Oh)
Just tell me, have you ever really, really, really ever loved a woman?
#127. "Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins (from the movie Top Gun--1986)
"Danger Zone" was written by Tom Whitlock with music from Giorgio Moroder for the 1986 movie Top Gun, one of the quintessential 80's films. Tom Cruise stars as Lieutenant Pete "Maverick" Mitchell on the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. Maverick and his radar intercept officer, Lieutenant Nick "Goose" Bradshaw (played by Anthony Edwards) are selected to train at the U.S. Navy's Fighter Weapons School in San Diego, California.
While on a training exercise, Goose is killed and Maverick blames himself for the tragedy. Although Maverick is cleared in an inquiry of the incident, his confidence is shaken and he must first decide to continue flying and then to regain that confidence. Kelly McGillis is Cruise's love interest while Val Kilmer, Meg Ryan and Tom Skerritt also appear.
After enjoying the hit "Your Mama Don't Dance" with Jim Messina, Loggins went on to great solo success with songs such as "This Is It", "Whenever I Call You Friend" "Conviction Of The Heart" and many others. In addition to co-writing the smash hit "What A Fool Believes", the Grammy Song of the Year, Kenny became known as a dependable artist for movie soundtracks, of which "Danger Zone" is just one example. Add in "Footloose", 'I'm Alright", "For The First Time" and "Meet Me Half Way" and you have a good producer of quality cinema songs.
Moroder is credited with bringing Euro disco and electronic dance music into the forefront of popular culture. His work with synthesizers in the 70's and beyond were a major influence on New Wave, Synth-Pop and Techno music.
He was the producer behind many of Donna Summer's best career hits, including "Last Dance", "Hot Stuff, "Bad Girls", "Dim All The Lights" and "I Feel Love". Moroder released his own albums and composed and recorded the pulsating "Chase", the theme from Midnight Express. Giorgio also composed movie soundtracks and scores such as American Gigolo and Superman III. Moroder has also written songs for Irene Cara ("Flashdance"), Janet Jackson, Blondie, Berlin ("Take My Breath Away") and many others.
Moroder's Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany have been utilized by the Rolling Stones, Elton John, Led Zeppelin, ELO, Queen and others. Moroder has won four Golden Globes, three Oscars, four Grammys and has over 100 Gold and Platinum records.
1986 is well represented in this special with six songs--"Danger Zone" was a solid #2 in the United States, #6 in Switzerland and #7 in Canada that has sold over 1 million copies worldwide. It was also featured in the 2022 sequel Top Gun: Maverick.
The "Top Gun" Soundtrack was the top-selling soundtrack of 1986 and one of the best-selling in history, holding on to #1 on the Album chart for 5 weeks in the U.S., also reaching the top of the charts in Germany, Switzerland and Finland and landing in the Top 10 in 14 countries. It has sold over 9 million in the United States and 12 million globally.
Top Gun grossed $357 million and received five Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, with a win for Best Sound. The movie was also nominated for Best Motion Picture - Drama at the Golden Globes. In 2015, the U.S. Library of Congress honored the film for preservation in the National Film Registry.
#126. "La Bamba" by Los Lobos (from the movie La Bamba--1987)
Here's the title track from the 1987 movie La Bamba, which tells the story of singer Ritchie Valens. The song has its origins in the 17th century and criticized the late, unsuccessful efforts of the viceroy of Mexico to defend citizens of Veracruz from pirates. Valens recorded the song in 1958 and it hit #1 in Canada but stopped at #22 in the U.S.
The cover by Los Lobos landed at #1 all over the world, including the United States, the U.K., Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. The phenomenal chart success is countered by sales that have not yet topped one million.
Lou Diamond Phillips plays Valens, who comes from a poor family but aspires to be a rock star. Ritchie joins the Silhouettes and becomes their lead singer. Record executive Bob Keane is impressed by Valens at a performance and signs him to a recording contract.
Valens is an instant star and after hearing "La Bamba" at a club in Tijuana, Mexico, decides to record it. After performing at Alan Freed's Rock 'n' Roll Show in Brooklyn, New York, Ritchie joins the Winter Dance Party tour with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper, among others. After a concert in Clear Lake, Iowa, the tour bus breaks down so Holly chartered a plane to fly to the next tour stop in Moorhead, Minnesota. The plane takes off during a snowstorm on February 2, 1959, but crashes in one of the most tragic moments of the Rock Era, killing everyone on board including Valens, Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper.
Los Lobos hails from East Los Angeles. They formed when lead singer and guitarist David Hidalgo and drummer Louie Pérez met and began writing songs together. The group played at hundreds of weddings and dances early in their career. It's worth checking out their debut album for Warner Brothers--How Will the Wolf Survive?
The "La Bamba" Soundtrack reached #1 in the U.S., Canada and France and has sold over 2 million units.
La Bamba was nominated for Best Picture - Drama at the Golden Globe Awards while its title track was nominated for Song of the Year at the Grammys.
Bamba, bamba
Bamba, bamba
Bamba
Para bailar la bamba
Para bailar la bamba
Se necesita una poca de gracia
Una poca de gracia pa' mí pa' ti
Ay y arriba y arriba
#125. "I'm Alright" by Kenny Loggins (from the movie Caddyshack--1980)
We just heard from Kenny Loggins at #127*. Here's another motion picture soundtrack winner from Kenny--"I'm Alright" from the 1980 movie Caddyshack. Loggins wrote this one with Eddie Money contributing backing vocals.
The song appears prominently in the movie showing a troublesome animated gopher popping up in several places on a golf course, all the while avoiding the desperate efforts of the mentally unstable greenskeeper Carl Spackler (expertly played by Bill Murray) to exterminate him. The hilarious movie is the story of high school student Danny Noonan (played by Michael O'Keefe), who is trying for a caddie scholarship but becomes involved in a feud between one of the country club's founders and an arrogant guest (Al Czervik, played by Rodney Dangerfield). Noonan is working as a caddie at the Bushwood country club, which caters to well-to-do clientele.
Noonan usually caddies for Ty Webb, played by Chevy Chase, but volunteers to caddie for Judge Elihu Smails (played by Ted Knight), the club's co-founder and director of the caddie college scholarship program that will decide Noonan's fate.
They were big stars in the Golden Era of Saturday Night Live, and Chevy Chase and Bill Murray are a major reason Caddyshack caught on in such a big way.
Chase became a writer and cast member of The National Lampoon Radio Hour that featured Murray as well as other SNL stars John Belushi and Gilda Radner. Chase was the first and best anchor for "Weekend Update" on Saturday Night Live whose line "I'm Chevy Chase...and you're not." is memorable. No one had an answer for that. He excelled at physical comedy and his pratfalls became known as "The Fall of the Week".
Chevy starred in the great comedy Foul Play as well as Modern Problems, National Lampoon's Vacation and National Lampoon's European Vacation, Fletch, Spies Like Us and Amigos.
Murray went from a star of SNL to a movie star with films like Caddyshack, Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II, Lost in Translation, The Monuments Men, Scrooged and Tootsie, and will of course always be remembered for his role in Groundhog Day.
Caddyshack grossed $40 million and was lauded by ESPN as "perhaps the funniest sports movie ever made".
"I'm Alright" reached #5 in Canada and #7 in the U.S.
#124. "Let It Go" by Idina Menzel (from the movie Frozen--2013)
The 2013 blockbuster animated movie Frozen features "Let It Go", written for Idina Menzel by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. Menzel provides the voice for Queen Elsa, who was forced to flee her kingdom when she accidentally revealed her power to make snow and ice in public in a temporary moment of anger.
Unbeknownst to Elsa, her power trapped the kingdom in a permanent winter with her icy powers. According to "Inside Frozen: inside Disney's billion-dollar social media hit" in London's The Daily Telegraph, the songwriters saw Elsa's character as "a scared girl struggling to control and come to terms with her gift."
While in the mountains far away from her subjects, Elsa creates a living snowman named Olaf and builds an ice castle. Meanwhile Anna, princess of Arendelle with Kristen Bell providing Anna's voice, sets out on a mission to find her sister. Anna leaves Hans, a prince from the Southern Isles, in charge while she is gone. He appears to be trustworthy and both Anna and Elsa were attracted to him, but there is more to Hans than is initially apparent. Along the way, Anna meets an iceman named Kristoff, a reindeer named Sven and Olaf.
The multi-talented Menzel began her Broadway career in the Rock musical Rent, which gave her a Tony Award nomination. She also played Elphaba in the Broadway musical Wicked, which earned her the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical. Menzel played on the television series Glee and also has released seven albums, with her Holiday Wishes in 2014 peaking at #6.
Jonathan Groff (as the iceman), Josh Gad (as Olaf) and Santino Fontana (as Hans) also lend voices to the movie's characters.
"Let It Go" peaked at #1 in the Philippines but mysteriously only reached #38 in the U.S. despite 1 million units sold in its first year. The song has now gone over 2 million in worldwide sales and earned Best Original Song at the Oscars and the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media while being nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Original Song.
The "Frozen" Soundtrack hit #1 in multiple countries, including the United States, the U.K., Canada, Australia and New Zealand and has sold over 10 million copies worldwide, with 4 million of those in the U.S. It won the Grammy for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media and the score was nominated for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media.
Frozen was a phenomenon, grossing over $1.28 billion worldwide to become the fifth highest-grossing movie of all-time. It won both the Golden Globe as well as the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film.
#123. "The Main Event/Fight" by Barbra Streisand (from the movie The Main Event--1979)
Bruce Roberts and Paul Jabara wrote "The Main Event/Fight" for Barbra Streisand for the 1979 movie The Main Event, which stars Streisand opposite Ryan O'Neal.
Streisand plays perfume magnate Hillary Kramer who is financially destroyed when her accountant embezzles from her and flees to South America. Kramer finds a management contract that was purchased as a tax write-off with a boxer who is now a driving instructor. Desperate to recover her losses, Hillary forces Eddie "Kid Natural" Scanlon, played by O'Neal, back in the ring.
Jabara co-wrote "Last Dance" for Donna Summer and "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)".
Streisand is one of the biggest combined music, movie and stage performers the world has ever known. Sporting a career that now spans six decades, Barbra became the first performer in history to win a Grammy, an Oscar, an Emmy and a Tony award.
From the moment people first heard that powerful voice on her debut album, folks sat up and took notice, with that LP capturing the Grammy for Album of the Year. She was the first woman to have 11 albums top the U.S. Album chart and she is the only artist to enjoy a #1 album in each of six decades. Streisand has given us classics like "The Way We Were", "Evergreen", "You Don't Bring Me Flowers", "Woman In Love" and many more.
Barbra has also captivated theater-goers with movies such as Funny Girl (reprising her role in the Broadway play), Hello, Dolly!, What's Up, Doc?, A Star Is Born and Yentyl (for which she became the first female to win the Golden Globe for Best Director).
Streisand has won 10 Grammys, including the Legend Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award, nine Golden Globes, five Emmys and two Academy Awards, as well as the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
"The Main Event/Fight" climbed to #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart and got as high as #3 for four weeks in the U.S. overall, while peaking at #5 in Canada. The song won a People's Choice Award for Favorite Theme Song from a Motion Picture and was nominated for Best Original Song at the Golden Globes. The single has sold over 1 million copies while the movie's soundtrack went Gold.
The movie raked in $42 million in its theatrical run.
#122. "Separate Lives" by Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin (from the movie White Nights--1985)
Stephen Bishop, who we heard in The Top Movie Songs of the Rock Era Prelude* and is best known for his 1977 hits "On And On" and "Save It For A Rainy Day", wrote "Separate Lives" for the 1985 movie White Nights. Bishop wrote the song about his breakup with actress Karen Allen. "I write much better when I'm heartbroken and sad or melancholy," Bishop said. Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin recorded the song.
White Nights refers to the sunlit summer nights of Leningrad, which is now Saint Petersburg, a city which sits a few degrees below the Artic Circle.
White Nights follows the story of Nikolai "Kolya" Rodchenko, a Russian ballet dancer who had previously defected from the Soviet Union but was captured after his plane crashed in Siberia. KGB officer Colonel Chaiko arranges for tap dancer Raymond Greenwood to keep an eye on Kolya while both train to dance at the season opening night at the Kirov. Chaiko also uses former ballerina Galina Ivanova, a former lover of Kolya, to entice him to cooperate.
Mikhail Baryshnikov plays Kolya with Gregory Hines as Greenwood and Helen Mirren as Ivanova. Geraldine Page and Jerzy Skolimowski co-star.
Hines made his movie debut in History of the World, Part I, and also starred in The Cotton Club, Running Scared, Waiting to Exhale and The Preacher's Wife as well as the television series Will & Grace.
Hines was an outstanding dancer, actor and choreographer, and one of the best tap dancers of his generation. He successfully advocated for the creation of National Tap Dance Day, now celebrated in 40 cities in the U.S. and eight other countries.
Collins has given us "Against All Odds", "Another Day In Paradise, "One More Night", "Two Hearts" "You'll Be In My Heart" and "In The Air Tonight", and with Genesis, "Invisible Touch", "Throwing It All Away", "Land Of Confusion", "Turn It On Again", "That's All", "No Son Of Mine", "I Can't Dance", and many others.
Add up the success of Genesis and the solo career of Collins and you have one of the top artists of all-time, and certainly one of the 1980's biggest stars. Collins is one of only eight people (Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Diana Ross, Paul Simon, Michael Jackson, Beyonce and Lionel Richie being the others) who is ranked in The Top 100 Artists of the Rock Era* as both a solo artist and a member of a group.
"Separate Lives" was a #1 smash in the U.S., Canada and Ireland that also reached #4 in the U.K. Bishop was nominated for Best Original Song at the Academy Awards but lost to Lionel Richie's "Say You, Say Me", also from White Nights.
White Nights grossed $42 million and was nominated for Best Original Score.
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