Movie Soundtracks

Movie Soundtracks Come Into Their Own

Once upon a time the only movie music albums that anyone would buy were from musicals like The Sound of Music, West Side Story, and South Pacific. How do you solve a problem like Maria? You let her listen to a collection of songs from her favorite musicians on one album.

It was during the late sixties and early seventies that the movie tune album started to take the shape into what we recognize it by today. Even as early as 1976, it was still the musical that ruled the soundtrack sales, with the Grease soundtrack setting sales records, but one movie would soon change that and turn three brothers from Australia into the hottest act on the charts. The movie was Saturday Night Fever - the same one that made a certified star out of John Travolta (the first time around) - and made the Bee Gees into an overnight sensation as opposed to a throw-away act from the sixties. If anyone who remembers listening to the radio in the summer of '76 says he or she can hear the opening measures of Staying Alive and not want to strut, that person is most certainly a liar, no matter how many Death Before Disco T-shirts he or she may have worn in the past.

The Saturday Night Fever soundtrack was an anomaly as compared to the movie soundtracks of today, since it was all music by primarily one act, the Bee Gees. Most of today's soundtracks feature tunes that span both artists and genres, but over the years, there have been others that featured one main act. Most notable in this category are the 1989 Batman soundtrack (Prince), the soundtrack to Harold and Maude (Cat Stevens - but few people actually bought it), and the 1991 soundtrack to the abysmal Dick Tracy (Madonna) which was one of two soundtracks in recent memory to be dubbed as including "music from and inspired by" the movie. Just how Dick Tracy inspired Vogue is anyone's guess, but Madonna's performance in the film is the best thing about it - and that's saying something. The other was the 1987 Queen effort which included music from and inspired by Highlander. Gimme the prize!

Was That Song In The Movie?

One interesting development in movie soundtracks is that they often feature songs that viewers can not recollect having heard in the film. In today's world a second and a half of the song playing on a radio in the background but obscured by an actor's voice is enough to land the track on the soundtrack album. This is not a totally new development, however. The soundtrack album for The Wizard of Oz includes the track Jitterbug, which was cut from the film. Likewise, the soundtrack from the film version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show includes the song Super Heroes, which was also from a scene that was cut and only a snippet of the tune is heard in most prints of the film.

Top Selling Movie Soundtracks

The Bodyguard

Whitney Houston's rendition of that friggin' song we all got tired of hearing (I Will Always Love You) drove this one to sell over 17 million copies. It also features Aaron Neville, Lisa Stansfield, Joe Cocker, and others.

Saturday Night Fever

In 1977 it topped the charts. In 1978 it topped bonfires as America decided that disco sucks. Regardless of whether they melted on people's turntables or their fireplaces, 15 million of us shelled out seven bucks (at the time) for Saturday Night Fever.

Purple Rain

The year was 1984 and the world was purple as Prince claimed the start of his purple reign. Now, twelve years later, he has fought with his name, his record company, and his religious beliefs to the point where he only releases music via the internet but still sells out concerts any time he decides to perform. His Purple Majesty sold some 13 million copies of the Purple Rain soundtrack when he saw little Nicki grind.

Dirty Dancing

The movie's combination of Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Gray grinding against each other sold plenty of tickets and the popularity of (I Had) The Time of My Life conspired to sell lots of CDs. 11 million copies of the soundtrack to Dirty Dancing were sold. There were lots of us dancing dirty back then.

Titanic

In 1997 James Cameron was king of the world and Celine Dion was his queen, belting out the heart-wrenching song My Heart Will Go On and refusing to sink, no matter what. 11 million copies of the Titanic film soundtrack are in various cargo holds around the world.

The Lion King: Special Edition

Hakuna Matata! Ten million copies of The Lion King: Special Edition were sold!

Footloose

All roads lead to Kevin Bacon and, although he was in several films prior, it was this one that made him a star. The soundtrack features lots of songs by lots of people, including one guy that would have no career if not for film soundtracks, Kenny Loggins. 9 Million copies of Footloose were danced to.

In an interesting note of trivie, Kevin Bacon lucked into the role of Ren MacCormack in the movie because Christopher Atkins was originally signed to the part. He later backed out. Atkins was in The Blue Lagoon with Brooke Shields who was in Freeway with Kiefer Sutherland who was in Phone Booth with Colin Ferrell, who was in Minority Report with Tom Cruise who was in A Few Good Men with... Kevin Bacon.