TMS Spotlight: The Importance of Movie Soundtracks
(Paramount Pictures)
NOTE: This article was originally written for The Times of San Diego in 2017
Film soundtracks are a great way for new music artists to get quick exposure, especially in this day and age when radio could go obsolete at any moment. Back in the silent era, soundtracks weren’t even a thing, with a pianist literally accompanying the movie while it was shown. Then by the time ‘talkies’ existed, film scores became a big, sweeping thing in epic studio films like Merian C. Cooper & Ernest B. Schoedsack’s King Kong (1933), James Whale’s Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Victor Fleming’s Gone with the Wind (1939). Disney’s Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs (1937) had the first full-length soundtrack released for the public, while Fleming’s The Wizard of Oz (1939) would have the first soundtrack released that also incorporated the movie’s dialogue.
It wouldn’t be until around the mid-1950s when popular songs made an appearance in Hollywood movies with hits like Richard Brooks’ Blackboard Jungle (1955) which would feature Bill Haley & the Comets’ ‘Rock Around the Clock’ as the opening song, and help jump start the rock & roll genre in the US. Richard Thorpe’s Jailhouse Rock (1956) starring Elvis Presley quickly became a smash between the King’s natural star quality and the catchy theme song. Flash forward a decade and James Bond theme songs also have their own successes like Shirley Bassey’s title song for Guy Hamilton’s Goldfinger (1964), and later on Wings’ theme on Hamilton’s Live and Let Die (1973) and Carly Simon’s ‘Nobody Does It Better’ from Lewis Gilbert’s The Spy Who Loved Me (1978). 1967 would be a big year for movie soundtracks with Simon & Garfunkel’s iconic songs in Mike Nichols’ The Graduate, as well as Lulu’s title song for James Clavell’s To Sir with Love and Dionne Warwick’s theme for Mark Robson’s Valley of the Dolls.
The Bee-Gees coined the record breaking smash hit soundtrack for John Badham’s Saturday Night Fever (1977), with eight original songs for the feature. But the 1980s would be the defining decade for music artists collaborating with Hollywood. The usually underappreciated new wave band Oingo Boingo embraced movie theme songs like ‘Weird Science’ for the 1985 John Hughes flick with the same name or ‘Dead Man’s Party’ for Alan Metter’s Back to School (1985). Huey Lewis & the News’ biggest hit, ‘The Power of Love,’ debuted during the opening of Robert Zemeckis’ Back to the Future (1985); a movie which also gave Chuck Berry’s legacy a boost by featuring ‘Johnny B. Goode’ during a pivotal sequence. Ray Parker Jr. made a name for himself with the theme for Ivan Reitman’s Ghostbusters (1984); and Kenny Loggins became the king of film soundtracks with a triple whammy: ‘I’m Alright’ for Harold Ramis’ Caddyshack (1980), the title song for Herbert Ross’ Footloose (1984) and ‘Danger Zone’ for Tony Scott’s Top Gun (1986).
In modern times, movie theme songs, original or already existing, are still a thing, like the indie band Family of the Year featuring their song ‘Hero’ in Richard Linklater’s Boyhood (2014); or the Raveonettes’ ‘Recharge & Revolt’ in Andrea Arnold’s American Honey (2016). For me, movie soundtracks have become my go-to to discover new music artists in the last decade or so, and I hope the exposure continues on.