25. The Crystals - Then He Kissed Me

Adventures in Babysitting (1987)

24. Alanis Morissette - Uninvited

City of Angels (1998)

City of Angels is an English language romance film directed by Brad
Silberling. The film stars Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan.  The story follows
Seth, who is one of many Angels that watches over and protects humans in
unseen ways.  The movie portrays angels in a somewhat traditional role
without referencing a specific faith.  City of Angels earned almost $200
million at the worldwide box office.

The City of Angels soundtrack reached number one on the U.S. chart.  It was
the seventh-best-selling album of 1998 in the U.S.  The record spawned two
hit singles.  The Goo Goo Dolls' Iris and Alanis Morissette's Uninvited.
Uninvited was Morissette's first recording since her successful debut
Jagged Little Pill.  The song reached the top of the U.S. Mainstream chart.
In October 2007, the Freemasons remixed the Morissette vocal as a dance
music track which entered the UK singles chart at #8 and the Dutch single
charts at #4.

23. Madonna - This Used to be my Playground

A League of Their Own (1992)

A League of Their Own is a 1992 comedy-drama film that tells a fictionalized
account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
(AAGPBL).  The movie is directed by Penny Marshall and stars Geena
Davis, Tom Hanks, Madonna, Rosie O'Donnell, and Lori Petty.  This Used
to Be My Playground is a song performed by Madonna.  It was used as the
theme for the film.  Released in the summer of 1992, the single was a
worldwide hit.  It topped the U.S. singles chart, becoming Madonna’s tenth
#1 hit.  The track was featured in the film, but was not made available on the
soundtrack.  This Used to be my Playground also reached #1 in Canada,
Italy, and Sweden.  The song entered the Top 10 in many other areas of the
world. 

22. The Shins - New Slang

Garden State (2004)

Garden State is a 2004 film written, directed by, and starring Zach Braff.  The
movie also features Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, and co-stars Sir Ian
Holm. The film centers around Andrew Largeman, a 26-year-old actor/waiter
who returns to his hometown in New Jersey after his mother dies.  The title
alludes to both the nickname for New Jersey and to lines from Andrew
Marvell's poem The Garden.  The film contains many allusions to the similar
coming of age film The Graduate (1967), most notably the opening airplane
scene that both pictures share.

Garden State spawned a popular soundtrack for which Braff, who picked the
music himself, won a Grammy award.  Braff is quoted as saying
"Essentially, I made a mix CD with all of the music that I felt was scoring my
life at the time I was writing the screenplay.”  The music in the film features a
number of indie-rock artists, most notably The Shins.  In an early scene,
Sam passes Andrew a headset which is playing the song New Slang by The
Shins and says "You gotta hear this one song; it’ll change your life.  I
swear."  New Slang is a song that was released as a 7" single in 2001, and
subsequently appeared on The Shins album Oh, Inverted World.  The single
didn’t achieve mainstream popularity until the release of the Garden State
soundtrack.  

Beetlejuice is a 1988 comedy horror fantasy film directed by Tim Burton.
The plot revolves around a recently dead couple who become ghosts
haunting their former home, a quiet house on a hill overlooking the fictional
town of Winter Rivers, Connecticut. The movie stars Alec Baldwin, Geena
Davis, Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Jeffrey Jones, Sylvia Sidney, and
Michael Keaton.  The Beetlejuice soundtrack, first released in 1988, features
mostly instrumental pieces, but also includes two Harry Belafonte songs
which appear in the film, Day-O and Jump in the Line.

Day-O is a traditional Jamaican mento folk song, which became
internationally recognized through Harry Belafonte’s cover.  It is a song from
the point of view of dock workers on the night shift loading bananas onto
ships.  In Beetlejuice, Day-O is used during a funny scene where the new
inhabitants of the house become possessed by the song’s rhythm.  The
acting in this scene is great.   

20. Jon Bon Jovi - Blaze of Glory

Young Guns II (1990)

Young Guns II is a 1990 western film, and the sequel to Young Guns (1988).
It stars Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, and
Christian Slater.  The movie follows the life of William H. Bonney aka Billy
the Kid in the years following the Lincoln County War in which Billy was part
of "The Regulators," a group of around six highly skilled gunmen avenging
the death of John Tunstall.  Emilio Estevez originally approached Jon Bon
Jovi to ask him for permission to include the song Wanted Dead Or Alive on
the film’s soundtrack.  Bon Jovi didn't feel the song’s lyrics were appropriate;
however, he was inspired by the project and created a new song for the film
that would be more in keeping with the period and setting.

He quickly wrote the song Blaze of Glory, and offered it up to Estevez for
inclusion in the film.  The song went on to reach No. 1 on the U.S. and
Australian singles chart.  It headlined the Young Guns II soundtrack.  Blaze
of Glory remains a crowd favorite with Bon Jovi fans, despite the fact that
the song wasn't released as one of the band's singles.  The song is also
notable for the performance of rock legend Jeff Beck on guitar.  In October
2005, Blaze of Glory was voted as "Best Song to Ride a Horse to in Slow
Motion" by Blender Magazine.  

19. Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama

Forrest Gump (1994)

Forrest Gump is a 1994 American comedy-drama film based on the 1986
novel of the same name by Winston Groom.  The film is directed by Robert
Zemeckis and stars Tom Hanks, Robin Wright Penn, and Gary Sinise.  The
story is of Forrest Gump, a simple man who comes from Alabama.  The film
follows his journey through life, meeting historical figures, influencing popular
culture, and experiencing firsthand historic events of the late 20th century.
Forrest Gump is one of the most successful pictures ever made, grossing
$677 million worldwide during its theatrical run.

The soundtrack and musical score created for the film are great.  Many
classic rock hits from the 1950s, 60s, and 70s are included on the double
CD release.  Short segments from numerous songs are used in the movie.  I
have included Lynyrd Skynyrd’s hit Sweet Home Alabama.  The song first
appeared on the bands 1974 album Second Helping.  Despite controversy,
it reached #8 on the US charts. 

18. B.J. Thomas - Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a 1969 American Western film that
tells the story of bank robbers Butch Cassidy (played by Paul Newman) and
his partner The Sundance Kid (played by Robert Redford).  The movie
grossed over $100 million at the box office and was the top grossing film of
1969.  Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head is a song written by Hal David
and Burt Bacharach for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.  The single
received the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1969.

On the soundtrack it was performed by B. J. Thomas and quickly became a
#1 hit in the U.S.  The tune was covered by French singer Sacha Distel,
whose version was a hit in the United Kingdom as well as France.  In the
film, Etta Place goes for a bike-ride with Butch during a dialogue-free
musical interlude of Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head. 

17. Peter Gabriel - In Your Eyes

Say Anything (1989)

Say Anything is a 1989 romance film written and directed by Cameron
Crowe.  It marked Crowe's directorial debut.  In 2002, Entertainment Weekly
ranked Say Anything as the greatest modern movie romance.  The film
ranked #11 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the fifty best high school
movies.  Perhaps the most iconic scene in the film takes place near the end
when main character Lloyd stands outside Diane's bedroom window, holding
a boombox over his head while Peter Gabriel's In Your Eyes plays.  The
scene has been referenced in popular culture many times over the years.  In
Your Eyes peaked at #26 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. and was not
released as a single in the UK.

16. Stealers Wheel - Stuck in the Middle

Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Reservoir Dogs is a 1992 crime film that is the debut direction of Quentin
Tarantino.  The movie depicts the events before and after a botched jewel
heist, although the heist itself is not shown.  Reservoir Dogs stars an
ensemble cast with Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth, Michael
Madsen, Chris Penn, and Lawrence Tierney.  The film has become a cult
hit.  It was named the "Greatest Independent Film of all Time" by Empire
Magazine.  The Reservoir Dogs soundtrack features music mostly from the
1970s.

In one of the movies most famous scenes, a police officer is tortured and
killed by a member of the gang.  The song Stuck in the Middle by Stealers
Wheel is featured in the clip.  Stuck in the Middle was a successful single for
the band, selling over one million copies.  In 1973, the song peaked at #6 on
the U.S. singles chart and #8 in the UK.

15. Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode

Back to the Future (1985)

Back to the Future is a 1985 film directed by Robert Zemeckis, and produced
by Steven Spielberg.  The film stars Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly, as well
as Christopher Lloyd, Crispin Glover, and Lea Thompson.  Back to the
Future tells the story of Marty McFly, a teenager who is accidentally sent
back in time from 1985 to 1955. He meets his parents in high school,
accidentally attracting his mother's romantic interest.  Marty must repair the
damage to history, while finding a way to return to 1985.

One of the classic scenes of the movie involves Marty’s cover of Chuck
Berry’s Johnny B. Goode.  The scene is widely referenced in popular
culture.  Johnny B. Goode is a 1958 rock and roll song composed by Chuck
Berry.  It is one of Berry's most important songs, being listed as #7 on
Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.    

14. Aerosmith - Sweet Emotion

Dazed and Confused (1993)

Dazed and Confused is a 1993 movie written and directed by Richard
Linklater.  The film has a large ensemble cast of future movie stars, including
Matthew McConaughey, Jason London, Ben Affleck, Milla Jovovich, Parker
Posey, and Adam Goldberg.  Dazed and Confused depicts a group of
teenagers during their final day of school in 1976.  The film grossed less
than $8 million at the U.S. box office, but in recent years has achieved cult
film status.  Director Quentin Tarantino included the picture on his list of the
10 greatest films of all time.

The title of the movie is derived from the Led Zeppelin song of the same
name.  Movie producers approached surviving members of the band to ask
for permission to use their songs in the film, but, while Jimmy Page agreed,
Robert Plant refused.  The Dazed and Confused soundtrack is composed of
some great 70’s rock music.  Sweet Emotion is a song by American rock
band Aerosmith.  It was released in 1975 as the first single from the band's
breakthrough album Toys in the Attic.  Sweet Emotion is used as the
opening music for Dazed and Confused.  However, it was not featured on
the soundtrack.     

13. Deniece Williams – Let’s Hear it for the Boy

Footloose (1984)

Footloose is a 1984 film that tells the story of Ren McCormack, played by
Kevin Bacon.  Ren is a teenager who was raised in Chicago.  He moves to
a small rural town where the local government has banned dancing and rock
music.  If Ren and his classmates want to have a senior prom with music
and dancing then they must face the Reverend Shaw Moore, played by John
Lithgow, who blames rock music's influence for the death of his first child.

The movie was loosely based on events that took place in the tiny, farming
community of Elmore City, Oklahoma.  The Footloose soundtrack is one of
the most successful in film history.  It reached #1 on the U.S. Pop Album
chart on April 21, 1984, where it stayed until June 30, 1984.  The soundtrack
produced two #1 hit singles, Kenny Loggins' Footloose and Deniece
Williams' Let's Hear it for the Boy.  Let’s Hear it for the Boy peaked at #2 in
the UK.    

12. Roy Orbison - Oh, Pretty Woman

Pretty Woman (1990)

Pretty Woman is a 1990 American romantic comedy film.  The movie was
written by J.F. Lawton and directed by Garry Marshall.  It stars Richard
Gere, Julia Roberts, and Hector Elizondo.  Pretty Woman's plot centers on
down-on-her-luck Hollywood prostitute Vivian Ward who is hired by a
wealthy businessman, Edward Lewis to be his escort for several business
and social functions.  Originally intended to be a dark drama about
prostitution in New York, the film was reconceptualized into a romantic
comedy with a broader budget.  Pretty Woman was a critical success and
became one of 1990's highest grossing films, and today is one of the most
financially successful entries in the romantic comedy genre.

Pretty Woman is noted for its musical selections and hugely successful
soundtrack.  The film features the song Oh, Pretty Woman by Roy Orbison,
which inspired the film's title.  Another track, Roxette's It Must Have Been
Love, reached #1 on the U.S. singles chart in June 1990.  Oh, Pretty
Woman was a hit single for Roy Orbison in 1964.  Orbison posthumously
won the 1991 Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for his
live recording of the song on his HBO television special Roy Orbison and
Friends, A Black and White Night.  Julia Roberts is smoking  hot in the
included video. 

11. Audrey Hepburn - Moon River

Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)

Breakfast at Tiffany's is a 1961 American film starring Audrey Hepburn and
George Peppard.  The movie was directed by Blake Edwards and was
released by Paramount Pictures.  It was loosely based on the novella of the
same name by Truman Capote.  Hepburn's portrayal of Holly Golightly as
the naïve, eccentric gold digger is generally considered to be her most
memorable and identifiable role.  Her performance of Moon River during the
film helped composer Henry Mancini and lyricist Johnny Mercer win an
Oscar for Best Song in 1961.

Moon River also won the 1962 Grammy Award for Record of the Year.  It
became the theme song for Andy Williams, who first recorded it in 1961 and
performed it at the Academy Awards ceremonies in 1962.  Audrey Hepburn's
version of Moon River was not included in the Breakfast at Tiffany’s movie
soundtrack.  Instead an album version was recorded by Mancini and his
chorus.  In 1961, Mancini’s version was released as a single and peaked at
#11 on the U.S. singles chart.  Moon River was also covered by South
African singer Danny Williams.  His version reached #1 in the UK. 

10. Simple Minds – (Don’t You) Forget About Me

The Breakfast Club (1985)

The Breakfast Club is a 1985 American teen comedy film written and
directed by John Hughes.  The storyline follows five teenagers (each a
member of a different high school clique) as they spend a Saturday in
detention together and come to realize that they are all deeper than their
respective stereotypes.  The movie has become a cult classic and has had
a tremendous influence on many coming of age films.  The Breakfast Club
soundtrack was a popular release, which was headlined by Simple Minds
(Don’t You) Forget About Me.  The song was written specifically for the
film.  It was a successful singe and became a defining tune of the 1980s.
The song reached the top of the U.S., Canadian, and Dutch singles chart,
peaking at #7 in the UK.  It is used many times in the movie.     

9. Berlin - Take My Breath Away

Top Gun (1986)

Top Gun is a 1986 action film directed by Tony Scott.  This movie stars Tom
Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Anthony Edwards, Val Kilmer, Meg Ryan, and Tom
Skerritt.  Cruise plays Lieutenant Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, a young Naval
aviator on board the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise.  The movie depicts
Maverick's progress through the Top Gun training program, his romance with
a female instructor, and his overcoming of a crisis following a fatal training
accident.

The Top Gun soundtrack is one of the most popular soundtracks to date,
reaching #1 on The U.S. Pop Albums chart for five weeks.  Take My Breath
Away is the love theme used in the film.  It was performed by the American
band Berlin.  Take My Breath Away won the Academy Award for Best
Original Song as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Song in 1987.  It
topped the singles chart in Ireland, the UK, and the U.S. in 1986. 

8. Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody

Wayne's World (1992)

Wayne's World is a 1992 comedy film starring Mike Myers as Wayne
Campbell and Dana Carvey as Garth Algar, hosts of the Aurora, Illinois-
based cable access television show Wayne's World.  The film was adapted
from a sketch on NBC's Saturday Night Live.  The film grossed $121.6
million in its theatrical run, placing it as the tenth highest-grossing film of
1992 and the highest-grossing film ever based on a Saturday Night Live
skit.  The opening scene of the movie is great.  It features Queen’s epic
masterpiece Bohemian Rhapsody.

In 1975, Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody became a major success, staying at
the top of the UK Singles Chart for nine weeks.  It reached number one
again in 1991, after Freddie Mercury's death, becoming the UK's third best
selling single of all time.  The song enjoyed renewed popularity in the U.S.
after the release of Wayne's World.  In connection with the film, a new video
of the song was released, intercutting excerpts from the film with footage
from the original Queen video, along with some live footage of the band.

Mike Myers was horrified that the record company had mixed clips from
Wayne's World with Queen's original video, fearing that this would upset the
band.  He said, "they've just whizzed on a Picasso."  He asked the record
company to tell Queen that the video was not his idea, and that he
apologized to them.  The band, though, sent a reply simply saying, "Thank
you for using our song."

7. Bruce Springsteen - Streets of Philadelphia

Philadelphia (1993)

Philadelphia is a 1993 film.  It was one of the first mainstream Hollywood
films to acknowledge AIDS, homosexuality, and homophobia.  It was written
by Ron Nyswaner and directed by Jonathan Demme.  The movie stars Tom
Hanks and Denzel Washington.  It was inspired by the story of Geoffrey
Bowers, an attorney who in 1987 sued the law firm Baker & McKenzie for
unfair dismissal in one of the first AIDS discrimination cases.  The film
grossed over $200 million around the world.

It won Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Tom Hanks) and
Best Song in a Motion Picture for Bruce Springsteen’s Streets of
Philadelphia.  The song was a major hit for Springsteen in 1993.  It headlines
a good Philadelphia soundtrack.  Streets of Philadelphia topped the singles
chart in France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, and Norway.  The song reached #2
in the UK and Switzerland, and peaked at #9 in the U.S.  It is used in the
opening credits of the movie. 

6. The Righteous Brothers - Unchained Melody

Ghost (1990)

Ghost is a 1990 drama and fantasy film starring Patrick Swayze, Demi
Moore, Tony Goldwyn, and Whoopi Goldberg.  The movie’s plot follows
Sam Wheat and Molly Jensen.  During the initial scenes, Sam is murdered,
but still remains on Earth as a ghost.  The suspicious nature of his murder
and his unquenched love for Molly gives Sam a reason to reconnect with his
lover.  The Ghost soundtrack was nominated for an Academy Award for
Best Original Score.  The album was almost entirely composed of
instrumental pieces, although The Righteous Brothers cover of Unchained
Melody was the title track.

In Ghost, Unchained Melody is featured during one of the most famous
movie love scenes, when Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore come together
on the pottery wheel.  Unchained Melody is one of the most recorded songs
of the 20th century and the Righteous Brothers version has been extremely
successful.  By some counts, Unchained Melody has spawned over 500
different versions in hundreds of different languages.  The movie Ghost has
inspired a musical stage version which will open in the West End in 2010.             

5. Survivor - Eye of the Tiger

Rocky III (1982)

Rocky III is a 1982 American film that is the third installment in the Rocky film
series.  It is written, directed, and stars Sylvester Stallone as the title
character.  In the film, Rocky's opponent is James "Clubber" Lang, played by
former bodyguard Mr. T.  Lang is a younger and more aggressive boxer
than Rocky.  He is brash, arrogant, outspoken, and immensely strong.  The
film's theme song is Eye of the Tiger.  It was written by the group Survivor at
the request of Stallone.

The record became a smash hit single, topping the US Billboard music chart
for six weeks.  Eye of the Tiger also reached number one on the UK, Irish,
and Australian charts.  It received an Academy Award nomination for Best
Original Song and won for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group.  The
mix of the song heard in the film features tiger growls, though these are
omitted on the film’s soundtrack and single versions.   

4. Elton John - Tiny Dancer

Almost Famous (2000)

Almost Famous is a 2000 comedy-drama film written and directed by
Cameron Crowe and telling the fictional story of a teenage journalist writing
for Rolling Stone magazine while covering the rock band Stillwater.  The film
is semi-autobiographical, as Crowe himself was a teenage writer for Rolling
Stone.  The movie is based on Crowe's experiences touring with rock bands
The Allman Brothers Band, Led Zeppelin, The Eagles, and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
The film was awarded the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Compilation
Soundtrack Album.

The soundtrack features over 50 songs, including rarely licensed Led
Zeppelin tracks, Simon and Garfunkel's America, Steely Dan’s Reelin’ in the
Years, Joni Mitchell’s River, and Elton John's Tiny Dancer.  In one of the
film's most memorable scenes, the cast of Almost Famous sings along with
Tiny Dancer while riding in the bands tour bus.  The message of the scene is
that any great song can bring people together, even if they are at odds.  Tiny
Dancer appears on Elton John's fourth album, Madman Across the Water,
and was released as a single in 1972.

3. Eminem - Lose Yourself

8 Mile (2002)

8 Mile is a 2002 American hip-hop drama biographical film, directed by
Curtis Hanson and starring Eminem, Kim Basinger, Brittany Murphy, and
Mekhi Phifer.  The film is a semi-autobiographical account of Eminem's
early years in relative poverty growing up in Detroit, and his career in rap.
The film was a financial success and was well received critically.  8 Mile
won an Academy Award for the Best Original Song for Eminem's Lose
Yourself, becoming the first film with a rap/hip-hop song to win an Academy
Award.

Lose Yourself was an international sensation and Eminem’s most successful
single to date.  The song reached #1 on a record 24 charts worldwide,
including Canada, France, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Romania, Switzerland,
and Sweden.  Lose Yourself is the most successful rap song of all time.  It
spent a record-breaking 12 weeks atop the U.S. and Australian singles chart,
the longest-running #1 of 2002.  It topped the UK and Eurocharts for over a
month.  It was the seventh most successful song of the decade in Australia.       

Flashdance is a 1983 romantic musical film that was the first collaboration of
producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer.  The movie follows 18-
year-old Alexandra (Alex) Owens, played by Jennifer Beals.  Alex is a dancer
in a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, tavern at night and a welder at a steel mill
during the day.  She lives by herself in a converted warehouse with her pet
dog Grunt.  Her aspiration is to become accepted by a prestigious dance
school, the Pittsburgh Conservatory of Dance and Repertory.

The film’s soundtrack spawned several hit songs, among them Maniac
performed by Michael Sembello and Flashdance... What a Feeling by Irene
Cara.  What a Feeling was an international hit and won the Academy Award
and Golden Globe for Best Original Song in 1984.  It reached the #1 spot in
the United States, Australia, Italy, Japan, Sweden, Norway, and Canada.
The song peaked at #2 in the UK and was the 25th best-selling single of
1983 in the UK.  The song appears twice in the film, during the opening title
sequence and as the backing for Alex's audition routine in the final
sequence.  

1. Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes - The Time of My Life

Dirty Dancing (1987)

Dirty Dancing is a 1987 romantic film written by Eleanor Bergstein and
directed by Emile Ardolino.  The film stars Patrick Swayze and Jennifer
Grey.  The movies story is a coming of age drama that documents a
teenaged woman's rebellion against her father by starting a relationship with
a dance instructor during a family summer vacation.  Almost a third of the
film involves dance scenes choreographed by Kenny Ortega.

The Dirty Dancing soundtrack is one of the best-selling records in history and
the final scene has been described as "the most goosebump-inducing dance
scene in movie history.”  In the scene, Johnny and Baby dazzle the audience
with a stunning dance performance to the song The Time of My Life.  The
song reached the top of the Australian, Dutch, and U.S. singles chart.  It
peaked at #2 in Canada, #5 in Germany and Ireland, and #6 in the UK.

One More:

Mary J. Blige - Not Gon' Cry

Waiting to Exhale (1995)

Waiting to Exhale is a 1995 romance film starring Whitney Houston and
Angela Bassett.  It was directed by Forest Whitaker.  The movie’s plot
centers on four female friends living in the Phoenix, Arizona area and their
relationships with men and one another.  The movie is notable for having an
all African American cast.  The tagline for the film is “Friends are the people
who let you be yourself... and never let you forget it.”  The soundtrack to the
film featured many female artists.

Five singles on the album reached the top 10 in the United States, including
Exhale (Shoop Shoop), sung by Whitney Houston, Sittin Up In My Room by
Brandy, and Not Gon' Cry by Mary J. Blige.  Not Gon' Cry was written and
produced by Babyface and became a major hit for Blige, reaching #2 on the
U.S. singles chart.  It reached #12 in New Zealand and peaked at #39 in the
UK. 

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