songs whose fame has long since eclipsed that of the movie they originally appeared in

1-2-3-go!

'Up Where We Belong' from An Officer and a Gentleman

White Christmas, "Holiday Inn"
We're in the Money, "Gold Diggers of 1933"
etc

'Invincible' from The Legend of Billie Jean

"Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

You'll Never Walk Alone, "Carousel"

'Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)' from the Man Who Knew Too Much

"Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

― ban this sick stunt (anagram), Saturday, July 16, 2011 5:41 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark

you think? the movie is pretty well-loved today.

'When I'm Cleaning Windows' from Keep Your Seats Please

Seal's "Kiss from a Rose" -- originally single before Batman Forever but that's when it became big

"Ben" from Ben
"Eye of the Tiger" from Rocky III
"Say You Say Me" from White Nights

you think? the movie is pretty well-loved today

true, that one might be arguable but I would still contend the song is more famous than the film

'I Believe I Can Fly' from Space Jam

Every single song on Purple Rain

haha Parade too!

you think? the movie is pretty well-loved today.

Oh yeah, I feel like a lot more people would recognize that song before they would the movie.

bernard hermann whistle song orig from twisted nerve comes 2 mind

"Blues Theme" from The Wild Angels
"You Light Up My Life" from film of same title
"Theme from Valley of The Dolls"
"Theme from A Summer Place"
All the Magical Mystery Tour songs
"Knocking on Heaven's Door" from Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid
"Late In The Evening" from One-Trick Pony

Car Wash by Rose Royce. I've rarely seen the film mentioned.

"Chariots of Fire" - swear this played on repeat for 30 mins at Kroger today.

"The Morning After" from the Poseidon Adventure.

"FM" by Steely Dan

"My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys" from The Electric Horseman

Wasn't "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies..." a film theme?

"Tears In Heaven" from Rush

Endless Love - Lionel Richie / Diana Ross. Song was the biggest of Ross' career, nobody has bothered to release the film on DVD yet.

There are probably quite a few from the forties / fifties musical canon that have endured after the films have fallen out of favour. Tammy by Debbie Reynolds and It's Foolish But It's Fun by Deanna Durbin come to mind.

'dueling banjos' likely

'Together in Electric Dreams' from, uh, Electric Dreams.

"Georgy Girl" by the Seekers. I don't think anybody still cares about the film; I still love the song, so the song wins 1-0.

We're in the Money, "Gold Diggers of 1933"

Gold Diggers of 1933 has been a film school staple for decades, esp. for the climactic "Forgotten Man" number.

"The Theme from A Man and A Woman"

Aaliyah's "Are You That Somebody?" from the Dr. Doolittle soundtrack

"Something He Can Feel" from Sparkle.
"Trouble Man" from film of same name.
"I Just Called To Say I Love You" from The Woman In Red.

'dueling banjos' likely

― bear, bear, bear

disagree with this. though it precedes the movie by almost 20 years, it is forever linked to the film (even if most of the Michael Scott types who still find the joke funny haven't actually seen it)

yeah, missed the "originally" in the thread title so my bad there

Will Smith's "Wild Wild West"

"Going Back To Cali" from Less Than Zero

"Lose Yourself" from 8 Mile?

A bunch of Elvis songs, not just themes but also stuff like "Return To Sender" & "Wooden Heart".

was gonna suggest beyonce's 'check on it' from that pink panther thing but i guess it didn't end up on the soundtrack? didnt see the movie but the video had hella steve martin fr sure

"We Have All the Time in the World" from On Her Majesty's Secret Service

The song was not registered in the music rating charts in the UK when first released, only becoming well known 25 years later, as part of a Guinness beer commercial after My Bloody Valentine chose to cover it for charity.

cannot parse leap from guinness to mbv

Maria McKee, "Show Me Heaven" - Days of Thunder, right?

Think "Unchained Melody" wins this.

Think "Unchained Melody" wins this.

― Stevie T, Sunday, July 17, 2011 10:45 AM (34 minutes ago) Bookmark

There are songs like I Only Have Eyes For you that I think began in 1920s or 30s films or stageshows that are much better known in later versions. There's a history of stageshow songs becoming adopted into the folk canon too. think that broadens the remit of the question though.

& yeah, think Unchained Melody dates back quite a way to early film musicals or beyond doesn't it?

Do You Know Where You're Going To? - Theme from Mahogany

Rock Me Amadeus

B-Real, Coolio, Method Man, LL Cool J And Busta Rhymes - Hit Em High (from Space Jam)

'Together in Electric Dreams' from, uh, Electric Dreams.

Came here to post this. I didn't even know it was from a movie until a couple of weeks ago when I was playing it doing the washing up and my wife came out and was like "why are you playing the theme song from Electric Dreams?"

Ha! I always knew it was from a film, but had to go look up what that film was called, despite it actually being in the name of the song.

Gold Diggers of 1933 has been a film school staple for decades, esp. for the climactic "Forgotten Man" number.

While I do agree that Gold Diggers of 1933 remains a famous film, particularly for people who attend 'film school', I think that there needs to be a bit of an ironing out of the thread concept before dismissing this suggestion. Because as I read it, there is no question that the song 'We're in the Money' is about 1000x as famous as the film, and thus is perfectly valid. However, if you want to go for "songs that are still famous even though nobody remembers the film", that is a different matter.

Hmm, does Morricone's main theme from "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly" count? Obv. linked to the film, but seems to get used in adverts / comedy sketches etc as a signifier of westerns / shootouts etc. Everyone knows the music, but does everyone know the film? (talking about normal people here, not ilxors)

I would say yes, the film is pretty much as famous as the music. People riff on the concept, the aesthetic, the title all the time. It's definitely still well within the public consciousness. Even if one edged out the other, 'eclipsed' would not be the word here.

Dr Dre - Keep Their Heads Ringin'

Aaliyah's "Are You That Somebody?" from the Dr. Doolittle soundtrack

Also, "Try Again" from Romeo Must Die

Jimmy Cliff - The Harder They Come

& yeah, think Unchained Melody dates back quite a way to early film musicals or beyond doesn't it?

No! Theme song for a prison drama called Unchained, and it's, um, just let me fetch my wikipedia, 1955. First thing that came into my head for this.

What's New Pussycat?

"Rock Around The Clock"

'I Believe I Can Fly' from Space Jam

i think this is the first one of these in my memory that i'd forgotten was anything to do with, you know, cartoon animals

the best i can come up with is the music the muppets used for the 'ma na ma na doo doo d'doo doo' bit

Came here to post this. I didn't even know it was from a movie until a couple of weeks ago when I was playing it doing the washing up and my wife came out and was like "why are you playing the theme song from Electric Dreams?"

Actually too bad it (the movie, that is) isn't remembered more fondly. It's a great movie, and a great soundtrack along with it.

Seal's "Kiss from a Rose" -- originally single before Batman Forever but that's when it became big

― Mordy, Saturday, July 16, 2011 6:45 PM (Yesterday)

The pop edit of Jewel's "Foolish Games" as well.

"live and let die"?

it's not like the movie is completely forgotten, but...

Play Misty for Me isn't forgotten--probably no Eastwood film post-Leone is--but Roberta Flack's version of "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" has certainly eclipsed it in terms of familiarity.

there is no question that the song 'We're in the Money' is about 1000x as famous as the film, and thus is perfectly valid. However, if you want to go for "songs that are still famous even though nobody remembers the film", that is a different matter.

But "eclipsed" in the thread title refers only to the latter reading, no? "As famous as" means the song has not eclipsed the film. Also, why the scare quotes around "film school"?

the best i can come up with is the music the muppets used for the 'ma na ma na doo doo d'doo doo' bit

Piero Umiliani, originally from some Swedish porno I can't remember the name of- I'd definitely say that counts.

id argue 'theme from new york, new york'

wait, is someone arguing that Golddiggers of 1933 is relatively as well known as "We're in the Money," a song used in countless tv ads?

yeah but it's kevin thingy bodega, he's mental

lol @ "kevin thingy bodega" - autocorrect or classic history mayne?

also knows more about film than anyone here

but probably to someone less acquainted with film history the song would seem more popular

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iAX0qyF9KU4/S1c8K63dbLI/AAAAAAAAAaA/jCGz3dLU854/s400/R-1063410-1217694094.jpeg

but probably to someone less acquainted with film history the song would seem more popular

― corey, Sunday, July 17, 2011 9:05 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

no... the song's fame has clearly eclipsed that of the movie, it is crazy to suggest otherwise

"Nature Boy" from The Boy With Green Hair

'A Kind Of Magic' from Highlander?

"Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" maybe? Of course there is an obvious reason it's better remembered than the film it's from

"Green Dolphin Street" from film of the same name

The Kinks, "God's Children," "The Way Love Used To Be," "Willesden Green," all from the soundtrack to Percy. Has anyone even seen that film?

("fame" in this case being relative)

i've seen bits of it, late at night.

No, never seen it.

Do the Right Thing and "Fight the Power" is a draw--probably inseparable for a lot of people.

John Parr - St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)

Dusty Springfield "The Look Of Love"

(originally written for the Casino Royale spoof)

Also on the Bacharach/David tip, "A House Is Not A Home".

Rock Me Amadeus

― Siegbran, Sunday, 17 July 2011 12:21 (9 hours ago)

..except that it was only inspired by "Amadeus" and didn't appear anywhere in the movie (which is actually a little unusual imo!)

wait "nature boy" was from a movie? huh. well, that wins.

we have all the time in the world is a good one, even though OHMSS is the best bond film with the best john barry cues.

carry on.

did anyone do "into the groove" which was in "desperately seeking susan"?

oh that's a goodie! Madonna rules this between that and "Crazy For You" from "Vision Quest", "Live to Tell" from "At Close Range" and.. feel like she has another one?

vogue from dick tracy!

no?

with recent films it's harder to call. obvi those madonna songs are better known than those movies, but it's less of a slam-dunk than the truly forgotten 'unchained'.

Who's That Girl?

This Used To My Playground

I'll Remember

Beautiful Stranger

Simultaneously a great compilation and a fucking awful film festival.

there is no question that the song 'We're in the Money' is about 1000x as famous as the film, and thus is perfectly valid. However, if you want to go for "songs that are still famous even though nobody remembers the film", that is a different matter.

But "eclipsed" in the thread title refers only to the latter reading, no? "As famous as" means the song has not eclipsed the film. Also, why the scare quotes around "film school"?

No, 'eclipsed' means 'is a massive degree more famous than', which is what I was saying is the case for 'We're in the Money'. And I'm not really sure what I was meaning with the scare quotes - I think I was intending to include film courses in general rather than just getting a straight degree in filmmaking or something.

Also, I'm pretty sure I'm one of the few people who have seen Percy. Though I might be thinking of another penis-based comedy.

Title song from Absolute Beginners

The Kinks, "God's Children," "The Way Love Used To Be," "Willesden Green," all from the soundtrack to Percy. Has anyone even seen that film?

No.
On the other hand, I don't consider anything made by The Kinks after 1969-70 to be particularly relevant or interesting or representative at all....

those songs are "more famous" than the film only insofar as nobody's seen the film.

"Independent Woman" from Charlie's Angels. You hear the line "Charlie how your angels get down like that" and you're like, "What does that mean?"

Maybe Love Story / Theme from Love Story? I mean IDK if the song is actually more famous than the movie, I just had this weird alarm clock that played it when I was a kid so I knew it without knowing what the hell it was from.

On the other hand, I don't consider anything made by The Kinks after 1969-70 to be particularly relevant or interesting or representative at all....

They were no doubt aggrieved that the Percy sessions spilled over into January, 1971.

"View to a Kill"

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_fepqainiFww/TFihv1frH9I/AAAAAAAAbiY/uWQwGd0i9zg/s320/Summer,+Donna+-+Last+Dance.jpg

Disagree about Fight the Power. Do the Right Thing is still a great film. Shared honours.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GouLP2GE1M8

"Breakdown" by Bob Seger. The man's only No. 1 song.

John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band's "On the Dark Side"

"Call Me" by Blondie

"Let It Be" by the Beatles http://bigfootdiscussions.invisionzone.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/icon_snicker.gif

(Beverly Hills Cop II
Eddie & The Cruisers
American Gigolo
Let It Be)

The Robin Hood theme only counts if speeding it up 4x and adding a hamster falls within the purview of this thread's qualifications (though I guess it would).

"Going Back To Cali" from Less Than Zero

I was going to mention this same movie, but for the Bangles' version of "Hazy Shade of Winter"!

Works in both cases.

Watership Down is still well known, but the fame of "Bright Eyes" eclipses it.

Are You That Somebody (Nutty Professor)
Try Again (Romeo Must Die)
Soul To Squeeze (Coneheads)
Gangsta's Paradise (Dangerous Minds)
Stay (Reality Bites)
Because I Got High (Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back)
Regulate (About The Rim)
Ghetto Superstar (Bullworth)
Iris (City Of Angels)
Steal My Sunshine (Go)
New (Go)
Deep Cover (Deep Cover)

I mean Dr Doolittle

and Above The Rim, not About The Rim

Dr Dre - Keep Their Heads Ringin'
― Siegbran, Sunday, July 17, 2011 9:34 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark

This is questionable.. I hear a lot more people talk about Friday than this song.

iris & deep cover are good ones

http://www.impawards.com/1980/posters/honeysuckle_rose.jpg

Featured a little ditty called "On the Road Again".

They were no doubt aggrieved that the Percy sessions spilled over into January, 1971.

Not much of a fan of the "Lola Vs. Powerman" album either. They made a mistake by applying a new "harder" and more "rock" oriented sound. Should have stayed with their brilliant 1966-68 style.

"Independent Woman" from Charlie's Angels. You hear the line "Charlie how your angels get down like that" and you're like, "What does that mean?"

― Mr. Snrub, Sunday, July 17, 2011 8:07 PM

Not to mention the opening: "Lucy Liu, with my girl Drew, Cameron D. and Destiny... Charlie's Angels 'cmon."

Don't know how famous it is on ILX, but Johnny Mandel's "Emily" from The Americanization of Emily gets played at every jazz guitar gig ever.

Candy Dulfer and David A. Stewart - "Lily Was Here"

Sixpence None the Richer - Kiss Me
from "She's All That".

Though whenever I hear the line "Strike up the band and make the fireflies dance" I keep envisioning Usher dancing with that silly grin on his face.

"She's All That" is a timeless classic for some of us

I'm not really sure all of these songs are FROM the films they're attached to, so much as slapped on (esp in the last 30 years).

I like that John Ford nixed having the song "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" heard in the film, cuz well, it would have ruined it.

I'm not really sure all of these songs are FROM the films they're attached to, so much as slapped on (esp in the last 30 years).

yes

xpost

My fave example of a wisely discarded theme song is Billy Eckstine's "Vertigo" which you can hear here.

Yeah, like the Sixpence song appeared on one of their albums a full year before it was in "She's All That." That's a far cry from "originally."

Phil Collins, Against All Odds.

the most duh answer is somehow not on here, which is Houston's version of I Will Always Love You. i have never seen The Bodyguard, nor do i understand what it's supposed to be about, nor do i think i'll ever care.

A whole lot of Pink Floyd songs...

Bobby Brown's "On Our Own"

Dusty Springfield "The Look Of Love"

(originally written for the Casino Royale spoof)

― Stockhausen's Ekranoplan Quartet

Yeah, "The look of love"..

Also, "Happy"from DesMe2, yep that's a big film but "Happy" got way bigger.

"I Want Your Sex" was apparently the 3rd hit from the Beverly Hills Cop II soundtrack, before being the first single from Faith. I would say it has eclipsed that movie and those first two hits ("Cross My Broken Heart" by The Jets and "Shakedown" by Bob Seger).

Can't believe no one has said 'Fame' yet. It's right in the title!

Too many of these have fuckall to do with the movie itself. They're just kinda thrown on to the soundtrack to sell more records. Was "Cross My Broken Heart" even in the film Beverly Hills Cop II?

"The Shadow of Your Smile" from The Sandpiper seems like one of these, although some people still enjoy The Sandpiper

"To Sir With Love"

"Don't Let Go (Love)" - En Vogue. Recorded for the Set It Off soundtrack.

"i have never seen The Bodyguard, nor do i understand what it's supposed to be about"

I believe it's about a Bodyguard.

Well, it's about a Body. And a Guard. Two very different and conflicting personalities who are forced to work together to solve a crime and/or defeat criminals, learning from each other in the process.

That's What Friends Are For (from Night Shift)
The Girl Can't Help It
Across 110th Street

'Turtle Power' by Partners in Kryme

Got a perfect candidate -- the jazz standard "Stella by Starlight." Originally introduced as an instrumental piece in the (truly great, still underrated) Ray Milland supernatural thriller The Uninvited. The title is what it is due to a character being called Stella, Milland's character writes the piece with reference to her, etc. etc. A modified still from the scene in question:

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7DInmoJ5JDE/hqdefault.jpg

"the end is the beginning is the end" by the smashing pumpkins from Batman & Robin

maybe even "eye" from Lost Highway?

"drown" from Singles, surely?

Everybody's Talkin' from Midnight Cowboy?

Pharrell - Happy from Despicable Me

Two.

happy otm

"The Way You Look Tonight," from Swing Time. Famous movie, but the song is way more famous

not sure despicable me has receded in collective memory any more than "happy" has tbh

Justin Timberlake Can't Stop The Feeling is destined for this.

this probably says more about my ignorance than the extent to which top hat has (or hasn't) faded from public consciousness but i didn't know that "cheek to cheek" was introduced in a film lol

"My Funny Valentine" from Babes in Arms

thanks to Nina Simone and Buble's wannabe Simone rendition..."Feeling Good" from The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd (ok ok not a movie, a play, sorry)

"Puttin on the Ritz" from...Puttin on the Ritz

"I Can Dream About You" from <i>Streets of Fire</i>

Sorry, wrong brackets.

"I can Dream About You" from Streets of Fire

"Lydia, the Tattooed Lady" from At the Circus

Dylan's "Things Have Changed" from Wonder Boys

Roger Daltrey: Quicksilver Lightning

I'm kidding about Roger Daltrey song, but not about this:

Lisa Loeb: Stay

"All Star" from Shrek and Mystery Men ?????

So I guess this is going to be another thread where 90% of the answers range between unconvincing and wrong? Lots of these songs were released before the movie mentioned, and lots of other are inextricably linked to the movie.

You know on Amazon where people answer questions about a product ("Does it support bluetooth?") with things like "Sorry, I haven't received mine yet, so I don't know". Whelp, if you don't have an answer, you don't have to enter one.

I think Que Sera, Sera has been the best answer so far, that scene actually felt really incongruous when I eventually saw The Man Who Knew Too Much.

Lots of these songs were released before the movie mentioned, and lots of other are inextricably linked to the movie.

was gonna say. and to note that a famous film song is no longer so linked does not prove that it has "eclipsed" the movie's fame.

I feel like All Star's connection to Mystery Men is often forgotten, but it's connection to Shrek is very strong in its meme-ification.

Yeah imo there's a lot of rong here mostly in the category of claiming films are forgotten when they're wildly popular, but maybe the other problem is ppl interpreting it as 'songs where the public has forgotten the song and movie were linked,' which might be where we're getting all the arbitrarily-tacked-on hits that aren't in any sense the film theme or whatever. In practice most folks rarely know that a song comes from a particular film in the first place unless it's super obvious like Men in Black or the video makes a big big deal out of it. Thread is most interesting when it's films that have completely vanished from people's miinds, and songs that have never fallen out of favor, imo.

can't imagine anyone anywhere has rescreened buddy's song any time in the last decade or so but chesney hawkes' 'one and only' still haunts the airwaves of uk commercial radio

I feel like All Star's connection to Mystery Men is often forgotten, but it's connection to Shrek is very strong in its meme-ification.

yea probably should've mentioned, Mystery Men is what I think fits the thread

people don't really remember this but the video was a tie-in to the movie, hell Ben Stiller is front and center in the first scene, and it's not just clips from the film either. then it got picked up in another, much more popular film, and seems to have even outlived that

David Essex, "Silver Dream Machine"