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

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?"