![]() 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. The Greatest Movie Themes The Best Film Scores Ever Made Musicals with the Best Songs Ranking the Very Best Soundtracks The Best Movies About Singing Best Musical. Best Movie Theme Music . At its core, a movie score is supposed to capture the mood and set the tone of what's going on in a particular scene. But the theme song if done right, can be as iconic as the film itself. Many film score composers set out to write a theme that fully encapsulates what a film is going for, but only a handful have become the greatest. Perhaps the most famous film composer is John Williams, who is well represented on this list. Williams is the musical mind behind some of the greatest movie themes like Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, Superman, Jaws and the Star Wars movies. These film scores are as memorable and iconic as the films. Great movie themes are often instrumentals that when played, can be easily recognized. Themes from Rocky, Batman, The Godfather franchise, 2. A Space Odyssey, E. T. You can hear these songs on commercials and often times at sporting events as well. The key element to remember as you vote on your favorite theme song is that we are only voting on the theme, not the entire score or soundtrack. This is the Ultimate List specifically for theme songs, so vote on what you think is the greatest movie them of all time. If you think a movie theme is missing, feel free to add it. To vote on the movies with the best . For best all- around sound, vote on The Greatest Soundtracks in Film History.
The 2. 0 Greatest Movie Theme Songs Of The 1. This Sunday marks the 3. Ghostbusters,” which hit theaters on Friday June 8th, 1. One of the most beloved films of its generation, the Ivan Reitman- directed movie is remembered for its sharp, funny, tight script (co- written by the late Harold Ramis), still- superb visual effects, great performances from the likes of Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Ernie Hudson and Ramis, and being a rare example of the successful blend of blockbuster fantasy and comedy. It’s also, for better or worse, remembered for Ray Parker Jr’s iconic theme tune, a smash- hit at the time, which earned an Oscar nomination. We’re in an era where the movie theme song is something of a dead art (though the recent success of “Skyfall” and “Let It Go” from “Frozen” might see that change), but in the 1. So, to celebrate the 3. Ghostbusters” and Parker Jr’s song, we’ve trawled through the archives to select 2. The only rule: they had to be songs written specifically for the film, and not released prior to the movie, ruling out cover versions and the like. Watch, listen, and disagree below, and for more on “Ghostbusters,” check out our retrospective piece from a few years back.“Ghostbusters” – Ray Parker Jr – “Ghostbusters”Essentially inseparable from the film from which it came (try and look at the logo or DVD cover without hearing a snippet from the song), the theme tune to the fantasy comedy smash is undoubtedly one of the best known theme tunes in cinema history, even if it is (whisper it), a bit naff. Penned and performed by erstwhile Raydio frontman Ray Parker Jr, it topped the Billboard charts for three weeks, and was nominated for an Oscar (though lost to Stevie Wonder’s “I Just Called To Say I Love You” from “The Woman In Red“). ![]() ![]() It caused friction with another 8. Huey Lewis sued over similarities to his track “I Want A New Drug,” the matter eventually being settled out of court).“Eye Of The Tiger” – Survivor” – “Rocky III” (1. When his request to use “Another One Bites The Dust” was turned down by Queen, Sylvester Stallone needed an inspirational theme for the third in his boxing franchise, and turned to relatively little- known rock band Survivor, whose first Top 4. Poor Man’s Son” had caught the writer/director/star’s ear. The band delivered: their inspirational “Eye Of The Tiger” will forever be associated with the franchise, even if it’s the most memorable part of the third film (the one that features Mr. The song was a monster hit, the second biggest selling of that year, and even went on to inspire its own film, 1. Gary Busey vehicle of the same name. Instead, Debbie Harry and Blondie teamed up with Moroder: the result, “Call Me,” provided the perfect introduction to Schrader’s film, the Doctor Who bassline and growly Harry vocals helping bring viewers into a new 1. Jerry Bruckheimer- produced excess. The song also turned out to be the biggest seller of the year. The director wanted a song that would recur throughout the film, most notably when played on the boombox of crucial character Radio Raheem (Bill Duke), saying that he “wanted it to be defiant, I wanted it to be angry, I wanted it to be very rhythmic. I thought right away of Public Enemy,” then coming off their classic second record, It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back. The resulting track, all abrasive Elvis- dissing lyrics, thundering loops and unexpected sax solos, was an all- time classic, topping the Village Voice’s Pazz & Jop poll, and becoming an African- American anthem. Alan Parker’s 1. 98. Penned by Michael Gore and Dean Pitchford for the film (though within the story, written by Lee Curreri’s shy composer Bruno), it scores probably the film’s most iconic sequence, where Bruno’s proud dad plays it in the streets, inspiring much dancing on cabs. Performed by the film’s star Irene Cara, it hit number four in the Billboard charts, and won the Oscar and the Golden Globe that year. They were much keener on “The Power Of Love,” which features in the film both in an original version and as a hard- rock cover rejected by Lewis himself in a cameo, and went on to crop up in both of the film’s sequels.“Danger Zone” – Kenny Loggins – “Top Gun” (1. Through to the 1. Trisha Yearwood’s “How Do I Live” (from “Con Air”) and Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing” (from “Armageddon”) on all of us, Jerry Bruckheimer was a pioneer of melding soft- rock soundtrack hits to his blockbusters, and the nine- times platinum soundtrack to “Top Gun” might have reached something like his peak. Along with Berlin’s ballad “Take My Breath Away,’ “Danger Zone” is probably the most enduring musical contribution from the movie. Co- written by Giorgio Moroder, it was turned down by Toto, Bryan Adams and REO Speedwagon before 8. Kenny Loggins stepped up. The track’s Tony Scott- directed video was once described by the U. S. Navy as “the most effective recruiting poster ever produced.”“Kiss” – Prince – “Under The Cherry Moon” (1. Prince’s second starring movie role, in “Under The Cherry Moon,” is no “Purple Rain” to say the least: ill- advisedly directed by the superstar himself, with a paper thin plot that sees him romance a young Kristin Scott Thomas (!) despite the disapproval of her father Stephen Berkoff (!!), it’s basically terrible from start to finish. But the film’s soundtrack, Parade, is terrific, one of his best records, and not least because of its biggest single, “Kiss.” Winning a Grammy, proving the artist’s third number one record, and once named by the NME as the fourth greatest single of all time, it’s an effortlessly sexy, incredibly cool cut that even survived a Tom Jones cover version. There aren’t many reasons to be thankful for the existence of “Under The Cherry Moon,” but this is one of them. That’s the case with Simple Minds. After Keith Forsey and Steve Schiff penned “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” for the soundtrack to John Hughes’ “The Breakfast Club,” Cy Curnin, Bryan Ferry and Billy Idol all turned down the chance to record, as did the Jim Kerr- fronted band, only to eventually relent, putting the track to tape in just three hours. Despite it being their only U. S. The thin white duke’s contribution is actually fairly minimal: the track was mostly composed by the 8. Giorgio Moroder, who wrote the score, with Bowie lending only lyrics. Nevertheless, it’s a moody treat that fits the film beautifully, even if it went on to be put to even more impressive use, albeit anachronistically (and WITH GASOLINE!) in Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds.” “Axel F” – Harold Faltermeyer – “Beverly Hills Cop” (1. A rarity on this list as it’s entirely instrumental, “Axel F” nevertheless managed to be a smash hit (twice over!) without a single lyric. The theme from German synth composer Harold Faltermeyer’s score to Martin Brest’s action- comedy smash hit “Beverly Hills Cop,” “Axel F” (named, of course, after Eddie Murphy’s Axel Foley in the film) became an instantly recognizable, simple little earworm, and when released as a single, became a worldwide hit, hitting number 3 on the Billboard charts, and number 2 in the U. K. More horrifically, it became a smash again two decades later thanks to Crazy Frog, a hideous ringtone creature that, due to unexplained insanity (Chernobyl??) that swept Europe, saw the track get to number one in many countries. The track was at number one on the Billboard charts for three weeks, and won Collins a Grammy, along with Oscar and Golden Globe nominations.“Crazy For You” – Madonna – “Vision Quest”There is perhaps a parallel universe in which Matthew Modine and Linda Fiorentino are massive, massive stars, and struggling musician Madonna was super grateful to get the call to be included on the soundtrack for their Harold Becker- directed blockbuster romance “Vision Quest,” but this ain’t it. A coming of age story detailing the brief affair between a high school wrestling champ and an older woman, the film is consummately forgettable, but for its soundtrack—the Tangerine Dream score and this Madonna megahit which actually led to the film being retitled “Crazy for You” in some territories. A presumably Madonna- less remake was mooted in 2. Taylor Lautner—let’s be thankful for small mercies like the fact that that never happened. That’s undoubtedly the case with extended- music- video- turned- cult- feature “Purple Rain” in the which the pain of the plotting (Prince, in his film debut, plays a talented musician attempting to leave his abusive family behind while falling for the beauteous Apollonia) is only offset by the original tracks which are, thankfully, frequent, and almost all terrific. The less said about 1. Graffiti Bridge,” however, the better.“If You Leave” – OMD – “Pretty in Pink” (1. If there’s one thing that focus groups got definitively wrong (and obviously there are a lot more than that) it was rejecting the initial ending of John Hughes’ teen romance pic “Pretty in Pink” in which Andie ends up with Duckie as is clearly so obviously meant to happen the whole time, forcing Hughes to change it so she scores spineless rich asshole Blane instead. But if there’s anything good that came out of that change, it’s that Hughes also needed a new track, so OMD turned around this terrific slice of glossy pop in just 2. A prime example then, of not overthinking your instincts and how delivering to deadline can sometimes work out well for everyone, the song went on to be one of the British New Wave band’s biggest hits. Whatever the case, the song is now a prime cut of ’8. Big Chords and constant key changes, and even if it’s not something we’re likely to listen to that often, we cannot deny its pretty much iconic status. The film it comes from, not so much, though the hairstyles continue to fascinate to this day. A Kind Of Magic” – Queen – “Highlander” (1.
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