Top 20 1980s Movie Soundtrack Songs

The 1980s were the proverbial Golden Age of movie soundtracks.  It seemed like every big movie in the '80s was accompanied by a hit soundtrack.  While listening to the VJ Big 40 on SiriusXM a few weeks back, I was blown away by the number of songs in the countdown that were from movie soundtracks.  From that realization came the idea for this blog post.

Here is my list of the Top 20 songs from movie soundtracks from the '80s.  To qualify for the list, the song had to be specifically written and recorded for the film in question and it had to be featured in the film. I made one minor exception to those qualifications, which we will discuss when we get to #9.  These qualifications unfortunately exclude gems like "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel. While the song was prominently featured in an iconic scene in Cameron Crowe's 1989 film "Say Anything...", it was recorded for Gabriel's monster 1986 album So and it was released as a single and charted in that year, a few years before it appeared in the film.

So (pun intended), here we go.  Here is my list of the Top 20 Songs from '80s Movie Soundtracks.

20. Song: "She's Like the Wind"

Artist: Patrick Swayze
Songwriter(s): Patrick Swayze, Stacy Widelitz
Movie: Dirty Dancing (1987)

Peak Chart Position: #3 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100

Comments: The first of three entries from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack, this ballad was written and performed by the main star of the film, Patrick Swayze. It was actually written for a different '80s movie, Grandview U.S.A. but it didn't make the cut. Given that, as a result of this song and his role in the film, Swayze could be considered a singer, songwriter, actor and dancer - a quadruple threat. Sure, the song may be a little cheesy, but it gets bonus points for being written and performed by film's star himself, something that did not happen with many of the songs on this list.

19. Song: "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now"
Artist: Starship
Songwriter(s): Diane Warren, Albert Hammond
Movie: Mannequin (1987)

Peak Chart Position: #1 in the U.S., Canada, Ireland, Portugal and the UK

Comments: Written by two of the industry's most prolific corporate/soundtrack songwriters, this song marks Warren's first #1 hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.  It's a little sappy and schmaltzy - much like the movie for which it was the theme song - it's also undeniably catchy and a good representation of what the 1980s sounded like.

18. Song: "Purple Rain"
Artist: Prince 
Songwriter(s): Prince
Movie: Purple Rain (1984)

Peak Chart Position: #2 in the U.S.; #1 in Belgium, Finland, Scotland and the Netherlands

Comments: This is the first - but not the last - song from Prince and his Purple Rain soundtrack. A majestic, almost gospel-tinged number, this was the title track. Prince's impassioned, soulful vocals are backed by prominent synthesizers (it was the '80s, after all) and some guitar flourishes that hint at Prince's six-string prowess. While the single version is just a shade over 4 minutes in length, the full album version goes on for more than 8 minutes.

17. Song: "Maniac"
Artist: Michael Sembello
Songwriter(s): Dennis Matkosky, Michael Sembello
Movie: Flashdance (1983)

Peak Chart Position: #1 in the U.S. and Canada

Comments: Sembello's lone hit single in a lengthy career as a performer, songwriter and producer is a pulsating, up tempo number drenched in the synthesizers and electronic drums that ruled pop music in the '80s. This song is an example of the power of MTV in the early '80s as the song's video - which prominently featured clips from the film - helped propel the song and the movie to increased popularity.

16. Song: "I'm Alright"
Artist: Kenny Loggins
Songwriter(s): Kenny Loggins
Movie: Caddyshack (1980)

Peak Chart Position: #7 in the U.S.

Comments: Kenny Loggins was - without question - the undisputed king of hit soundtrack songs in 1980s. As a result, he will appear on this countdown three times with songs from three different soundtracks. This is his first entry on our list and it's also the earliest of the three, serving as it did as the theme song to a movie from 1980.  It will probably forever be linked with the dancing gopher from the film.

15. Song: "Flashdance...What a Feeling"

Artist: Irene Cara
Songwriter(s): Giorgio Moroder, Keith Forsey, Irene Cara
Movie: Flashdance (1980)

Peak Chart Position: #1 in the U.S. and more than a dozen other countries around the globe

Comments: This was not Irene Cara's first big '80s soundtrack hit, as she had previously topped the charts in 1980 with "Fame," the title track to the film of the same name in which she starred. Whereas that song was a post-disco number that represented the sound of music at the turn of the decade, this one helped - once again with the assistance of its video on MTV - solidify the 1980s as the decade of the movie soundtrack. Bonus points for the fact that Cara co-wrote this one, too.

14. Song: "Hungry Eyes"
Artist: Eric Carmen
Songwriter(s): John DeNicola, Franke Previte
Movie: Dirty Dancing (1987)

Peak Chart Position: #4 in the U.S.

Comments: Carmen, who after charting three Top 20 hits in the 1970s, had been nearly 10 years without a hit song when he cut this one for the Dirty Dancing soundtrack. It featured prominently in the film and catapulted Carmen back to fame - and least for a while. While this is Carmen's sole appearance on this list as a performer, it is not his last overall, as he co-wrote our #12 song.

13. Song: "Almost Paradise"
Artist: Mike Reno and Ann Wilson
Songwriter(s): Eric Carmen, Dean Pitchford
Movie: Footloose (1984)

Peak Chart Position: #7 in the U.S.

Comments: When you need a power ballad duet in the 1980s, you can scarcely do better than getting the lead singers from two huge rock bands to cut it.  Mike Reno was the lead singer of Loverboy and Ann Wilson was the primary lead singer of Heart. They come together to join forces in this powerhouse ballad from Footloose. How many slow dances at proms and weddings occurred to this song in the mid-'80s? I'd put that number in the tens of thousands.

12. Song: "The Heat Is On"
Artist: Glenn Frey
Songwriter(s): Harold Faltermeyer, Keith Forsey
Movie: Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

Peak Chart Position: #2 in the U.S.

Comments: It's somewhat ironic that Frey, who wrote and co-wrote a number of hit songs during his time with the Eagles (10 Top 10 hits and 5 #1s) struggled to recapture that success as a solo artist, only to finally ascend to the Top 5 with a song written by other people. With guitars, keyboards and an incessant saxophone hook, this song helped propel the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack to double platinum status. It became an unofficial theme song of the 1985 St. Louis Cardinals, with a version remixed and released that included audio clips and highlights during the teams run to the NL pennant and World Series.  Since that team remains my favorite baseball team of all time, this song has always had a warm place in my heart.

11. Song: "If You Leave"
Artist: Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD)
Songwriter(s): Andy McCluskey, Paul Humphreys, Martin Cooper
Movie: Pretty in Pink (1986)

Peak Chart Position: #4 in the U.S.

Comments: First heard during the closing scene at the prom in Pretty in Pink, this song became OMD's biggest hit. It was commissioned by the film's writer, John Hughes, who was looking to repeat the success he had with the closing song from The Breakfast Club (more on that later). Catchy and synth-laden, it's a great representation of pop music in the '80s from one of the decade's seminal Brat Pack films.

10. Song: "Danger Zone"
Artist: Kenny Loggins
Songwriter(s): Giorgio Moroder, Tom Whitlock
Movie: Top Gun (1986)

Peak Chart Position: #2 in the U.S.

Comments: While the 1980s is often remembered as the decade of teenage comedies and the Brat Pack, it also boasted its own set of powerhouse action flicks.  Few of those were bigger than Top Gun. It had the machismo of fighter jets for the guys and shirtless oiled-up beefcakes playing volleyball for the ladies.  It was the perfect popcorn flick, complete with a soundtrack to match.  This upbeat, synth-heavy rocker marks Loggins's second appearance on our countdown but not his last.

9. Song: "Cruel Summer"
Artist: Bananarama
Songwriter(s): Steve Jolley, Tony Swain, Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, Keren Woodward
Movie: The Karate Kid (1984)

Peak Chart Position: #9 in the U.S., #3 in South Africa, #7 in Ireland

Comments: This song technically doesn't meet my criteria for the list, in that it wasn't written for The Karate Kid.  It was actually recorded and released in the UK in 1983 as a standalone single.  However, the song wasn't even released in the U.S. until more than a year later - after it had been featured prominently in The Karate Kid. It's use in the song was perfect, with its less than upbeat lyrics about summer intertwined with visuals of Daniel's struggles to adjust to his new life in California. Interestingly, despite its appearance in the film which prompted its U.S. release and subsequent success, it never appeared on the soundtrack album because the band would not allow it. So despite not being written and recorded for the movie and not appearing on the soundtrack, I have included it on this list because its U.S. and international success was almost entirely predicated on its use in the film.

8. Song: "(I've Had) The Time of My Life"
Artist: Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes
Songwriter(s): John DeNicola, Donald Markowitz, Franke Previte
Movie: Dirty Dancing (1987)

Peak Chart Position: #1 in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Belgium, The Netherlands, and South Africa

Comments: The third and final entry from Dirty Dancing was the biggest hit of the three, as well as capturing an Oscar, a Grammy and a Golden Globe. It effectively served as the theme song of the film, as well as its finale with the long awaited, long practiced dance move in which Jennifer Grey runs, leaps and is held aloft by Patrick Swayze. So popular was the song and that scene, there's no telling how many injuries were treated by ERs around the country from couples attempting to reenact the famous scene. The song also marked Bill Medley's lone #1 hit outside of his work with The Righteous Brothers.

7. Song: "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)"
Artist: John Parr
Songwriter(s): David Foster, John Parr
Movie: St. Elmo's Fire (1985)

Peak Chart Position: #1 in the U.S. and Canada

Comments: This is likely the least well known song on this list but it's one that I've always liked.  While I have never seen the movie (I was only 11 at the time and the film has a lot of sex scenes), I remember the song well.  Interestingly, while it was the theme song for the movie and the first single from the soundtrack, the lyrics actually have less to do with the film and more to do with a Canadian paraplegic athlete (Rick Hansen) traveling around the world in a wheelchair to raise awareness for spinal cord injuries. He called his journey the "Man in Motion Tour" and that moniker became the inspiration for the lyrics and parenthetical in the song's title.

6. Song: "Footloose"
Artist: Kenny Loggins
Songwriter(s): Kenny Loggins, Dean Pitchford
Movie: Footlose (1984)

Peak Chart Position: #1 in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Colombia, New Zealand, Peru and South Africa

Comments: Kenny Loggins - the '80s soundtrack king - is back on our countdown for the third and final time. It was the theme song to the Kevin Bacon starrer about a city boy who winds in a small town where dancing is banned. It is an undeniably catchy song and it's nearly impossible to not dance a little jig - or at least tap your foot - to the song. In a five decade career that has included 14 Top 40 hits, this is Loggins's only #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Incidentally, while Loggins appears on our list three times, he also charted Top 40 hits with three other soundtrack songs in the '80s, but those songs didn't make the cut.

5. Song: "The Power of Love"
Artist: Huey Lewis and the News
Songwriter(s): Huey Lewis, Chris Hayes, Johnny Colla
Movie: Back to the Future (1985)

Peak Chart Position: #1 in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Japan

Comments: This song has nothing at all to do with the film's storyline, but it was featured during a couple of scenes during the film.  It was the band's first #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 charts - no doubt helped by its inclusion in the biggest film of 1985 - and it remains their best selling single. Interestingly, while the song was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song, it lost to Lionel Ritchie's "Say You, Say Me" from White Nights, a song that doesn't even make our countdown.

4. Song: "Take My Breath Away"
Artist: Berlin
Songwriter(s): Giorgio Moroder, Tom Whitlock
Movie: Top Gun (1986)

Peak Chart Position: #1 in the U.S., U.K., Belgium, Europe, Ireland and the Netherlands

Comments: Whereas the first installment from Top Gun on this countdown represented the macho, fighter jet side of the film, this song represents the "forbidden love" portion of the story. It was prominently featured during the love scene between Maverick and Charlie...you know the scene...the silhouetted one with the gratuitious shots of Tom Cruise's and Kelly McGillis's tongues. Like the film, the song was a massive hit, becoming Berlin's only Top 10 hit, though it also led to the dissolution of the band. This song also marks the third appearance on our list of Giorgio Moroder, an Italian composer who worked on numerous movie soundtracks in the 1980s - everything from Flashdance and The NeverEnding Story to Top Gun and Scarface. He was the behind the scenes Kenny Loggins, if you will.

3. Song: "When Doves Cry"
Artist: Prince 
Songwriter(s): Prince
Movie: Purple Rain (1984)

Peak Chart Position: #1 in the U.S., Canada, Australia

Comments: Prince's second entry on our list is his second - but not last - from his film Purple Rain. It shows a little bit of his guitar flourish - especially toward the end - but focuses more on synthesizers and drum machines. It sounds very different from his other two songs on our countdown and helps illustrate the breadth and diversity of Prince as a performer. It became of one of Prince's signature songs, topping the charts in three different countries and reaching the top 10 in eight others.

2. Song: "Let's Go Crazy"
Artist: Prince 
Songwriter(s): Prince
Movie: Purple Rain (1984)

Peak Chart Position: #1 in the U.S.

Comments: Prince's third and final entry on our list is, like the other two, from his film Purple Rain. Prince was, by all accounts, a guitar virtuoso, though his music seldom accentuated that fact.  This song, however, is one that does. From the opening organ chords to the screeching guitar solo that ends the song, it is probably Prince's hardest rocking hit song. Guitar riffs and two separate solos remove all doubt about his abilities as a guitarist. 40 years after its release, this tune is arguably Prince's most popular and enduring.

1. Song: "Don't You (Forget About Me)"
Artist: Simple Minds 
Songwriter(s): Keith Forsey, Steve Schiff
Movie: The Breakfast Club (1985)

Peak Chart Position: #1 in the U.S., Canada, Netherlands

Comments: An iconic closing song to arguably the most iconic Brat Pack film of the '80s, this was an obvious choice for our top spot.  Interestingly, the song wasn't written by any members of the band and they initially rejected it until lead singer Jim Kerr's then wife, Chrissy Hynde of Pretenders fame, convinced him to record it.  The "hey hey hey" in the song's introduction and the "la la la" sing-along section at the end of the song were both improvised and added by Kerr with the intention of being changed to actual lyrics later on but he was convinced to keep it as. AmericanSongwritter.com has described the song as "an '80s masterpiece" and "an American teen anthem." I agree and that's why it tops our list.

There you have it, my list of the Top 20 movie soundtrack songs from the '80s. Are there any I missed?  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

As always, thanks for reading!