Sounds from the Movies
By James D. Williams
Watching tv is something that I love to do, especially as a young kid in the late 90s — early 00s. I would get excited seeing commercials for soundtracks of movies that were coming out. Sam Goody, FYE, Circuit City, Sun Coast and more of the stores from yesteryear would be full of household appliances, movies, video game consoles and most importantly cassette tapes and CDs.
One of the most popular items to get from these stores were movie soundtracks. They would feature songs that were recorded for specific movies. A lot of times artists would be hired to write actual songs about the movies and shows that we watched. This kind of music hasn’t really been replaced with anything and it is very disappointing.
Today we’re going to go down memory lane and discuss some of the best songs from movie soundtracks. Grab your Fruitopia out of the fridge, throw that Pop Secret in the microwave, put your headphones on and let’s enjoy the jams.
Take My Breath Away — Berlin (Top Gun, 1986)
https://youtu.be/Bx51eegLTY8?si=1Pi7C2H3QlWKPqcC
This song is in my top 10 favorite soundtrack songs ever made. This song was made for the romantic scenes in the movie that featured Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer hired music producer Giordio Moroder to produce two songs off of the soundtrack, Berlin’s’ Take My Breath Away and Kenny Loggins’ Danger Zone.
Berlin’s hit song spent time at the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1986, been played at countless wedding receptions all across the world and has had placements in many other movies, tv shows and commercials.
Men in Black — Will Smith (Men in Black, 1997)
https://youtu.be/fiBLgEx6svA?si=2zOOpYWFIyF3cwkF
The year is 1996. Will Smith is coming off of the hit movies, Bad Boys and Independence Day. He has solidified his spot in Hollywood as Mr. Box Office. The Fresh Prince was not just a Prince anymore, he was a true king of Hollywood.
Will was tapped to create a theme song for the movie. He was able to create an up beat dance song that would have the kids and the women cutting up on the dance floor. Surprisingly, Coko of SWV was hired to sing the chorus on the song and that made it even better than it already was. This was the beginning of Will creating lead songs for the soundtracks of his movies.
Independent Women Part 1 — Destiny’s Child (Charlie’s Angels, 2000)
https://youtu.be/0lPQZni7I18?si=DKexPQCRvw4DZTE7
When you think of girl groups you’re definitely going to think of the popular, highly respected r&b/soul/pop group Destiny’s Child. At the time the group were going through a lot with changes in their circle from group members leaving, group members being replaced, etc. Luckily there was a great opportunity on the horizon that were going to take this group to another level.
Y2K was over and we were finally in the year 2000. The song Independent Women (Part 1) was recorded for their 3rd album, Survivor. Unknowingly, the groups then manager (Matthew Knowles) submitted the song to be featured in the 2000 action comedy reboot Charlie’s Angels. The producers of the film liked it so much they decided to release it as the lead single for the soundtrack. The song is an upbeat, empowering anthem that celebrates self-sufficiency and independence. It has a catchy R&B/pop sound with strong vocals and a confident attitude.
Independent Women went platinum in the U.S. and it spent weeks at number one on the Billboard hot 100 chart. The song took the group’s popularity to the moon like a rocket. It also garnered new audiences to their music because it was featured on the Charlie’s Angels soundtrack and it was always on the 106 & Park and TRL countdown shows.
In conclusion, I know that movies can benefit from having real soundtracks with good songs that are inspired by the movies that they’re for. The soundtracks can be used as a marketing tool for the featured artists and for the movie. These studios and big companies should stop being frugile when it comes to promo and marketing. A good soundtrack will really make a difference in the outcome of a movies box office and it’s future place in film history.
