In honor of the recent Academy Awards we're paying tribute this week to great songs that turned the Silver Screen to gold.
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SONG OF THE monDAY
Quincy Jones composed Soul Bossa Nova and it first appeared on Big Band Bossa Nova (1962). The song's been used in a lot of shows and movies. It was the theme for a Canadian game show called Definition, which Mike Myers watched. As an homage to his youth, Myers used Soul Bossa Nova as the theme for his Austin Powers movies.
The Austin Powers series was written by Mike Myers. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery opened on May 2, 1997 and grossed $53 million in the U.S. and $67 million worldwide. The success spawned two sequels, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) and Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002). Trivia: The UK Ministry of Justice's official website states that every week someone applies to change their middle name to Danger - inspired by the line in Man of Mystery, "Danger is my middle name."
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SONG OF THE tuesDAY
We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome) is a song performed by Tina Turner and featured in the 1985 movie Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Released on the heels of Turner's multi-platinum album, Private Dancer (1984), We Don't Need Another Hero earned a Golden Globe and Grammy award nomination.
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome is the third film in the Australian, post-apocalyptic Mad Max series and the last to star Mel Gibson. The film opened on July 10, 1985 to moderate success compared to its predecessors. Despite being criticized by faithful Mad Max fans as being to "Hollywood-ized," the film has had great influence. The word "Thunderdome" is used as a nickname for several arenas in the U.S. including UC Santa Barbara Events Center and Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City.
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SONG OF THE wednesDAY
My Sharona is the debut single by The Knack. It was originally released on the 1979 album, Get the Knack. The song was Capitol Record's fastest gold-status debut single since the Beatles' I Want to Hold Your Hand (1964). My Sharona landed on the charts again in 1994 when it was released as a single from the Reality Bites soundtrack.
Reality Bites is a 1994 romantic comedy written by Helen Childress and directed by Ben Stiller. The film cost $11 million to make. It opened on Feb. 18, 1994 and grossed nearly $21 million in the U.S. and $33 million internationally. The film has since received "cult status" for accurately capturing the style and energy of the 1990s grunge scene and addressing the issues Generation X, 20-somethings faced during that time.
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SONG OF THE thursDAY
Mrs. Robinson was written by Paul Simon and recorded by Simon & Garfunkel for their album, Bookends (1968). The song was the first rock song to win the Grammy Award for “Record of the Year.” The song was featured in the 1967 film, The Graduate. Director Mike Nichols had originally been using Sounds of Silence as a placeholder to edit to.
The Graduate is a 1967 comedy-drama directed by Mike Nichols and starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft. The story is about a young college grad who’s seduced by an older woman but then falls in love with her daughter. The script was written by Charles Webb shortly after he graduated college. The Graduate was nominated for seven Academy Awards, but Mike Nichols was the only winner for Best Director.
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SONG OF THE friDAY
Happy was written by Pharrell Williams and released on the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack, as well as on Williams' album, GIRL. Happy was the most successful song of 2014. It was nominated for an Academy Award and won a Grammy. Williams originally wrote the song for CeeLo Green, but Green passed because he was releasing a Christmas album.
The sequel to Despicable Me (2010), Despicable Me 2 opened in theaters on July 3, 2013. Grossing over $970 million worldwide against a $76 million budget, it became the third-highest-grossing film of 2013 and the most profitable in Universal Studios' 101-year-old history. It was nominated for two Academy Awards, Best Animated Feature and Best Song, losing to Disney's Frozen on both.
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SONG OF THE saturDAY
Stayin' Alive is a disco song released by the Bee Gees for the Saturday Night Fever motion picture soundtrack. Released on Dec. 13, 1977, Stayin' Alive has become one of the Bee Gees' most recognizable hit and was the second of six consecutive number-one singles, tying the record with The Beatles, which Whitney Houston later broke with seven.
Saturday Night Fever is a 1977 movie that made both disco and John Travolta famous. The movie was originally R-rated but was released a second time with a PG-rating. Profanity, nudity, and a rape scene from the original version were taken out or downplayed in the second release. The soundtrack, which features many songs from the Bee Gees, has become one of the greatest selling movie soundtracks of all-time.
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SONG OF THE sunDAY
(I've Had) The Time of My Life is a 1987 song recorded by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes for the film, Dirty Dancing. It was originally intended for Donna Summer and Joe Esposito, but they turned it down. Beating out a Lionel Richie tune, Medley and Warnes' version won an Academy Award, Golden Globe, a Grammy, and is one of the most frequently played songs on the radio today.
Dirty Dancing is a 1987 romantic dance drama directed by Emile Ardolino, written by Eleanor Bergstein, and starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey. Released on Aug. 27, Dirty Dancing has grossed over $214 million worldwide (on a $6 million budget), and it's theme (I've Had) The Time of My Life won an Academy Award and a Grammy. The movie's popularity earned it the nickname "the Star Wars for girls."
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