52 Most Iconic Use of Pop Songs in Movies
Who hasn’t heard a familiar pop song on the radio only to be transported back to the film that featured it? You probably never even paid a second thought, let alone liked that particular song before it became associated with that cinematic sequence. Yet, it was such a perfect complement to that one moment in the movie that you now know the lyrics by heart. In honor to that fleeting but powerful connection between music and film, we count down 52 of the most iconic pop songs in movies.
A word of warning, this list is not about judging the quality or likability of a song but rather how much each song has become associated with the movie that used it. We are also using the term “pop song” loosely. Anything that could have been heard by thousands of people outside a movie qualifies to make this list. Finally, we decided to keep musicals as well as pop song used solely in trailers out of this list.
So without further ado, I hope you have a good trip down memory lane with these 52 pop songs!
52. “Lose Yourself” in 8 Mile
An Academy Award winning hip-hop song that spent 12 weeks atop the US Billboard Top 100, “Lose Yourself” was the most successful single of Eminem’s career (and we doubt he is going to top that the way it’s going these days). The song, summing up the entire background of Eminem’s character in 8 Mile, really goes hand in hand with Curtis Hanson’s film.
51. “Pocketful of Sunshine” in Easy A
Is it a surprise that when you hear Natasha Bedingfield’s song, you think of Easy A? Emma Stone receives a greeting card that plays the song but initially declares it to be “the worst song ever” before slowly obsessing over it, going so far as to use it as her ringtone to constantly reminds us of it.
50. “Sweet Emotion” in Dazed and Confused
Opening David Linklater’s 1993 cult comedy is Aerosmith’s “Sweet Emotion” which evokes nostalgia for those sweet last day of high school when no one has a care in the world. Set in a small-town Texas in 1976, Dazed and Confused is really about nothing more than a band of friends driving off to Houston to buy Aerosmith concert tickets so what’s more appropriate than have one of their song frame the movie.
49. “Sparks” in Wedding Crashers
A track from Coldplay’s highly successful debut album Parachutes, “Sparks” is an understated romantic ballad that is played during the pivotal emotional point when Owen Wilson’s character realizes he might just have fallen in love. It provides a sweet and stark contrast in a movie that features mostly raunchy and crude comedy.
48. “Hip to be Square” in American Psycho
When he isn’t busy returning tapes to the video store, Patrick Bateman likes to chill out to Huey Lewis and the News. This song is featured in the scene in which Bateman hilariously critiques their discography before he axes that fool Paul Allen (Jared Leto). Interesting, this 1986 song includes then-San Francisco 49ers Joe Montana and Ronnie Lott as backup vocals, just in case their NFL career didn’t work out…
47. “You and Me” in Blue Valentine
The soulful love song that became Dean’s and Cindy’s song, for better and for worse, in the haunting romantic drama Blue Valentine. It’s interesting to note that this song as well as the “lost” band Penny and the Quarters were only recently discovered after a box of unreleased demo tape was purchased during an estate auction sale. So for all of you budding musicians, stash your demo tapes everywhere!
46. “Clubbed to Death” in Matrix
A track from Rob Dougan’s debut album Furious Angels, “Clubbed to Death” is played during the training sequence in which the woman in the red dress suddenly turns into an agent. The song mixes classical piano with a modern electronic beat providing a focused mood that is quite rare with electronic/techno music.
45. “I Believe I Can Fly” in Space Jam
Before R. Kelly became associated with disturbing images of flying streams of piss hitting an underage girl’s face, he sung this iconic song featured in the 1996 movie Space Jam. It has since become associated with his airness Mr. Michael Jordan and his involvement in helping Bugs Bunny and his friend win their freedom in a basketball match by defeating their evil oppressors.
44. “Where is My Mind?” in Fight Club
Prominently used in the final scene and credits of David Fincher’s Fight Club, the Pixies’ song is a provocative, sanity-questioning alternative rock anthem which was a perfect way to end the movie, leaving throngs of viewers wondering whether the entire movie did actually take place in Ed Norton’s head.
43. “Secret Garden” in Jerry Maguire
Making ladies around the world turn on the tear faucet in Jerry Maguire is Bruce Springsteen’s 1995 single “Secret Garden”. Like many other songs on this list, it gained most of its popularity after being featured in a motion picture and let’s face it, Jerry Maguire was a massive box office blockbuster.
42. “I Got You Babe” in Groundhog Day
Nothing like waking up to this song every morning to feel like Phil Connor in Groundhog Day. Bill Murray hates this Sonny & Cher song more than anything in the world after having heard it on his radio clock every morning dozens of thousands of times. Before being heavily featured in Harold Ramis’ film, the song became the pop duo’s biggest hit back in 1965 when it was released.
41. “Everybody’s Talkin’” in Midnight Cowboys
The theme song for Midnight Cowboys, Harry Nilsson’s version of the song became a global hit after it became part of the soundtrack for the movie. Strongly associated with Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight’s 1969 Oscar-winning film, “Everybody’s Talkin’” has become a standard, covered by numerous artist over the years and featured in 1994′s Forrest Gump.
47 Comments
Wow, no mention of “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” as used in 10 Things I Hate About You?
Ohhh I LOVE Heath Ledger’s voice and performance singing that song. Good call, Anna.
Or Andy Williams’ version in Deer Hunter. That’s what always comes to mind when I hear that song.
Yes! That song and performance was one of the many brilliant things about the film.
Excellent list. Even in putting “California Dreamin’” in “Chungking Express” but I have a better use of a pop song in that film. It’s Faye Wong’s cover of The Cranberries’ “Dreams” in that same film when she’s sneaking around in Tony Leung’s apartment.
Other scenes in films I want to mention are Cat Stevens’ “Here Comes My Baby” in a great montage in “Rushmore”, Bow Wow Wow’s “I Want Candy” in “Marie Antoinette”, My Bloody Valentine’s “Sometimes” in “Lost in Translation”, Will Ferrell’s cover of Wreckless Eric’s “(I’d Go The) Whole Wild World” in “Stranger Than Fiction”, and Marco Antonio Solis’ “Si No Te Hubieras Ido” in “Y Tu Mama Tambien”.
Thanks Steven. I very much liked the use of the Cranberries’ Dreams in that scene you are talking about but ultimately, it’s played only once in the movie compared to the half dozen time for California Dreamin. Heck, the characters even talk about going to California for the entire length of the second story
Ever since seeing American Psycho i can’t look at the “Power of Love” the same way again…i just can’t
“Feel the power. Just feel the power of love. That’s the power, that’s the power of love… Feel the power of love”. I love it.
Oh yeah, another one: “Gimme Shelter” in almost every Scorsese movie.
I’m starting to feel 10 YouTubes per page is too many. I would hate to have a 10 page-post but is this something that should be done?
Maybe just link the videos at the bottom so it doesn’t take up too much room.
FANTASTIC POST! I loved a lot of these and would be hardpressed to think of ones you missed.
Why 52, Castor.
..you can’t beat a bit of 80s cheese for movie montages like the ones from Rocky.
One of my faves is Jimi hendrix in Withnail and I – so perfect for the film.
Great to see Tiny Dancer appear here – I’d never heard the song before seeing Almost Famous, now it’s one of my favourites.
52 because I couldn’t stop adding to the list
I would have cut out probably 2/3s of this list. It could easily have been knocked down to a Top 15 or 20. Some of these I disagree being on this type of list completely (of course you’re gonna associate the “Ghostbusters” theme song with the film). Going into this list, I thought it was gonna be more like… regular songs (pop or otherwise) that were used in movies. But this list was more of a mix of that plus, well… numbers that are associated with movies because they were made specifically for that movie, whether they’re musicals or main themes (Aladdin, Ghostbusters, Singin’ in the Rain, etc.).
And I Believe I Can Fly totally needs to be higher on the list!
Yes, indeed it is more of a mix as you mention. I started with the intention of making it about the great use of regular pop songs in movies (as you can see from the songs near the beginning of the list) but somehow it just morphed into this all-encompassing list without me even being aware of it until your comment. Thanks for dropping by and making me aware of this, I will fix that with another list at a later date I’m sure ahah
Awesome list! I just spent about an hour listening to my favourite tracks. I don’t agree with all of them (I think “Wake Up” would be a better choice from The Matrix) but still some great tracks. I’d submit: anytime Scorsese or Tarantino use a popsong, the entire soundtrack from Full Metal Jacket (most notably, “Hello Vietnam”, “These Boots are Mad for Walking” and “Surfin’ Bird”) as well as more recently, “Paper Planes” in 127 Hours
Also, I think it’s “Circle of LIFE” not “LOVE” in The Lion King
And by 127 Hours, I mean Slumdog Millionaire
Thanks Tom, glad you enjoyed rediscovering some of those songs, great suggestions as well.
California Dreaming is practically the entirety of “Chungking Express.” In fact, it gets a bit annoying after a while.
Love the mention of “I’ve Got You Babe” in Groundhog Day. Perhaps not such a great song, but really memorable and hilarious in the context of the movie.
Personally, I’d put Mrs. Robinson a bit higher if only because of how iconic it is. Then again, it’s one of those songs you’ll miss in the movie if you blink, which is kinda weird since they changed the song for the movie.
Yes, to The End, Twist and Shout, Bohemian Rhapsody Eye of the Tiger, Wise Up
Also, Tiny Dancer is one of my favorite music moments of all time. Such a great moment.
And yes, I was worried “In Your Eyes” Would get left off. Man, that’s my favorite use of a pop song in a movie. So great. I’ve got a real soft spot for that film and even more so for the song.
Also like the fact that you’re top two are older films. Lists today get way too populated with films that came out in like the past 5 years.
Great stuff man. Good job of putting all this together.
Thank you sir!
Great list Castor although I only know half of them. There is also a great iconic song titled My Girl (I forgot which movie)..I love that song. Pretty Woman also something I can’t easily forget.
My heart Will Go On was so famous at its time and somewhere along it made me so bored with it eventho Celine was (and still is) my fav female singer
Ahaha well I guess that’s why everyone was like “Celine Dion OH NOOO!!!!” last night on Twitter during the Oscar telecast.
Wow, Castor, must have taken you a while to compile all these songs together, good job man!
Yay for the Bodyguard, Top Gun & Wizard of Oz songs, iconic is the word! The one that’s stuck in my mind and can never be separated from the movie is the Irene Cara’s Flashdance in the audition dance scene. LOVE that song! Circle of Life in Lion’s King is definitely memorable, as do a lot of Disney’s songs, but one of my faves has got to be Phil Collins’ You’ll Be In My Heart from Tarzan.
Yes, a bit too much for me to chew on honestly, 52 was probably way too many!
Great list! I definitely took some time and listened to my favorites ( top Gun, Ghost)
Woah, and it appears you posted this BEFORE Barack emphatically stated on the Oscars that “As Time Goes By” was the ultimate movie song. Kudos! But seriously, great, comprehensive list, and I will forgive you missing Best Of My Love in Boogie Nights because you included two Bruce Springsteen songs.
Well, that’s because the President came here to see who was #1
Thanks Nicholas!
To my horror, Misirlou is, to my generation, more synonymous with the Black Eyed Peas.
“Faith” in Rules of Attraction.
And, of course, “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” in Mulan.
Tremendous article Castor! I loved reading it.
Way to go Castor! This is my ultimate love. I always thought the best job on earth would be to make movie soundtracks. I have a whole list of songs that I think should be in a movie. I’ve always looked to film to turn me on to new types of music. The Big Easy soundtrack was a great intro to Zydeco. Repo Man was great punk lite and The Cotton Club shows blues, big band with soul and the Bird soundtrack…ah I could go on forever! I actually have my movie soundtracks separated from everything else. Best pop song for a movie ever though has to be “Don’t You Forget About Me” by Simple Minds for The Breakfast Club. It also ended up being my prom song for 1985 and you just can’t get more 80′s than that!
Thanks Colleen! Don’t You Forget About Me really is one of the most iconic song of the 80′s I agree
Castor, you sneaky dog. I loved Rob Dougan’s Matrix song so much that I went and got his Furious Angels CD long ago, only to have it stolen when my car was broken into (WTF!?!). But c’mon, it’s baaaaarely in the movie, and if you hadn’t told the people, no one would have known at what point it came into it. Not exactly an iconic song or scene, even though it’s an all-time favorite song that more people should love.
Still, impressed by the scope of the list. Might have liked to see some shuffled around here or there, but you’ve got just about everything covered in one form or anything.
Ahaha love to wake up in the morning and be greeted with a “hello you, sneaky dog” lol. It’s weird that you, and others say that it’s hard to remember it from the movie, I always thought this was the most memorable song of the movie. Thank you sir for reading this long list!
Good list Castor, some others that could be considered iconic amongst some…
Rules of Attraction – ‘Without you’
The Big Chill – ‘You can’t always get what you want’ or ‘I heard it through the Grapevine’
The Big Lebowski – ‘I just dropped in’
O Brother, Where Art Thou? – “I am a man of constant sorrow”
Kill Bill – ‘Woo Hoo’
Song 19 – Top Gun you mentioned ‘Take my breath away’ I would have gone for ‘Danger Zone’. The first comment also mentioned ‘can’t take my eyes off you’ it was used pretty well in ‘Conspiracy Theory’ as a theme. Tarantino talks about the use of songs in films he suggests that it’s sacrilegious to use a song once it has been used (I’d say unless it was used poorly in the first instance)
What an awesome and ambitious list, man. Great stuff, and I love the inclusion of “Lust for Life” although I think “Tiny Dancer” in Almost Famous is number one for me.
Thanks Eric, glad you liked it!
This is a seriously impressive list, Castor! Awesome post. I definitely know some of them, but there are quite a few I didn’t recognize. One that came to my mind was Pretty Woman in Pretty Woman, ha. And I love that you included I Believe I Can Fly from Space Jam on here. It’s so true! I always think of that movie when I hear that song.
Thanks Kristin. Definitely some iconic song, that Space Jam tune ahah
Great list! Good to see Boogie Nights’ Sister Christian and songs from Dazed and Confused. I have never been all that big of a fan of Cameron Crowe, but the one thing the guy does well is place good songs into just the right moment.
Glad you like the inclusion of those songs! Cameron Crowe certainly worked well with the music in Almost Famous.
This entire list deserves a round of mega-applause. Well put together. Some great songs in there. Currently trying to think of any I’d have in there and can’t!
Circle of Life brings me to tears every single bloody time. The film’s not even started and I’m a bloody wreck. Though strangely, I really can’t stand “Can you feel the love tonight”.
Hi, Castor and company:
Great list!
53: Surfin’ Bird: By The Trashmen in the assault on Hue City in ‘Full Metal Jacket’.
54: In A Gadda Da Vida: By Iron Butterfly in the final battle in ‘Manhunter’.
55: Ride Of The Valkyries: By Wagner in the ville attack in ‘Apocalypse Now’.
56: The entire soundtrack of ‘The Big Chill’.
Amazing list! I’d have to go with Pixies in Fight Club as No.1 then Iggy in Trainspotting and Misirlou in Pulp Fiction! Modern classics, two great openings and the best end to a film of all time. What’s with the crazy ass dog video for Still from Office Space? Loved the list though, very thorough!
Both a great post and a great many suggestions in the comments. The one song I feel that’s seriously missing is “If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out” by Cat Stevens in the movie Harold and Maude.
Great list… Nice to see Wise Up in there, also because that whole Mann soundtrack is terrific. My top choice would be “Don’t Let It Bring You Down” during the climax (or, ahem, anti-climax… ;D) of American Beauty, and instead of Stuck in the Middle With You a Little Green Bag. Cheers!!
Great list. I was thinking it was a list of regular pop songs that were used in a movie later, aka “Bohemian Rhapsody” in Wayne’s World.
A couple more that come to mind for me are “Jungle Boogie” in Pulp Fiction, and “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” in in Michael Mann’s 1986 Manhunter.
Loved the compilation and used some of it for a quiz I was putting together so, thanks for that. One slight point, surely in the Matrix the everlasting song was Wake Up by Rage Against the Machine. Being an old fart I would not say for sure but, my son plays a lot of this band’s music and I always associate this particular track with The Matrix.
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