3 Iconic Movie Songs That Every 80s Kid Remembers Like It Was Yesterday

Everybody has those movie songs that stay with them long after childhood. If you grew up in the 80s, you definitely remember these iconic movie hits.

“I’ve Had The Time Of My Life”

Originally, when it came to creating a song for 1987’s Dirty Dancing, Lionel Richie was actually the one in the running. Apparently, the cast had been rehearsing to a Lionel Richie track during filming, but wasn’t feeling it.

According to The Guardian, Patrick Swayze told the song’s writer Frankie Previte that the song made a huge difference for the film.

“To tell you the truth,” he said, “we all hated the movie. We filmed the final dance scene first, but we didn’t have a song then. So we were like, ‘Let’s just get this piece of sh*t over with.’ But when we heard your song, it changed everything about the movie – and how we reacted to our scenes. It just created this vibe.”

“I’ve Had The Time Of My Life” went on to win several accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Best Original Song. The song also won a Grammy for Best Pop Performance By A Duo.

“Take My Breath Away”

This song, which served as the love theme for 1983’s Top Gun, will forever be one of the most iconic songs of the 80s.

Ironically, Berlin singer Terri Nunn revealed that when she recorded “Take My Breath Away”, she was in a pretty dark place.

“I hadn’t gotten laid in probably two years. I didn’t know if I would ever find love again,” she admitted to Spin. “My job was working well, but my personal life was in the toilet. It was just awful. I couldn’t sing it happy because I wasn’t happy. The sadness in my voice gave the song more of the depth that I think it needed. For me, the way a song works is to connect with it emotionally in an honest way.”

“Footloose”

In a shocking turn of events, Footloose became one of the biggest movies of 1984. Even Kenny Loggins, who wrote the film’s theme song, was surprised by Footloose‘s success.

“We all were, and I think Dean [Pitchford, writer for the film] was, especially,” Loggins admitted to The Tennessean. “It became the biggest movie of the summer. We didn’t see it coming. But I remember going to the premiere and watching the opening scene of the movie, which they did again in the remake. It was using ‘Footloose’ (the song) over the dancing feet. My wife turns to me and goes, ‘This is gonna be huge.’”

Photo by: Vestron/Getty Images