From the Screen to the Charts: 3 Acclaimed Actors With Hit Songs

Success in the music business and success in the movie industry don’t necessarily correlate. However, there have been some actor/musician types, such as Selena Gomez and Barbra Streisand, who have successfully done both consistently. Although very rarely do we see bona fide, Oscar-winning movie stars have hits on the charts.

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Well, it is an event that has transpired on several occasions. That being said, these three actors went from the silver screen to the top of the charts, as they have had notable hit songs on the charts.

“Party All The Time” by Eddie Murphy

Contrary to our previous statement, Eddie Murphy is one of the few actors to garner a hit song that was not attached to a movie. In other words, he transitioned from the silver screen to the charts on this occasion. It was not a culmination of both. Nevertheless, Eddie Murphy’s hit song was his 1985 single, “Party All The Time”.

Released in 1985 and written and produced by Rick James, Murphy’s single peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Over a decade later, it was featured in Eddie Murphy’s 1999 box office staple film, Three Kings.

“MacArthur Park” by Richard Harris

Of all people, who’d have thought that Professor Dumbledore (Richard Harris) would have had a hit on the Billboard Hot 100? Well, he did, and he did so while he was a professional actor in the 1960s. Specifically, Harris released the 1968 single “MacArthur Park”, which peaked at No. 2 on the chart in 1968.

Given Harris’ highly decorated acting career, it seems a great deal of many people have forgotten this fact. Regardless, the song was a hit in 1968. A decade later, it was also a hit after Donna Summer released a cover of it and took it to No. 1.

“She’s Like The Wind” by Patrick Swayze & Wendy Fraser

Released in 1987 and featured in Dirty Dancing, Patrick Swayze’s hit “She’s Like the Wind” is a quintessential romantic pop song of the 1980s. Following its release, the single climbed the charts and stopped at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In addition to peaking at No. 3 on the Hot 100, it also peaked at No. 1 Adult Contemporary chart in 1988. Both the film and the single were hits around the world, and while Dirty Dancing is a standalone classic, this song surely makes it all the more iconic to the 80s.

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