Phil Collins Went to the Movies for His Last US Top 40 Hit

Phil Collins managed to successfully juggle a long stretch in an influential, highly successful band with a solo career that took off concurrently with his group’s ascent. All runs come to an end. However, even if Collins’ stretch of pop dominance lasted longer than most.

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By the time Collins churned out his final US Top 40, he was moving into elder statesman territory. But he proved that he could still deliver a ballad that charmed audiences, not just on radio, but also, as it turned out, in movie theaters as well.

Band and Solo Success

Phil Collins released his first solo album at a time when he was far from a household name. He had taken over lead singer duties in Genesis from Peter Gabriel. The British band had only just begun to move from its prog rock tendencies to a more radio-friendly approach when Collins decided to try a solo record in 1981.

That album, Face Value, contained the brooding, iconic “In The Air Tonight”, which helped establish Collins’ voice on pop radio. From that point, he toggled back and forth between doing records and tours with Genesis and releasing solo stuff as well.

In so doing, Collins became one of the giants of the pop music world. As a solo act, he churned out seven No. 1 hits in the US. Genesis wasn’t too far behind when it came to dominating pop radio. Eventually, the pace of hits from both Collins and his band slowed slightly, as the space between their projects started to stretch out a bit as the 80s turned into the 90s.

Phil and Films

In between all the albums and tours, Phil Collins occasionally took the time out to do some songs from the movies. And they were quite good to him. “Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)”, from the film Against All Odds in 1984, was his first US No. 1. Four years later, “Two Hearts” and “A Groovy Kind Of Love”, both from the film Buster, in which Collins also starred, matched that chart position.

In 1996, Collins decided to leave Genesis, leaving him free for his solo endeavors. His album Dance Into The Light, released that same year, didn’t quite scale the same heights as some of Collins’ previous LPs, especially when it came to hit singles.

Jungle Boogie

Collins’ next project put him in line with other rock maestros like Randy Newman and Elton John. He’d be composing music for an animated film. The makers of the Disney flick Tarzan figured that Collins’ rhythmic tendencies as a longtime drummer would make him the ideal fit to compose songs for the movie.

One song was needed for a scene of Tarzan’s adopted gorilla mother singing to him. Luckily, Collins had just such a song already in the works. He had written a lullaby for his daughter Lily that fit the themes of the film just right.

The name of the song? “You’ll Be In My Heart”. Collins, 48 years old at the time of the song’s release in 1999, found himself battling it out on the pop charts one last time in the US. The song made it to No. 21 in the US, while also topping the adult contemporary charts. And that would mark the final US Top 40 for Collins, the last of 21 songs to reach that high for the artist.

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