Bohemian Rhapsody
Singer: Queen
Film: Wayne’s World (1992)
Wayne (Mike Myers) and Garth (Dana Carvey), along with a few pals, cram into a small car, lip-sync the pseudo-operatic Bohemian Rhapsody. Any ’90s kid will remember the word Mirthmobile, which means a cruising vessel, equipped with stereo to provide maximum opportunity to sing along with the Queen song.
Unchained Melody
Singer: Righteous Brothers
Film: Ghost (1990)
You can still get Swayzed watching the chemistry between Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore. No wonder so many viewers wanted to take up pottery after watching this three-and-a-half-minute lesson in lovemaking... film-making! Zillions.
Layla
Singer: Derek and the Dominos
Film: Goodfellas (1990)
A fine example of a marriage between cinematic deftness and music appears when Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro) decides to clean the house by bumping off his detractors. And instead of including the killer guitaring heard at the beginning of Layla, director Martin Scorsese goes for the piano exit that’s rarely played by radio stations.
Born To Be Wild
Singer: Steppenwolf
Film: Easy Rider (1969)
Wyatt (Peter Fonda) and Billy the Kid (Dennis Hopper) cruise down a highway, looking for an adventure. It’s one of cinema’s most memorable images. The song introduced the rock term “heavy metal”: “I like smoke and lightning, heavy metal thunder, racin’ with the wind,” even though the reference was to Harleys.
The Sound of Silence
Singer: Simon and Garfunkel
Film: The Graduate (1967)
The film opens with the iconic song as Benjamin (Dustin Hoffman) arrives at the Los Angeles International Airport from college. He gets on a moving sidewalk with a stone-cold stare. The society expects too much from him and the lyrics double down on his alienation.
My Sharona
Singer: The Knack
Film: Reality Bites (1994)
It’s late night at a convenience store. Lelaina (Winona Ryder) and her pals hear the Knack’s 1979 hit on the speaker system, and after telling the cashier to turn it up, they dance. It’s pure fun and pure pop.
You Never Can Tell
Singer: Chuck Berry
Film: Pulp Fiction (1994)
The feline grace of Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) keeps Vincent Vega’s (John Travolta) retro moves company at the fictional 1950s-themed restaurant Jack Rabbit Slim’s. The other favourite from the Quentin Tarantino film is the Urge Overkill version of Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon.
Old Time Rock and Roll
Singer: Bob Seger
Film: Risky Business (1983)
A pants-free Tom Cruise slides across the floor mouthing Bob Seger’s Old Time Rock and Roll with the scenes expressing freedom in a way dialogue never could.
Tiny Dancer
Singer: Elton John
Film: Almost Famous (2000)
There’s something heart-warming about the scene where aspiring rock journalist William Miller (played by Patrick Fugit) is made to realise that “he’s home” among musicians by a young woman Penny Lane (Kate Hudson). While the guys on the tour bus slowly join in to sing Elton John’s Tiny Dancer.
Perfect Day
Singer: Lou Reed
Film: Trainspotting (1996)
It’s spine-chilling to watch the overdose scene and listen to the splendid Lou Reed sing: “Oh, it’s such a perfect day/ I’m glad I spent it with you.” Danny Boyle said about his ironic usage of the song: “We carry these songs with us. So you try and say: I know it’s in your head. But try and see your favourite, favourite song used like this.”
The Man In Me
Singer: Bob Dylan
Film: The Big Lebowski (1998)
Bob Dylan’s beautifully lazy The Man In Me plays soon after The Dude or Jeff Lebowski (Jeff Bridges) is introduced: “Sometimes there’s a man, and I’m talking about The Dude here. Sometimes there’s a man, well, he’s the man for his time and place. He fits right in there. And that’s The Dude in Los Angeles.”
The Times They Are a-Changin’
Singer: Bob Dylan
Film: Watchmen (2009)
Zack Snyder’s faithful adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’s influential graphic novel has the mesmerising Bob Dylan song in the opening-credits sequence. Dylan’s folk prophecy complements the history of the story’s superhero protagonists.
Got You Babe
Singer: Sonny & Cher
Film: Groundhog Day (1993)
If you have watched this influential Holly flick, you certainly don’t have I GotYou Babe as your 6am wake-up alarm. Day after day, weatherman Phil Connors (Bill Murray) wakes up to this number one hit from 1965. The title of the film, in fact, now refers to a situation that continuously repeats itself.
Smokestack Lightning
Singer: Howlin’ Wolf
Film: The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
The great office party scene begins with Jordan’s (Leonardo Di Caprio) speech and gives way to a marching band, followed by strippers and a Howlin’ Wolf classic in the background. A classic Martin Scorsese moment.
All I Want Is You
Singer: Barry Louis Polisar
Film: Juno (2007)
It’s a toss up between this opening number and Michael Cera and Ellen Page’s rendition of Anyone Else But You at the film’s end. Polisar’s number sets the tone for this coming-of-age movie about teen pregnancy.
Judy Is A Punk
Singer: Ramones
Film: The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
Tenenbaum M.’s (Gwyneth Paltrow) dossier is examined to a classic Ramones number— starts smoking at age12, escapes school at age14, first marriage at age19, her first lesbian fling at age 21… it ends with a deadpan reply from her husband Raleigh St. Clair (Bill Murray): “She smokes!”
Stayin’ Alive
Singer: Bee Gees
Film: Saturday Night Fever (1977)
John Travolta’s Tony Manero strutting through his Brooklyn hood. Viewers can’t help but gawk. This song became one of the most recognisable songs of the Bee Gees.
Baby, You’re A Rich Man
Singer: The Beatles
Film: The Social Network (2010)
Everyone leaves the boardroom and Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) is alone. He sends a friend request to EricaAlbright (Rooney Mara) and keeps refreshing the page while viewers hear John Lennon sing: “... Now that you know who you are/ What do you want to be...”
Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)
Singer: Nancy Sinatra
Film: Kill Bill Volume 1 (2003)
The opening black-and-white scene of the beaten bride, a gunfire followed by Nancy Sinatra’s immortal song: “I was five and he was six/ We rode on horses made of sticks/ He wore black and I wore white/ He would always win the fight.” Classic Quentin Tarantino.
Bittersweet Symphony
Singer: The Verve
Film: Cruel Intentions (1999)
Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar) gives a eulogy at Sebastian’s funeral. As she speaks, Cecile and Annette spread printed pages from Sebastian’s journal. As copies of the diary slowly begin to circulate at his funeral, Bittersweet Symphony drifts in.
