Between the late 1970s and the early 2000s, popular music became a key component of Hollywood filmmaking. The advent and popularity of MTV introduced the music video and the influence of short form musical filmmaking shaped feature films both in their sound and in their imagery and editing. The soundtrack album became a key component of film marketing and some soundtracks became as popular—and in a few instances more popular—than the movie for which they were created. These soundtracks introduced new acts to mainstream audiences and they were a way for established musicians to experiment or give new life to old material. Today’s episode of Sounds of Cinema will look back at the soundtrack albums of 1986, which puts us in the height of the soundtrack album era.
Top Gun and Iron Eagle
The biggest box office hit of 1986 was Top Gun. This military drama about naval aviators made Tom Cruise into a movie star and established the careers of producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson. The soundtrack album was a key part of the movie’s success. Top Gun was one of the bestselling soundtracks albums ever released. Eight of the album’s ten tracks were released as singles, most successfully “Danger Zone” performed by Kenny Loggins and “Take My Breath Away” by Berlin which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Both of those tunes still get radio play. An expanded version of the album was released in 1999 and in 2024 La-La Land Records issued a two-disc edition which included the original Top Gun soundtrack album and the full score by Harold Faltermeyer.
Top Gun was not the only aviation movie of 1986 with a rock and roll soundtrack. Iron Eagle is an action movie in which a teenager and a colonel steal a pair of F16 fighters to rescue the boy’s father, who is being held prisoner in a fictional Middle Eastern country. It’s a ludicrous premise but the film was a financial success and Iron Eagle inspired three sequels. The soundtrack included songs by Queen, Katrina and the Waves, George S. Clinton, and Dio.
John Hughes
John Hughes was one of the signature filmmakers of the 1980s, typically making movies that reflected and defined teenage culture at that time. Music was a very important part of his movies. In 1986 Hughes released two films: Pretty in Pink and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Pretty in Pink is a love triangle in which a teenage girl must choose between two suitors. The soundtrack to Pretty in Pink included music by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, INXS, New Order, and Echo & the Bunnymen. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off did not have a soundtrack album release at that time, allegedly because Hughes did not think that the songs would make a good album. Fans disagreed and made their own bootleg Ferris Bueller’s Day Off soundtracks which they shared among themselves. It wasn’t until 2016 that La-La Land Records released an official Ferris Bueller’s Day Off soundtrack which included the songs and the score by Ira Newborn. Interestingly both Pretty in Pink and Ferris Bueller’s Day include the song “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want.” Pretty in Pink features the original version by The Smiths and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off uses an instrumental cover performed by The Dream Academy.
David Bowie
David Bowie had a very good year in 1986 and much of that success was linked to the movies. Bowie performed the title song for Absolute Beginners, a musical film about life in 1950s London. Although the film was not so well received, the song “Absolute Beginners” was a hit, especially in the UK. The same year, Bowie performed the title song for the animated film Where the Wind Blows which was about a couple trying to survive in the aftermath of a nuclear war. The music of Where the Wind Blows was written by Roger Waters of Pink Floyd. Also in 1986, David Bowie acted and performed music for Jim Henson’s fantasy film Labyrinth. This film was not a success but Labyrinth became a formative movie for children of the 1980s when it was shown on cable and became available on home video. The Labyrinth soundtrack included several original songs by David Bowie as well as the score by Trevor Jones.
An American Tail
An American Tail was a 1986 animated film about the Mousekewitzes, a family of Jewish mice who emigrate from Russia to the United States. The movie featured the song “Somewhere Out There,” which became a huge hit. The film version of the song is performed by voice actors Phillip Glasser and Betsy Cathcart. The radio version was performed by Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram. “Somewhere Out There” won Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television.
Round Midnight
Round Midnight is a musical drama about the fictional jazz performer Dale Turner who is based on real-life jazz musicians Lester Young and Bud Powell. The music of Round Midnight was composed or arranged by Herbie Hancock. Round Midnight won the Academy Award for Best Original Score for movies of 1986. The win was considered controversial, in part because the competition was stiff. Round Midnight won over James Horner’s score to Aliens, Ennio Morricone’s score to The Mission, Leonard Rosenman’s score to Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, and Jerry Goldsmith’s music for Hoosiers, all of them top tier music scores for popular movies by esteemed film composers. Adding to the controversy was the fact that the music of Round Midnight included new arrangements of preexisting songs.
Albums as Soundtracks
Among the soundtrack albums of 1986, there are a couple examples of albums from popular artists that doubled as soundtrack releases. AC/DC’s Who Made Who album was the soundtrack for Maximum Overdrive. Stephen King had many of his stories adapted into movies, some better than others, and King took it upon himself to write and direct 1986’s Maximum Overdrive, an adaptation of his short story “Trucks” from the collection Night Shift. The result was not good but Maximum Overdrive does have a cult following. AC/DC was one of Stephen King’s favorite bands and they provided music for the film.
Also in 1986, Prince released the album Parade. This album was the soundtrack to Under the Cherry Moon which Prince starred, wrote, and directed. Under the Cherry Moon channeled European art films of the 1960s (or an idea of what those films were like). Under the Cherry Moon was not well received but the soundtrack was a success. It was the first collaboration between Prince and Clare Fischer, who did arrangements on some of Prince’s later work.
Ruthless People
Ruthless People is a dark comedy in which a couple is cheated by a dishonest businessman. They retaliate by kidnapping his wife. The soundtrack includes music by Luther Vandross, Billy Joel, Kool & the Gang, and Bruce Springsteen as well as a title song by Mick Jagger.
Manhunter
Filmmaker Michael Mann contributed to the style of the 1980s with the television show Miami Vice. The series used music particularly well and in fact the album Miami Vice II was one of the best-selling soundtracks of 1986. That same year, Mann applied his style to an adaptation of Thomas Harris’ novel Red Dragon, a serial killer story and the first novel to feature Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Mann’s film version of Red Dragon was titled Manhunter and it starred William Peterson, Tom Noonan, and Brian Cox. The soundtrack included music by Shriekback, The Reds, and Iron Butterfly. Manhunter was not a success at the time but it is now regarded as a classic. The song “Heartbeat” by Red 7 was later featured in an episode of the HBO series Euphoria.
The Color of Money
The Color of Money was a sequel to the 1961 film The Hustler. The movie was directed by Martin Scorsese who was one of the early filmmakers to use popular music in his projects, selecting songs to create a sense of place and culture or placing music ironically for emotional effect. The soundtrack from The Color of Money featured popular acts from that time including Don Henley, Eric Clapton, Robert Palmer, and Mark Knopfler.
Horror Soundtracks
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 came more than a decade after the original film. Partly owing to the small budget, very little gore is actually seen in the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre and filmmaker Tobe Hooper and musician Wayne Bell created an experimental and abstract music score. The sequel radically changed gears with copious gore effects and a proper soundtrack album that included rock bands The Cramps, Timbuk 3, Oingo Boingo, and The Lords of the New Church. Unfortunately, this album was only released on vinyl in 1986. It’s never been released digitally or on CD.
During the 1980s there was a great deal of concern about the influence of heavy metal on teenage fans, in part due to fears that this music was indoctrinating young people into the occult. Many bands of the day leaned into the controversy. The 1986 film Trick or Treat (also sometimes titled Ragman or Death at 33 RPM) built a demonic possession story around a posthumous recording of a recently deceased rocker. The movie features cameos by Ozzy Osbourne and Gene Simmons. The band Fastway provided the music for Trick or Treat.
Alice Cooper contributed several songs to Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives. The song “He’s Back (The Man Behind the Mask)” plays over the end credits and “Teenage Frankenstein” and “Hard Rock Summer” are featured within the movie. “He’s Back” and “Teenage Frankenstein” were released as singles but there was no official soundtrack release for Friday the 13th Part VI at the time. (In 2012 La-La Land Records released a score only soundtrack featuring the music of Harry Manfredini.) “He’s Back” and “Teenage Frankenstein” were included on Alice Cooper’s 1986 album Constrictor. This album also included the song “The Great American Success Story.” This song was written for the Rodney Dangerfield comedy Back to School but it was not used in the film. Back to School had its own soundtrack album that included Jude Cole, Michael Bolton, Oingo Boingo, and Aretha Franklin as well as a cover of “Twist and Shout” performed by Rodney Dangerfield.
Bonus Tracks
The film Quicksilver stars Kevin Bacon as a Wall Street floor trader who becomes a bicycle messenger. The film came and went and was not well remembered but Quicksilver did have an interesting soundtrack album that included songs by Roger Daltrey, Ray Parker Jr., John Parr, and Peter Frampton.
Little Shop of Horrors was originally a nonmusical 1960 film directed by Roger Corman in which a lonely shopkeeper feeds people to a carnivorous plant. That film was adapted into a 1982 stage musical by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. That stage musical was then adapted into a 1986 feature film directed by Frank Oz and starring Rick Moranis. In adapting the stage show, Menken and Ashman created a new song, “Mean Green Mother from Outerspace” which is performed in the film by Levi Stubbs as the voice of the killer plant.
Howard the Duck was the first theatrically released feature length adaptation of a Marvel comic book. The film was a notorious bomb but it has a cult following. Howard the Duck featured score by Sylvester Levay and John Barry and songs written by Thomas Dolby and performed by the fictional band Cherry Bomb featuring actress Lea Thompson. The original soundtrack remains available but for completists, Intrada released a now out of print three CD edition featuring Levay and Barry’s full scores and the original soundtrack album.
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