some of the most iconic songs in popular
music history only reached that level
after they were showcased in memorable
ways in motion pictures welcome to
watchmojo.com and today we’re counting
down our picks for the top 10 songs that
gained popularity through their use in
movies for this list the songs chosen
must have been already released prior to
the movie in which they were included
and not have been written specifically
for the motion picture and seize
everything you ever worn one moment they
were chosen based on a mix of song
quality and overall recognition and they
must have gained more exposure or
popularity through their inclusion in
the film regardless of their initial
success
or lack thereof don’t
number ten where is my mind by Pixies
Fight Club gentlemen welcome to fight
for the title question from this ultra
rock classic is perfectly suited to
Edward Norton’s adult character in Fight
Club someone your mind do know as he
tries to make sense of his life with the
help of Brad Pitt’s psychotic instigator
Norton’s inner monologue might sound a
lot like the lyrics to this song boys
love it with that in mind Fight Club
director David Fincher used this song to
score the film’s unforgettably explosive
finale and it’s been associated with it
ever since you met me at a very strange
time in my life
number nine mad world by michael andrews
featuring gary jules
donnie darko cuz i’m donnie darko a song
was needed to sum up the emotional
turmoil amid all the weirdness of one of
the most bizarre yet enduring cult
movies ever why are you a that stupid
place the makers of donnie darko found
that song in mad world while it was a
top 40 hit in the 80s by Tears for Fears
this new version featuring stripped-down
ambient music and vocals by gary jules
proved to be just the right kind of
haunting song to tie the film’s dark
themes together find it kind of funny
find it kind of sad the dreams in which
I’m dying are the best I’ve ever had
it also bested the originals UK chart
position by going to number one people
run in circles it’s a very very member
eight I’m shipping up to boston by
Dropkick Murphys the departed
you’d never know it from hearing the
Dropkick Murphys version that I’m
shipping up to boston was written by
folk troubadour Woody Guthrie
the band gives it a rowdy rockin Irish
spin and director Martin Scorsese
correctly realized that the song would
make a good anthem for his movie The
Departed
after all the movie story of crooked
cops and organized crime is set in
Boston and has the same sense of violent
energy as this Celtic contract which
became the band’s most successful song
to that point Leigh
yeah it’s me number seven tiny dancer by
Elton John almost famous blue jean baby
when director Cameron Crowe needed a
song to serve as the emotional
centerpiece to his film about his time
as a teenage Rolling Stone reporter he
looked to Elton John’s soaring ballad
ballerina you musta see the song
inspires a group sing along on a bus
that heals a lot of festering wounds sir
Elton’s powerful reading of Bernie
tokens lyrics manages to sum up both the
thrill and heartbreak of the
rock-and-roll life and then ticket south
he’s turning bad
she just left
considered a non-starter that only
initially charted within the American
pop charts top 50 tiny dancer eventually
found its way into pop culture and got
an extra boost through this flick
I have
yeah
number six old time rock and roll by Bob
Seger risky business Bob Seger’s
boogying rock song didn’t get too much
attention
other than some rock radio airplay when
it was released on his 1978 album
stranger in town and then as a single
the following year yet when it served as
the soundtrack to Tom Cruise’s famous
dance in dress shirt and underwear and
risky business
it became a belated sensation
it’s fitting that the song was lip
synced by a teenage character since it
is now an anthem for all those who miss
the music of their youth
number five the end by the doors
Apocalypse Now this is the end beautiful
friend Francis Ford Coppola –zz
meditation on the horrors of war
Apocalypse Now needed a song that
dripped chaos and menace and was
era-appropriate
Oh
he certainly made the right choice when
he picked the doors harrowing the end
you
in the track the doors frontman Jim
Morrison slowly transforms from a coiled
symbol of danger to a nightmarish
screaming Avenger and this is much like
the transformation of Martin Sheen’s
character in the film
number four misirlou’ by Dick Dale and
his Dell tones all fiction
director Quentin Tarantino has always
had a knack for finding relatively
obscure songs and turning them into
perfectly placed soundtrack items
this surf rock classic from Dick Dale is
in many ways the unofficial theme of
Tarantino’s masterpiece Pulp Fiction
originally a Greek folk tune this
version is well-suited for the flick
considering it blends frenzied guitar
moody rhythms and sly corns into a wild
stoop
it never slows down and grabs your
attention
much like the movie itself
number three stuck in the middle with
you by stealers wheel Reservoir Dogs
this is the ultimate example of how the
whole vibe surrounding a song can change
through its inclusion in a movie when it
appeared on the radio in 1972 the song
came off as an amiable piece of bluesy
pop with endearingly frazzled lyrics
that was also a platinum-selling single
for the band when Quentin Tarantino had
Michael Madsen sing and dance along with
it as he prepared to slice off an ear in
his gangster classic Reservoir Dogs it
became a movie song for the ages and its
popularity wasn’t only cemented but
increased as good on you as it was to me
mmm hey what’s going on number two
Unchained Melody by the Righteous
Brothers goes what are you doing
I couldn’t sleep who knew that pottery
could be so sexy in the supernatural
romance ghost Demi Moore and Patrick
Swayze’s unbreakable connection is
symbolized by this Righteous Brothers
tearjerker
as singer Bobby Hatfield hits the
towering heights of the melody more and
Swayze’s undeniable chemistry is as
evident as the mess they’re making with
that pottery wheel Oh was it a
masterpiece the scene turned an already
classic ballad into the ultimate
manifestation of undying love as well as
a second time resident of the Billboard
charts 25 years after its original
release
wait for me
for me before we unveil our top pick
here are some honorable mentions what’s
gonna feeling loose weed 1973 that song
belongs to me
I’m hot
when are we talking till I knew I’m
gonna be I’m gonna be the man who kicks
up next to you there everybody from the
three one three everybody took me three
one three put your mother
ah
don’t you know don’t you need somebody
to love I really like somebody but it’s
hard to find somebody
I think we’ll go with a little bohemian
rhapsody’ gentleman good call
number one Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen
Wayne’s World by so you’re driving
around with your buddies and need to
hear a song on the radio to which
everyone can sing along as Mike Myers
and Dana Carvey proved in Wayne’s World
the comedy classic they created from
their Saturday Night Live sketches it
has to be Bohemian Rhapsody all of those
overlapping Freddie Mercury overdubs
mean that everyone will get apart even
if they have no idea what the words mean
and yes the song was a hit for Queen in
the mid 70s but there is no question it
wouldn’t still be as popular as it is
today without this early 90s movie
appearance
do you agree with our list find it kind
of funny I find it kind of sad what’s
your favorite song made popular by a
movie
for more entertaining top 10s published
every day be sure to subscribe to
watchmojo.com
music history only reached that level
after they were showcased in memorable
ways in motion pictures welcome to
watchmojo.com and today we’re counting
down our picks for the top 10 songs that
gained popularity through their use in
movies for this list the songs chosen
must have been already released prior to
the movie in which they were included
and not have been written specifically
for the motion picture and seize
everything you ever worn one moment they
were chosen based on a mix of song
quality and overall recognition and they
must have gained more exposure or
popularity through their inclusion in
the film regardless of their initial
success
or lack thereof don’t
number ten where is my mind by Pixies
Fight Club gentlemen welcome to fight
for the title question from this ultra
rock classic is perfectly suited to
Edward Norton’s adult character in Fight
Club someone your mind do know as he
tries to make sense of his life with the
help of Brad Pitt’s psychotic instigator
Norton’s inner monologue might sound a
lot like the lyrics to this song boys
love it with that in mind Fight Club
director David Fincher used this song to
score the film’s unforgettably explosive
finale and it’s been associated with it
ever since you met me at a very strange
time in my life
number nine mad world by michael andrews
featuring gary jules
donnie darko cuz i’m donnie darko a song
was needed to sum up the emotional
turmoil amid all the weirdness of one of
the most bizarre yet enduring cult
movies ever why are you a that stupid
place the makers of donnie darko found
that song in mad world while it was a
top 40 hit in the 80s by Tears for Fears
this new version featuring stripped-down
ambient music and vocals by gary jules
proved to be just the right kind of
haunting song to tie the film’s dark
themes together find it kind of funny
find it kind of sad the dreams in which
I’m dying are the best I’ve ever had
it also bested the originals UK chart
position by going to number one people
run in circles it’s a very very member
eight I’m shipping up to boston by
Dropkick Murphys the departed
you’d never know it from hearing the
Dropkick Murphys version that I’m
shipping up to boston was written by
folk troubadour Woody Guthrie
the band gives it a rowdy rockin Irish
spin and director Martin Scorsese
correctly realized that the song would
make a good anthem for his movie The
Departed
after all the movie story of crooked
cops and organized crime is set in
Boston and has the same sense of violent
energy as this Celtic contract which
became the band’s most successful song
to that point Leigh
yeah it’s me number seven tiny dancer by
Elton John almost famous blue jean baby
when director Cameron Crowe needed a
song to serve as the emotional
centerpiece to his film about his time
as a teenage Rolling Stone reporter he
looked to Elton John’s soaring ballad
ballerina you musta see the song
inspires a group sing along on a bus
that heals a lot of festering wounds sir
Elton’s powerful reading of Bernie
tokens lyrics manages to sum up both the
thrill and heartbreak of the
rock-and-roll life and then ticket south
he’s turning bad
she just left
considered a non-starter that only
initially charted within the American
pop charts top 50 tiny dancer eventually
found its way into pop culture and got
an extra boost through this flick
I have
yeah
number six old time rock and roll by Bob
Seger risky business Bob Seger’s
boogying rock song didn’t get too much
attention
other than some rock radio airplay when
it was released on his 1978 album
stranger in town and then as a single
the following year yet when it served as
the soundtrack to Tom Cruise’s famous
dance in dress shirt and underwear and
risky business
it became a belated sensation
it’s fitting that the song was lip
synced by a teenage character since it
is now an anthem for all those who miss
the music of their youth
number five the end by the doors
Apocalypse Now this is the end beautiful
friend Francis Ford Coppola –zz
meditation on the horrors of war
Apocalypse Now needed a song that
dripped chaos and menace and was
era-appropriate
Oh
he certainly made the right choice when
he picked the doors harrowing the end
you
in the track the doors frontman Jim
Morrison slowly transforms from a coiled
symbol of danger to a nightmarish
screaming Avenger and this is much like
the transformation of Martin Sheen’s
character in the film
number four misirlou’ by Dick Dale and
his Dell tones all fiction
director Quentin Tarantino has always
had a knack for finding relatively
obscure songs and turning them into
perfectly placed soundtrack items
this surf rock classic from Dick Dale is
in many ways the unofficial theme of
Tarantino’s masterpiece Pulp Fiction
originally a Greek folk tune this
version is well-suited for the flick
considering it blends frenzied guitar
moody rhythms and sly corns into a wild
stoop
it never slows down and grabs your
attention
much like the movie itself
number three stuck in the middle with
you by stealers wheel Reservoir Dogs
this is the ultimate example of how the
whole vibe surrounding a song can change
through its inclusion in a movie when it
appeared on the radio in 1972 the song
came off as an amiable piece of bluesy
pop with endearingly frazzled lyrics
that was also a platinum-selling single
for the band when Quentin Tarantino had
Michael Madsen sing and dance along with
it as he prepared to slice off an ear in
his gangster classic Reservoir Dogs it
became a movie song for the ages and its
popularity wasn’t only cemented but
increased as good on you as it was to me
mmm hey what’s going on number two
Unchained Melody by the Righteous
Brothers goes what are you doing
I couldn’t sleep who knew that pottery
could be so sexy in the supernatural
romance ghost Demi Moore and Patrick
Swayze’s unbreakable connection is
symbolized by this Righteous Brothers
tearjerker
as singer Bobby Hatfield hits the
towering heights of the melody more and
Swayze’s undeniable chemistry is as
evident as the mess they’re making with
that pottery wheel Oh was it a
masterpiece the scene turned an already
classic ballad into the ultimate
manifestation of undying love as well as
a second time resident of the Billboard
charts 25 years after its original
release
wait for me
for me before we unveil our top pick
here are some honorable mentions what’s
gonna feeling loose weed 1973 that song
belongs to me
I’m hot
when are we talking till I knew I’m
gonna be I’m gonna be the man who kicks
up next to you there everybody from the
three one three everybody took me three
one three put your mother
ah
don’t you know don’t you need somebody
to love I really like somebody but it’s
hard to find somebody
I think we’ll go with a little bohemian
rhapsody’ gentleman good call
number one Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen
Wayne’s World by so you’re driving
around with your buddies and need to
hear a song on the radio to which
everyone can sing along as Mike Myers
and Dana Carvey proved in Wayne’s World
the comedy classic they created from
their Saturday Night Live sketches it
has to be Bohemian Rhapsody all of those
overlapping Freddie Mercury overdubs
mean that everyone will get apart even
if they have no idea what the words mean
and yes the song was a hit for Queen in
the mid 70s but there is no question it
wouldn’t still be as popular as it is
today without this early 90s movie
appearance
do you agree with our list find it kind
of funny I find it kind of sad what’s
your favorite song made popular by a
movie
for more entertaining top 10s published
every day be sure to subscribe to
watchmojo.com
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