Why Movie Soundtracks Make Scenes Unforgettable

A well-placed song can define a movie scene as much as the dialogue or the performances do. Some of the most memorable examples come from music that was written specifically for the film in question; others come from older songs that took on a new identity once a director paired them with the right images.

“Stuck in the Middle with You” and Reservoir Dogs

Stealers Wheel released “Stuck in the Middle with You” in 1972 as a breezy, Dylan-influenced folk-rock single with no connection to violence of any kind. Two decades later, director Quentin Tarantino used the song, unaltered, to score one of the most discussed scenes in his 1992 debut Reservoir Dogs. The contrast between the song’s easygoing tone and the events on screen became one of the clearest examples in modern film of a needle-drop changing how audiences hear a song permanently afterward.

“Old Time Rock and Roll” and Risky Business

Bob Seger released “Old Time Rock and Roll” in 1978 as a straightforward tribute to earlier rock and roll music. In 1983, the film Risky Business paired the song with a now-famous scene of a character dancing alone in a living room, and the image became so closely tied to the song that many listeners picture the scene before they picture anything from the original recording session.

“Don’t You (Forget About Me)” Was Written for the Film

Unlike the previous two examples, Simple Minds’ “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” was written specifically for a movie — 1985’s The Breakfast Club — rather than repurposed after the fact. Songwriters Keith Forsey and Steve Schiff wrote the track for the film, and Simple Minds initially turned it down before eventually recording it. It became the band’s only number-one single in the United States, and remains closely tied to the film’s closing scene.

“My Heart Will Go On” and Titanic

Composer James Horner wrote “My Heart Will Go On” specifically for 1997’s Titanic, reportedly against some early hesitation from director James Cameron about including a vocal song in the film at all. Celine Dion’s recording went on to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song and sold millions of copies worldwide — a rare case of a song written for a film becoming at least as culturally significant as the film itself.

“In the Air Tonight” and Miami Vice

Phil Collins released “In the Air Tonight” in 1981 as a moody, slow-building solo single. Three years later, the pilot episode of the television series Miami Vice used the song over an extended, dialogue-free sequence, and the pairing helped define both the show’s visual style and the song’s ongoing association with tension and anticipation in film and television long after 1984.

Two Different Paths to the Same Effect

Songs written specifically for a film, like “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” and “My Heart Will Go On,” and older songs repurposed by a director, like “Stuck in the Middle with You” and “Old Time Rock and Roll,” arrive at a similar result: the song and the scene become difficult to separate in memory. What changes is the direction of the influence — whether the film was built around the song, or the song was reinterpreted by the film.

Related Reading

For more on how songs take on new meaning after release, see How Songs Become Cultural Time Capsules. For a different kind of origin story, Surprising Origins Behind Famous Song Titles looks at where song titles themselves come from.