13 most iconic songs from movies in the 1980s
By Joel Wagler
No. 12: "Flashdance...What A Feeling" - Irene Cara
From Flashdance, 1983
Who doesn't like a story about a young woman who is a welder by day, and an exotic dancer (NOT stripper) by night, with aspirations of being a ballerina? Come on! The story writes itself.
Who didn't cheer when Jennifer Beal's body double crashed and burned when she finally got an audition for the prestigious dancing school, but then pulled herself up and tried again, winning over the stodgy and stoic judges?
That is exactly the plot of Flashdance, the third highest-grossing movie of 1983, and it was helped along by a terrific soundtrack. "Flashdance...What A Feeling" spent six weeks at number one, won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for Best Original Song, and earned Cara a Grammy
It's hard to have more success than that, both for the movie and the song. The movie made Jennifer Beals a star and the song put a lot of hardware on Cara's mantle.
No. 11: "Up Where We Belong" - Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes
From An Officer and a Gentleman, 1982
This highly successful film earned numerous Oscar and Golden Globe nominations, including wins for Actor in a Supporting Role for Louis Gossett Jr., and another an Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Original song. That song was "Up Where We Belong."
The closing scene of the movie featured Richard Gere, who played a loner of a naval aviator candidate who unexpectedly and reluctantly falls in love with a local factory worker played by Debra Winger. The closing scene shows Gere, whose character has come to his senses, entering the factory, and working his way through the workers and machinery to find WInger. He then scoops her up to carry her away, with Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes emitting this incredible tune.
This scene has been parodied many times, including on The Simpsons, and it deserves all the attention it received. It was a fantastic movie, with a great cast and an iconic song. What more could you ask for?