Top movie soundtracks from the 1980s third and second
Tied 3rd - Footloose
Sharing third place with 9 million sales is this lively soundtrack from 1984’s Footloose. The movie starred Kevin Bacon and was a big hit despite mixed reviews. A strong track listing had a great range of songs and top-selling singles released from it.
The top track was surely the title song “Footloose” by Kenny Loggins. But that was closely run with Deniece Williams' “Let’s Hear It For The Boy” and "Almost Paradise” from Ann Wilson and Mike Reno. Bonnie Tyler also had chart success around Europe with “Holding Out For A Hero”.
Tied 3rd - Top Gun
Also in third place with 9 million sales, here are both Tom Cruise and Harold Faltemeyer back again, but together this time. Faltermeyer scored the movie but is best known here for the “Top Gun Anthem” used in the film's opening. Other top music moments are “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” for the bar room scene where Cruise sings to Kelly McGillis and “Take My Breath Away” the love theme for the film by Berlin.
Kenny Loggins added another memorable track with the powerful “Danger Zone”. He was way down the selection list for the track though, around fifth choice after Toto, Bryan Adams, REO Speedwagon, and Corey Hart. Loggins did a decent job on what’s now another iconic track from the film.
2nd - Purple Rain
There is an underlying question here. Is this a regular album with a movie, or a movie with a soundtrack album? Either way, it’s Prince and The Revolution in amazing form. After his 1999 album Prince let Warner Brothers know that the songs he was writing for his next album would feature in a film, and he would be the star.
It sounds like an obvious yes let’s do it! But Prince wasn’t yet a huge star and it took some convincing that he could make the project work before his label agreed. The film and album were released in 1984. The film did well at the box office, $70 million against its $7 million costs. The album though was an enormous success and propelled Prince to the next level of stardom. It sold over 13 million copies and had huge hits with “When Doves Cry”, “Let’s Go Crazy” and the title track “Purple Rain”. Two Grammys and an Academy Award followed too.