Two posts in one day? Yeah, I do that occasionally. This one came to mind while on my lunchtime walk, listening to my “Workout” playlist, which features two of these songs.
Back in the 80’s a lot of Stallone’s movies featured original songs specifically written for them. Sometimes they were kind of bad, sometimes they were good, and sometimes they were AWESOME! Here is a list of my five favorites (as always, in no particular order).
Voice of America’s Sons – John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band
(Cobra)
This is one of those distinctive songs from an 80’s action movie. Played over the ending credits, as Stallone drives off with the (then) smokin’ hot Brigitte Nielsen on the back of his bike. It’s actually part of an over all good album. One that I used to own (and may still) on LP. I still listen to this song on my iPod.
No Easy Way Out – Robert Tepper
(Rocky IV)
In a movie that actually hit a lot of emotional points, the scene that features this song is a montage of scenes documenting Rocky’s life from the previous movies. In the context of the story, it’s actually a pretty heart-rending scene. Again, this one was part of a really good soundtrack album.
Eye of the Tiger – Survivor
(Rocky III)
This is the one everyone knows. Survivor owe their success to Stallone. He screened several bands for this song, and picked them out to write and perform it. And the rest is Anthem Rock History. They did a follow up for IV called Burning Heart, which was also very good. I’m sure this still gets a lot play in gyms around the world.
Meet Me Halfway – Kenny Loggins
(Over the Top)
A classic tale of estranged father and son bonding, set against the unlikely backdrop of professional arm-wrestling. Hey, Stallone liked to do things just off mainstream most of the time. Over all, the movie is decent (though they could have found a better kid to play his son). And this song is a wonderful effort by the undisputed King of Movie Songs, Kenny Loggins, that captures that relationship quite well.
Hearts on Fire – John Cafferty
(Rocky IV)
I mentioned Survivor’s song, Burning Heart, in this movie. And it was tough to pick this one or that. In the end, I like this one better. I really like John Cafferty’s voice (he did all the singing for the Eddie & the Cruisers movies too). And the song just gets the blood pumping.
1 comment:
Have to admit to liking Eye of the Tiger. I don't know that I've ever actually listened to those other songs, even though I've seen most of Stallone's movies. I don't notice most soundtracks very much. The 13th warrior was an exception.
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