Songs Revisited

In the course of our lives, there are certain movies, sports moments that define our generation and deeply affect us emotionally or inspire us. Songs are no exception. Whether it be a ballad like Every Rose Has it's Thorn or songs with a message, We are the World, there are certain songs that leave an everlasting affect on us.Sometimes though, it doesn't happen right away for a song to catch on and could take years even decades for audiences to re-discover it.

The song I want to use as an example is the now immortal, Don't Stop Believin' by Journey. Originally released in 1981, it was not considered a big hit when it was first released. It was used as an inspirational anthem for the 2005 Chicago White Sox, 2008-09 Dodgers and the 2010 SF Giants. It is also used for all home Detroit Red Wings games given the opening lyrics (born and raised in South Detroit).

Recently it made its way back into the mainstream with the pilot episode of Glee which sparked millions of iTunes downloads and re-introduced the song to a new generation. It was also featured as the closing song in the Broadway show, Rock of Ages, which is now a major motion picture. Now, this is not the 1st time we've seen a song get re-introduced to a new generation. We saw this with Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody  in the 1992 film Wayne's World and the Righteous Brothers' Unchained Melody in the 1990 film Ghost.

So what is it that makes a song we've had in our collection for years all of a sudden become relevant in our lives again? Is it because it's being used in our new favorite tv show or favorite scene in a movie? The answer will not be the same for everyone. Maybe there is no answer at all. As a fun Top 5, I was thinking of what my Top 5 songs used in movies are. Now the criteria has to be though that the song could not have been written for the movie because that would be cheating :) So in no particular order:

1. Bohemian Rhapsody - Wayne's World
2. Then He Kisses Me - Goodfellas
3. You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin - Top Gun
4. As Time Goes By - Casablanca
5. Stuck in the Middle with You - Reservoir Dogs

I would love to see comments on what your Top 5 are!

"I'm your Huckleberry" - Doc Holliday