Music has a way of coming back around. Some songs from artists who haven’t released albums in decades have been known to reappear on the charts now and again. Music from artists who have passed away have also experienced a resurgence.
While there are a number of reasons why a song may re-climb the charts in popularity years after the original release, scoring from movies is often an inducement of re-emergence.
And because there are decades between original release dates and re-introduction, the songs are often catapulted to a new generation of listeners.
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“Saltburn” starring Jacob Elordi, is one of the latest movies to bring an old song back to life. (Alberto Rodriguez/Variety via Getty Images)
Here are just a few movies that provided forgotten songs with another life.
1. “Murder on the Dancefloor,” Sophie Ellis-Bextor
The “Murder on the Dancefloor” track was dropped for viewers at the end of the 2024 comedy thriller “Saltburn.”
The movie starring Jacob Eloridi and Barry Keoghan was an immediate hit. The film premiered at the 50th Telluride Film Festival in August 2023 and hit the big screens in November. In late December, “Saltburn” was added to Amazon’s streaming platform, where it grossed millions in the first few weeks.
Keoghan, the villain of the film, is seen at the end of the movie dancing naked to “Murder on the Dancefloor” among 127 rooms in a façade mansion in Northamptonshire, England. The dance number goes on for quite a long time, giving viewers plenty of the song to take note of. The song and the dance quickly experienced virality on social media, and has amassed rubber stamp versions of the scene.
The 2001 hit by Sophie Ellis-Bextor off the album “Read My Lips,” appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 in the first days of January 2024.
2. “Something in the Way,” Nirvana
“Something in the Way” was first released by Nirvana in 1991. In 2022, it was used in “The Batman.” Robert Pattinson played the caped crusader in this dark, eerie rendition of the superhero classic.
The song off Nirvana’s “Nevermind” album became highly associated with the film, after it was used twice in the movie and in the trailer leading up to its release.
After the trailer for the movie was released in August 2020, the American rock song appeared on the Billboard charts for the first time a month later in September.
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Nirvana’s “Something in the Way” was used twice in “The Batman” starring Robert Pattinson. (Cindy Ord/WireImage)
3. “Danger Zone,” Kenny Loggins
“Danger Zone” was composed by Giorgio Moroder for the original “Top Gun” movie that was released in 1986. Tom Whitlock wrote the lyrics for the “Top Gun” theme, and Kenny Loggins recorded the track.
The song was used in the opening scene of the 1986 film, and the 2022 sequel stuck to the same roots. The 2022 movie also uses the song in the beginning of the movie, with a similar opening shot.
Loggins re-recorded a new version of the song for “Top Gun: Maverick,” but the old track ended up being the one that was chosen.
“I did re-record ‘Danger Zone’ to make a 5.0 version that would wrap around the audience,” Loggins said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “But Tom Cruise really wanted to conjure up the original version, the original feeling. So in the long run, it turned out to be the old track coming back.”
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“Danger Zone” was made for the original “Top Gun” film, and reused in the title sequence of “Top Gun: Maverick.” (CBS via Getty Images)
“Great Balls of Fire,” by Jerry Lee Lewis is another song featured in both movies. Nick “Goose” Bradshaw, played by Anthony Edwards, sings the song in the original movie, and his son Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw, played by Miles Teller, sings the song in “Top Gun: Maverick.”
This 1957 classic was another made popular again because of both of these movies, as well as “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin,'” that Pete “Maverick” Mitchell famously sings to Charlie at the bar, with the help of Goose.
4. “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Queen
The 2018 “Bohemian Rhapsody” movie, titled after the famous Queen song, was one of the many featured in the biopic about lead singer Freddie Mercury.
Following the release of the film, the song returned to the Billboard Hot 100. It was on the charts when it was first released, and then again in 1992 after it was played in the movie “Wayne’s World.” According to CNBC, after the release of the newest film, the song reached its highest spot on the charts, hitting number three.
5. “Come and Get Your Love,” Redbone
The “Guardians of the Galaxy” films are filled with hits. One of the biggest was “Come and Get Your Love,” by Redbone.
“Come and Get Your Love” is one of the many hits included in the “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies. (Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Image)
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The song was originally released in 1974, but was used in the 2014 movie when Peter Quill, played by Chris Pratt, listens to the song through his headphones and sings along.
It earned another life in 2014, reappearing on the charts after being featured in the popular Marvel flick.