AFI's Top 100 Movie Songs

[Queersetti]

The American Film Institute has compiled a list of the 100 best songs from, or used in, American movies.

They did a show on the list on CBS last night. I have to brag and say that I correctly predicted the entire top ten!

1. "Over the Rainbow," "The Wizard of Oz," 1939.

2. "As Time Goes by," "Casablanca," 1942.

3. "Singin' in the Rain," "Singin' in the Rain," 1952.

4. "Moon River," "Breakfast at Tiffany's," 1961.

5. "White Christmas," "Holiday Inn," 1942.

6. "Mrs. Robinson," "The Graduate," 1967.

7. "When You Wish Upon a Star," "Pinocchio," 1940.

8. "The Way We Were," "The Way We Were," 1973.

9. "Stayin' Alive," "Saturday Night Fever," 1977.

10. "The Sound of Music," "The Sound of Music," 1965.

11. "The Man That Got Away," "A Star Is Born," 1954.

12. "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend," "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," 1953.

13. "People," "Funny Girl," 1968.

14. "My Heart Will Go On," "Titanic," 1997.

15. "Cheek to Cheek," "Top Hat," 1935.

16. "Evergreen (Love Theme From 'A Star Is Born')," "A Star Is Born," 1976.

17. "I Could Have Danced All Night," "My Fair Lady," 1964.

18. "Cabaret," "Cabaret," 1972.

19. "Some Day My Prince Will Come," "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," 1937.

20. "Somewhere," "West Side Story," 1961.

21. "Jailhouse Rock," "Jailhouse Rock," 1957.

22. "Everybody's Talkin'," "Midnight Cowboy, 1969.

23. "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head," "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," 1969.

24. "Ol' Man River," "Show Boat," 1936.

25. "High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin')," "High Noon," 1952.

26. "The Trolley Song," "Meet Me in St. Louis," 1944.

27. "Unchained Melody," "Ghost," 1990.

28. "Some Enchanted Evening," "South Pacific," 1958.

29. "Born to Be Wild," "Easy Rider," 1969.

30. "Stormy Weather," "Stormy Weather," 1943.

31. "Theme From 'New York, New York,"' "New York, New York," 1977.

32. "I Got Rhythm," "An American in Paris," 1951.

33. "Aquarius, "Hair," 1979.

34. "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," "Shall We Dance," 1937.

35. "America," "West Side Story," 1961.

36. "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious," "Mary Poppins," 1964.

37. "Swinging on a Star," "Going My Way," 1944.

38. "Theme From 'Shaft,"' "Shaft," 1971.

39. "Days of Wine and Roses," "Days of Wine and Roses," 1963.

40. "Fight the Power," "Do the Right Thing," 1989.

41. "New York, New York," "On the Town," 1949.

42. "Luck Be a Lady," "Guys and Dolls," 1955.

43. "The Way You Look Tonight," "The Swing Time," 1936.

44. "Wind Beneath My Wings," "Beaches," 1988.

45. "That's Entertainment," "The Band Wagon," 1953.

46. "Don't Rain on My Parade," "Funny Girl," 1968.

47. "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah," "Song of the South," 1947.

48. "Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)," "The Man Who Knew Too Much," 1956.

49. "Make 'Em Laugh," "Singin' in the Rain," 1952.

50. "Rock Around the Clock," "Blackboard Jungle," 1955.

51. "Fame," "Fame," 1980.

52. "Summertime," "Porgy and Bess," 1959.

53. "Goldfinger," "Goldfinger," 1964.

54. "Shall We Dance," "The King and I," 1956.

55. "Flashdance ... What a Feeling," "Flashdance," 1983.

56. "Thank Heaven for Little Girls," "Gigi," 1958.

57. "The Windmills of Your Mind," "The Thomas Crown Affair," 1968.

58. "Gonna Fly Now," "Rocky," 1976.

59. "Tonight," "West Side Story," 1961.

60. "It Had to Be You," "When Harry Met Sally ...," 1989.

61. "Get Happy," "Summer Stock," 1950.

62. "Beauty and the Beast," "Beauty and the Beast," 1991.

63. "Thanks for the Memory," "The Big Broadcast of 1938," 1938.

64. "My Favorite Things," "The Sound of Music," 1965.

65. "I Will Always Love You," "The Bodyguard," 1992.

66. "Suicide Is Painless," "M-A-S-H," 1970.

67. "Nobody Does It Better," "The Spy Who Loved Me," 1977.

68. "Streets of Philadelphia," "Philadelphia," 1993.

69. "On the Good Ship Lollipop," "Bright Eyes," 1934.

70. "Summer Nights," "Grease," 1978.

71. "The Yankee Doodle Boy," "Yankee Doodle Dandy," 1942.

72. "Good Morning," "Singin' in the Rain," 1952.

73. "Isn't It Romantic?" "Love Me Tonight," 1932.

74. "Rainbow Connection," "The Muppet Movie," 1979.

75. "Up Where We Belong," "An Officer and a Gentleman," 1982.

76. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "Meet Me in St. Louis," 1944.

77. "The Shadow of Your Smile," "The Sandpiper," 1965.

78. "9 to 5," "9 to 5," 1980.

79. "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)," "Arthur," 1981.

80. "Springtime for Hitler," "The Producers," 1968.

81. "I'm Easy," "Nashville," 1975.

82. "Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead," "The Wizard of Oz," 1939.

83. "The Rose," "The Rose," 1979.

84. "Put the Blame on Mame," "Gilda," 1946.

85. "Come What May," "Moulin Rouge!" 2001.

86. "(I've Had) the Time of My Life," "Dirty Dancing," 1987.

87. "Buttons and Bows," "The Paleface," 1948.

88. "Do Re Mi," "The Sound of Music," 1965.

89. "Puttin' on the Ritz," "Young Frankenstein," 1974.

90. "Seems Like Old Times," "Annie Hall," 1977.

91. "Let the River Run," "Working Girl," 1988.

92. "Long Ago and Far Away," "Cover Girl," 1944.

93. "Lose Yourself," "8 Mile," 2002.

94. "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," "The Big Chill," 1983.

95. "(We're Off on the) Road to Morocco," "Road to Morocco," 1942.

96. "Footloose," "Footloose," 1984.

97. "42nd Street," "42nd Street," 1933.

98. "All That Jazz," "Chicago," 2002.

99. "Hakuna Matata," "The Lion King," 1994.

100. "Old Time Rock and Roll," "Risky Business," 1983.

 

[DéjàNu]

I watch that last night!!!

wanted to post about it this morning and forget

what beautiful songs there was!

I think my fav is The way we were or The Man That Got Away!

what's yours?

 

[Queersetti]

I watch that last night!!!

wanted to post about it this morning and forget

what beautiful songs there was!

I think my fav is The way we were or The Man That Got Away!

what's yours?

I honestly don't know if anyone could write a song more perfect than Over The Rainbow. I also thought it was great that they had a sense of humor and included Springtime For Hitler.

But, isn't this the gayest list ever? I swear, about half the entries are Barbara, Judy or Liza.

Moon River?

Putting On The Ritz?

Gayest. List. Ever.

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

I have to brag and say that I correctly predicted the entire top ten!

There's no way you guessed "Mrs. Robinson" and "Stayin' Alive".

I was watching and I thought the top three would be 1) Somewhere Over the Rainbow, 2) As Time Goes By and 3) White Christmas (which actually came in at number 5). That's as good as I got.

 

[Purple Haze]

No Beatles?

How bogus...

 

[Queersetti]

There's no way you guessed "Mrs. Robinson" and "Stayin' Alive".

I was watching and I thought the top three would be 1) Somewhere Over the Rainbow, 2) As Time Goes By and 3) White Christmas (which actually came in at number 5). That's as good as I got.

Did too. Not in order, though, just that they would be there. As far as Stayin' Alive, I figured it would be there when I saw that John Travolta was hosting the show. And don't you think Mrs. Robinson was a no-brainer?

 

[SweetBrie]

I never saw the show but I can't believe that I know most of those songs and movies too.

 

[Queersetti]

No Beatles?

How bogus...

It was limited to American movies.

 

[Lost Cause]

WHAT?????

Nothing from, "Paint your Wagon????"

"South Pacific????"

Fucking lobbists..........

 

[gypsywitch]

I was going to post this last night but I fell asleep.

Thanks for popping this up here!

 

[Queersetti]

Re: WHAT?????

Nothing from, "Paint your Wagon????"

"South Pacific????"

Fucking lobbists..........

Some Enchanted Evening is #28

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

"South Pacific????"

Some Enchanted Evening is from South Pacific you yodel.

 

[APhil]

Re: Re: WHAT?????

Some Enchanted Evening is #28

Yes, but where is "I Talk To The Trees"?

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

Yes, but where is "I Talk To The Trees"?

That was number 101. Close, man. Close.

 

[Queersetti]

Re: Re: Re: WHAT?????

Yes, but where is "I Talk To The Trees"?

I think it's more surprising that there was nothing from Oklahoma or The Music Man

 

[Lost Cause]

Oops!

Fucking lobbists anyway..*grumble-mumble*

"The best things in life are dir-ty!"

 

[gypsywitch]

"I Talk To The Trees"

*sigh*

he was so handsome

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

I think it's more surprising that there was nothing from Oklahoma or The Music Man

You realize we're doing exaclty what they want. We're arguing about what's on the list. Gives them more publicity. You can't tell me that's not why they put "Stayin' Alive" in the top ten, and included previously recorded rock songs that weren't actually written for the movies and were just used as soundtrack. (Born to be Wild, etc.) They're just doing it to piss people like me off.

 

[SnoopDog]

Shouldn't there be a song from 'BLues Brothers' up there, or maybe all the songs from 'Blues Brothers' ?

But I guess it's a pretty good list. I don't know all the songs but there are some really good ones in there. Then again there are some I'd not put into that list.

I was delighted to see that with 'Lose Yourself' more modern movies and songs were also appreciated.

Snoopy

 

[Queersetti]

You realize we're doing exaclty what they want. We're arguing about what's on the list. Gives them more publicity. You can't tell me that's not why they put "Stayin' Alive" in the top ten, and included previously recorded rock songs that weren't actually written for the movies and were just used as soundtrack. (Born to be Wild, etc.) They're just doing it to piss people like me off.

You think that they did a three hour TV special just for publicity purposes?

If you are going to exclude songs that were not written specifically for the movie they were used in, you have to dump As Time Goes By, Everybody's Talking and a lot of other songs off the list.

 

[Lost Cause]

Bah! No "Paint Your Wagon'....

http://www.steffi-line.de/Bildergalerie/nost_3filmusa/17_marvin.htm

 

[Lost Cause]

And furthermore.....

http://classicfilm.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.stars-of-old.com/select.html

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

You think that they did a three hour TV special just for publicity purposes?

As a matter of fact -- yes. All the AFI list shows are about promoting AFI, and it's been working very well. Nothign wrong with that, really, just helps keep it all in perspective.

If you are going to exclude songs that were not written specifically for the movie they were used in, you have to dump As Time Goes By, Everybody's Talking and a lot of other songs off the list.

As Time Goes By, and other songs, like I Got Rhythm, weren't written for the movies in which they became famous, but they were sung and scored specifically for those films. They were placed directly into the films, sung by the characters, or used to comment on the story. "Everybody's Talking At Me" doesn't do that. Neither does "Arthur's Theme" or a lot of other songs on the list. So it's not really a matter of who deserves to be on the list, but what exactly is this a list OF? Like I said, it hardly matters, because AFI is just making a list to stir controversy to promote themselves. The first show they did got big ratings, and so did the next couple. Expect to see more. I have no problem with this (AFI is worthy). But realize that they didn't work all that hard on this list, because the list isn't the point.

 

[Queersetti]

As a matter of fact -- yes. All the AFI list shows are about promoting AFI, and it's been working very well. Nothign wrong with that, really, just helps keep it all in perspective.



As Time Goes By, and other songs, like I Got Rhythm, weren't written for the movies in which they became famous, but they were sung and scored specifically for those films. They were placed directly into the films, sung by the characters, or used to comment on the story. "Everybody's Talking At Me" doesn't do that. Neither does "Arthur's Theme" or a lot of other songs on the list. So it's not really a matter of who deserves to be on the list, but what exactly is this a list OF? Like I said, it hardly matters, because AFI is just making a list to stir controversy to promote themselves. The first show they did got big ratings, and so did the next couple. Expect to see more. I have no problem with this (AFI is worthy). But realize that they didn't work all that hard on this list, because the list isn't the point.

Oh, I completely agree. Anyone who takes this seriously, or considers the list definitive, needs to seriously lighten up.

The puzzler to me has always been Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head. In the context of the film, where the hell did that come from?

 

[BlueSugar]

hm, nice list, not too many aren't there that should be.