Mason Dixon

Mason Dixon

Mason Dixon

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The 80’s had some unforgettable movies, and some have even been remade. (We’re looking at you, ‘Footloose’!)

Here are the songs that Mason still loves that will always be connected to an 80’s movie soundtrack.

Beverly Hills Cop star Eddie Murphy

A fun soundtrack from 1984,
(Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images for AFI)

Where we could, we brought you the original ‘official’ video for each song.

  • 'Against All Odds' - Phil Collins

    From the soundtrack of 1984’s Against All Odds

  • 'Axel F' - Harold Faltermeyer

    Axel Foley was Eddie Murphy’s character in Beverly Hills Cop (1984).

  • 'Living In America' - James Brown

    Rocky IV (1985) featured this song, co-written and produced by Dan Hartman, who was more well-known for “I Can Dream About You.”

  • 'Ghostbusters' by Ray Parker, Jr.

    This one came from the 1984 soundtrack of the movie that gave us the phrase, “He slimed me.” Ray Parker, Jr. needed to come to a settlement with Huey Lewis and the News because it was deemed to be too close to “I Want a New Drug.”

  • 'Danger Zone' - Kenny Loggins

    What other song would you want to hear while flying a jet fighter? From Top Gun (1986), we’ll need to see if this song makes an appearance in the movie’s sequel.

  • 'Eye of the Tiger' - Survivor

    Written by Frankie Sullivan and Jim Peterik, the song represented Rocky III (1982) as the top song on Billboard’s chart for six weeks.

  • 'When Doves Cry' - Prince

    Purple Rain (1984) featured so much great music that each of them could have been on this list. Examples are “Let’s Go Crazy,” “Jungle Love,” “Purple Rain” and “I Would Die 4 U.”

  • '(I've Had) The Time of My Life' - Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes

    Another movie with lots of hit songs, some original for the movie, some from the time the film takes place, 1987’s Dirty Dancing soundtrack has sold over 32 million copies worldwide.

  • 'St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion]' - John Parr

    Originally written about a Canadian athlete, the song was retooled for the film St. Elmo’s Fire (1985).

  • 'Kokomo' - The Beach Boys

    Written for 1988’s Cocktail, the Beach Boys sang of a place that doesn’t really exist. The clips in the video of the Beach Boys were recorded at the Walt Disney World Grand Floridian Resort. Another note: This song was broken and became a hit because someone, we won’t mention any names, but it sounds close to ‘Mason Dixon’, began playing this song on Q105. The Beach Boys haven’t forgotten.

  • 'Footloose' - Kenny Loggins

    Kenny Loggins’ second appearance on this list, and his highest charting song. From the soundtrack of Footloose (1984), the song is among the honored recordings at the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress.

  • 'Old Time Rock and Roll' - Bob Seger

    Forever connected with Tom Cruise in his underwear, Bob Seger’s hit is a timeless hit from 1983’s Risky Business.

  • 'On The Dark Side' - John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band

    1983’s Eddie and the Cruisers had a signature sound in the movie that was created by John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band.

  • 'La Bamba' - Los Lobos

    From the 1987 biopic of singer Ritchie Valens, ‘La Bamba’ was recorded by Los Lobos for the movie, not La Bamba Lou Diamond Phillips.

  • 'Shakedown' - Bob Seger

    Another singer with two soundtrack songs on this list. From the soundtrack of Beverly Hills Cop 2 (1987), this was also surprisingly Bob Seger’s only #1 song.

  • 'Neutron Dance' - The Pointer Sisters

    From Beverly Hills Cop (1984), The Pointer Sisters’ ‘Neutron Dance’ was originally written for the film Streets of Fire. Songwriter Allee Wills said the lyrics were written in half an hour. Allee Wills believed she was on a list in Russia because the song was misinterpreted to have been about nuclear war.

  • 'Let's Hear It For The Boy' - Deniece Williams

    Another song from the soundtrack of Footloose, “Let’s Hear It For The Boy’ was played during the scene when Ren (Kevin Bacon) tries to teach Willard (Chris Penn) to dance.

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