Ring of Fire – Jaoquin Phoenix

April’s Theme: Music from the Movies

This song was NOT originally recorded by Johnny Cash, as I’m sure a lot of people believe it was. It was written by Cash, June Carter, and Merle Kilgore, but it was first recorded by Carter’s sister, Anita. Cash was the artist who made it popular, of course, and I’ve posted his version below. Phoenix actually did the vocal work on the version above, and he did a good job, in my opinion.

There is some debate about the way the song was written. Cash’s first wife claims, in her book, I Walked the Line, that Cash actually wrote the song “about a certain private female body part,” and he just let June take credit as a co-writer. As ominous as the title sounds, the other story is that June started writing it about the way she felt while she was falling for Cash.

I personally think it reflects Cash’s drug and alcohol addictions very well. I’m a huge fan of the mariachi horns in Cash’s version, too. He claimed that he heard the song this way, with the horns, in a dream. After hearing it his way, he told Anita that he’d give her a few more months, but if the song didn’t hit big for her, he was going to record it his way.

Sh-Boom – The Chords

April’s Theme: Music from the Movies

As with a lot of songs from its era, this one was recorded by more than one group. The Chords originally wrote and recorded the song in 1954, but later that year The Crew-Cuts also released their own version. The original Chords version of the song is far superior to the other in my opinion. The Crew Cuts were, as their name might suggest, just to square with their take on the tune. It’s way too stiff, and the vocals just seemed forced, not smooth.

As far as a movie connection, the one that really sticks out for me is Clue. It’s one of Tim Curry’s best and one of my favorites. I hear the same people that bought the movie rights to Battleship and several other Milton Bradley board games are considering another movie based off Clue. I don’t see it living up to the old one.

 

Do You Love Me – The Contours

April’s Theme: Music from the Movies

Barry Gordy wrote this song, but he didn’t write it for The Contours. At the time, the Temptations weren’t even a one-hit wonder. They were a group nobody had ever really heard of at all because they had yet to have a hit. Gordy spent plenty of time trying to track down the group (having no success with Motown, they went on to pursue gospel music), but he wound up passing the song on to The Contours since the Temps were unavailable.

This would be the group’s only Top 40 hit. It managed to make it to the Top 40 twice, though. It peaked at #3 during its original release in 1962. In 1988, when it was featured on the Dirty Dancing soundtrack, it broke the top 40 again, peaking at #11. It has since become almost as closely related to the movie as “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.”

Bastian’s Happy Flight – Klaus Doldinger

April’s Theme: Music from the Movies

The Never Ending Story is one of the few films I actually think should get a remake. It not only deserves it because it’s a great story, but the FX they could put in it now would make it so much better. I know, I know…just let it go. Too often a film like this one gets a remake to only be ruined or at the very least ruin our memory of the original. I didn’t know until recently that this was a German film. Obviously, the composer is also German. This track plays at the end of the film as Bastian has his wish fulfilled by getting a ride on Falcor in his own world.

The movie was the first English language film directed by Wolfgang Petersen, who would go on to have a pretty illustrious career. He would later direct films like Outbreak, Air Force One, and Troy. Petersen had previously worked with Doldinger on his German film, Das Boot. Doldinger would also go on to have a career in film, composing several other scores, but he would also remain a prevalent jazz saxophonist, too.

Camelot – Knights of the Round Table

April’s Theme: Music from the Movies

I think Arthur’s comment at the end of the video sums it all up pretty well. After all of the traveling the knights have done to get to Camelot, this one thing turns them in the other direction. “On second thought, let’s not go to Camelot. ‘Tis a silly place.” — Arthur, King of the Britons. It’s no wonder at all that Spamalot was made after seeing what the Monty Python crew could do with a musical number like this.

It’s hard to look back now and believe that when I first watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail, I didn’t like it. Of course, I didn’t know what I was going to watch before, honestly. A girlfriend of mine insisted I watch it, explaining very little. I sat through the movie, found some of it humorous, but didn’t care for the ending. I think my exact words were something like, “I sat through all of that for this ending?” Of course, now I get to introduce new people to the movie and see their similarly confused reaction.

We Are the Champions – Queen

April’s Theme: Music from the Movies

This song has appeared in countless movies, but my first introduction to it – and very possibly my first introduction to Queen – was with The Mighty Ducks. It’s not only been used in sports films, but they are most prevalent. For that matter, real sporting events use this almost as often as their film counterparts, and it’s often grouped with “We Will Rock You” just as it was on the album and in most of Queen’s concerts.

Mercury wrote the song based on the way that the crowd made him and the rest of the band feel. Guitarist Brian May said, “We wanted to get the crowds waving and singing. It’s very positive and unifying.” So, although it fits all your favorite moments in football, baseball, basketball, hockey or even soccer – it was the official song of the 1994 FIFA World Cup – it’s all about the way a band was moved by its audience. I went ahead and threw “We Will Rock You” below. They really should be together.

Both songs are challenging to perform in different respects. Mercury’s original recording took him up to a C5 that he both belted and sang falsetto. You can hear him drop a few of the notes down on the recording above. As for “We Will Rock You,” drummer Roger Taylor has done at least one interview I’m aware of where he comments on recreating the recording. The recording actually has the sound of a large crowd stomping and clapping. There’s only so much you can do to recreate that sound on the drums.

Bella Notte – George Givot

April’s Theme: Music from the Movies

 

I’m particularly fond of the part of the song with just the two Italian cooks singing. Their harmony is really cool and stands out in this version of the song. This is probably going to be a short entry. It’s surprisingly difficult to find information on this song. I do know that it has been covered by George Givot, Steve Tyrell, Britney Spears, Ruby Summer, and most recently, the cast of “Glee,” among others.

It was written by Peggy Lee and Sonny Burke, as were all the songs featured on the Lady and the Tramp soundtrack. Lee also recorded “He’s a Tramp,” “La La Lu,” “The Siamese Cat Song,” and “What is a Baby?” The actual translation of the words “Bella Notte” is, of course, “beautiful night,” I’ve included a Lou Monte recording of the song below that I like pretty well, too.

Soul of a Man – Beck

April’s Theme: Music from the Movies

Please, completely disregard the video that accompanies this song. It’s a fan video, or at least that’s what the YouTube description says. Anyway…

The movie I heard this in was I Love You, Man, and it’s not the first movie from that soundtrack I’ve posted. You can see some of the other songs HERE, HERE, and HERE. I really, really love that movie. I love this movie so much that every time I write about it like this, I want to watch again. I’ve already seen it at least 10 times or so, but I digress… I highly recommend watching the movie. You can read my review of it HERE.

I’m not a big fan of this song in general, but sometimes you find just the right song to go with just the right scene of a movie. That’s the case with this song. It only appears in the film for a few seconds, and it’s just the intro to the song really. It plays while the groomsmen are walking across the lawn of the wedding location in slow motion. I can’t find the scene online or I’d share it. You know what? Just watch the movie, and you’ll see it. Beck released the song in 2008 on his album, Modern Guilt. The album made the #2 spot on the Top Alternative Album and Top Rock Album charts.

Raiders March – John Williams

April’s Theme: Music from the Movies

  

I’ve written about Williams’ work a few different times even before I started the movie music theme. He does a lot to push your emotions in the films on which he works. Movies like Star Wars and Jaws wouldn’t be nearly as emotional or moving if it wasn’t for that soundtrack backing them up. What’s most impressive to me about this piece is that Williams is able to take a march and make it feel like something other than a march. The percussion still has the sound and parts of a march, but the rest of music sounds completely different in style.

This song was nominated for Best Original Score at the Academy Awards, but it lost to Chariots of Fire. Something interesting I just recently learned about the film series is that Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (easily my least favorite of the series now) is actually a prequel to Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, the first film released in the series. I think I’m going to have to go back and watch all three films again to see if knowing that makes any difference to the movies’ timelines. Actually, I’ve seen the third movie in the series so many times that I shouldn’t really need to see it again.

Salve Regina – Deloris & The Sisters

April’s Theme: Music from the Movies

Sister Act is one of those movies that I always watch when I catch it on TV. I don’t have cable anymore, so it’s been a while since I’ve seen it. The music in the film was always one of the main selling points for me. If you don’t know the basic premise here, Deloris (Whoopi Goldberg) is on the run from her ex-boyfriend, a gangster who is trying to have her killed to keep her quiet. She goes into a sort of witness protection program and pretends to be a nun. Since she can’t seem to fit in at the convent, the head nun (who is the only one of the nuns that knows the truth) puts her in charge of the choir due to her musical background as a lounge performer in Atlantic City.

This is the choirs first performance after Deloris, AKA Sister Mary Clarence takes over. I love that the music, moving people like nothing else can, brings in people from the street. I think a lot of times churches and religious establishments become too rigid in sticking to the old ways. People think that church and religion have to be so serious all the time. Personally, I like to think that if I were able to sit down and have a conversation with Jesus, it would be more like having a conversation with a close friend than one with a stuffy old man; although, that’s the way he is often portrayed in paintings and art: always so serious.