1970s Movie Songs That Defined a Generation

About These 1970s Movie Songs

Few things carry us back quite like 1970s movie songs, the tunes that drifted out of darkened theaters and onto car radios all across America. Some came from giant blockbusters, others from films most people have long forgotten.

This countdown follows our episode from #10 to #1. The chart positions, awards and behind-the-scenes details below were checked against reliable sources such as Billboard chart records and the Academy Awards.

The Countdown: 10 Movie Songs That Defined the 1970s

#10: Stayin' Alive — Bee Gees (1977)

The Bee Gees wrote "Stayin' Alive" for Saturday Night Fever before the film had its final title. Barry, Robin and Maurice worked it out over a few days at the Château d'Hérouville studio near Paris, sprawled on a staircase.

When drummer Dennis Bryon left the sessions after his mother died, the group built a loop from two bars of their own "Night Fever." That loop is the steady beat you hear all the way through.

The single spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1978, part of a run of six straight No. 1 hits that tied the Beatles' record at the time. Today, its tempo is even used to teach the rhythm of CPR chest compressions.

#9: You're the One That I Want — John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John (1978)

This Grease duet was not part of the original Broadway show. John Farrar wrote it especially for the film, for Olivia Newton-John's role as Sandy. Director Randal Kleiser was reportedly not fond of it, feeling it did not fit the 1950s style of the rest of the score.

Audiences felt otherwise. The single topped the Billboard Hot 100 on June 10, 1978, nearly a week before the movie opened in American theaters. In Britain, it held No. 1 for nine weeks.

#8: Gonna Fly Now (Theme from Rocky) — Bill Conti (1977)

Bill Conti composed this theme for Rocky, the 1976 underdog story written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. Lyricists Carol Connors and Ayn Robbins kept the words spare, only about 30 in all.

Other versions by Maynard Ferguson, Rhythm Heritage and Current also charted in 1977. Conti's own recording reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on July 2, 1977, for one week. It was nominated for the Oscar but lost to a song that appears later in this countdown.

#7: Live and Let Die — Paul McCartney and Wings (1973)

For Roger Moore's first James Bond film, Paul McCartney read Ian Fleming's novel and recalled writing the song that same afternoon. It is credited to Paul and Linda McCartney, and it reunited him with Beatles producer George Martin, who produced the track and arranged the orchestra.

Producer Harry Saltzman had at first been interested in a singer such as Shirley Bassey or Thelma Houston instead of Wings. The single went on to spend three weeks at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. It became the first Bond song nominated for the Oscar for Best Original Song.

#6: Theme from Shaft — Isaac Hayes (1971)

Isaac Hayes scored MGM's detective film Shaft, starring Richard Roundtree. The famous wah-wah guitar, played by Charles Pitts, grew out of a riff first written for an unfinished Stax song. Even the shorter single runs well over a minute before any vocals arrive.

The record spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1972, it won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, making Hayes the first African American to win that award and the first to win an Oscar in any non-acting category.

#5: The Way We Were — Barbra Streisand (1973)

Marvin Hamlisch first crossed paths with Barbra Streisand in 1964, as a rehearsal pianist on Broadway's Funny Girl. Nearly a decade later, he wrote the melody for her film with Robert Redford, choosing a major key so a sadder sound would not give the story away too soon. Alan and Marilyn Bergman wrote the lyrics.

The single spent three weeks at No. 1 in 1974, and Billboard named it the top single of that year. It also won the Oscar for Best Original Song, beating "Live and Let Die."

#4: Pinball Wizard — Elton John (1975)

Pete Townshend wrote "Pinball Wizard" for the Who's 1969 rock opera Tommy. For Ken Russell's 1975 film, Elton John played the pinball champion, though only after a twist. Elton has said he first turned the part down and advised Rod Stewart to pass too, then changed his mind when Townshend called.

His enormous boots, about four and a half feet tall, are now displayed at the Northampton Museum in England. On screen, the champion loses: Tommy, who is deaf, mute and blind, beats him at his own game.

#3: Evergreen — Barbra Streisand (1976)

"Evergreen" is the love theme from A Star Is Born, co-starring Kris Kristofferson. The songs were performed on camera, so they had to be written before filming. Streisand learned guitar to work out the melody, and lyricist Paul Williams knew it was the love song the moment she played it for him.

It spent three weeks at No. 1 in 1977 and won the Oscar and the Golden Globe for Best Original Song. Streisand became the first woman to win an Academy Award as a composer. At the Grammys, it tied for Song of the Year with our next entry.

#2: You Light Up My Life — Debby Boone (1977)

Few people remember the 1977 film You Light Up My Life, written and directed by Joseph Brooks, who also wrote the song. On screen, Didi Conn, later Frenchy in Grease, lip-synced to the voice of Kasey Cisyk, a session singer known for commercial jingles.

For the single, Brooks turned to Debby Boone, who sang over the film's instrumental track. Her version spent ten straight weeks at No. 1, the longest run of the 1970s. It won the Oscar, and Boone was named Best New Artist. Cisyk never became a household name. She died of breast cancer in 1998, at just 44.

#1: Suicide Is Painless (Theme from M*A*S*H) — Johnny Mandel and Mike Altman (1970)

Robert Altman wanted a song for M*A*S*H that was, in his words, "the stupidest song ever written." When he could not write it himself, he handed the job to his 15-year-old son, Mike, who reportedly finished the lyric in about five minutes. Johnny Mandel wrote the gentle music.

Meant for the "Last Supper" scene, it also plays over the opening titles. An instrumental version became the theme of the TV series, which ran from 1972 to 1983, and the vocal hit No. 1 in Britain in 1980. Altman later said he earned $70,000 for directing, while his son earned more than $1 million from the song.

Why 1970s Movie Songs Still Matter

Almost none of these songs began as a sure thing. A director doubted one. A lyric was handed to a teenager. A drum part was stitched together after a family loss. A singer carried a film while someone else took the song up the charts.

Many of them simply outlived their movies. Plenty of people can sing "Evergreen" without recalling a single scene from the film. The music kept going, from the theater to the radio to wedding dances and family car trips.

So which of these 1970s movie songs takes you straight back to a certain theater or a certain summer, and who were you with when you first heard it?

Sources and Further Reading

• "Stayin' Alive" — Wikipedia
• "Theme from Shaft" — Wikipedia
• "You Light Up My Life" (song) — Wikipedia
• "Suicide Is Painless" — Wikipedia
• List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones of 1977 — Wikipedia