Ask Lemmy

Dueling Banjos in Deliverance

Somewhere Out There from An American Tail (1986).

I wouldn't say bigger, but Shrek brought Hallelujah to life

Armageddon was a pretty big summer flick at the time but Aerosmith and John Denver were still more famous I think

"Go Speed Racer Go", the only salvageable part from the live action Speed Racer movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kGRNKevA_M

Mib by will Smith

The whistling from Bridge over river kwai

Absence of Paradox by Lovett - in fact that whole album - is just simply magnificent on par with Vangelis.

The movie it's from, is also beautiful, but utterly confusing. I'm not sure it's very well known at all.

Kiss From a Rose by Seal. I couldn’t even tell you what the plot of Batman Forever was.

Smash Mouth - All Star. It’s so popular from Shrek that most people forget (or never knew) that it started in Mystery Men.

Bohemian Rhapsody, Wayne's World.

Flash by Queen

From the movie Flash Gordon

The graduate soundtrack by Simon and Garfunkel. Mrs. Robinson was a work in progress and adapted to fit the movie, and sound of silence, and Scarborough fair are classics of the period and folk rock pillars of the century.

Interestingly, this was one of if not really the first time popular, contemporary artists had their music featured in a film. Prior, scoring a film was the purview of someone with a music phd. Talk about the beginning of sea change for the industry.

Flashdance had two songs ("what a feeling" and "maniac") that everyone knows even if they haven't seen the movie.

Wild Wild West was bigger than Wild Wild West

Goo Goo Dolls "Iris" comes to mind.

This post is 4h old and no-one’s got it rightest yet…

White Christmas.

Of course it is.

Few remember that it won the Oscar for 1942. Fewer still remember the film was called Holiday Inn

Purple rain by Prince, from the movie with the same name

I'm surprised no one said Dolly Parton's 9-to-5.

Axel F - Harold Faltmeyer ("Beverly Hills Cop" title)

The movies were super popular, but the title music became chart topping, and basically turned into the archetypical sound of the 80's

I Will Always Love You from The Bodyguard. I’ve never even seen it.

Also, Wicked Game was way bigger than Wild At Heart.

Aerosmith - don't want to miss a thing

I bet most people don't even know it was the lead track written for a movie when it came out.

“Lovefool” - Cardigans

From the film Romeo + Juliet (1996)

Kiss from a rose. Still going.

Chariots of fire theme by Vangelis from a movie "Chariots of fire".

I will always love you

Id say Lose Yourself by Eminem. Maybe because I was too young to watch the movie when it came out, but that song was everywhere, and is still popular today

As good as the 1995 movie was, and it was good, the Techno Syndrome Mortal Kombat song was a certified banger.

Honorable mention to Blood Rave from the Blade Soundtrack

Gangsta's Paradise by Coolio (feat. L.V.)

It was originally written for a movie called Dangerous Minds. I'm not an expert on Hip Hop, but I'd say it has definitely made it's place among the best in the genre.

Also, it's heavily by Stevie Wonder's Pastime Paradise.

I discovered fairly recently that Phil Collins - Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now) was originally recorded as the soundtrack to a movie called Against All Odds.

Until then, I had no idea that movie existed.

I've yet to meet anyone who's heard Scotty Doesn't Know by Lustra, who has also seen Eurotrip.