Editor’s Note: The Albumism staff has selected what we believe to be the 100 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time, representing a varied cross-section of films and musical genres. Click “Next Soundtrack” below to explore each soundtrack in the list or for easier navigation, view the full introduction & soundtrack index here.
Dirty Dancing
RCA (1987)
Selected by Justin Chadwick
In the interest of full, unabashed disclosure, I think it’s safe to say that I’ve watched Dirty Dancing more times than any other film during my lifetime. Wait, maybe it’s Pretty Woman. No, no, no, it’s definitely Dirty Dancing. I’d estimate my viewing volume to date at north of 200 viewings. I vividly recall my older sister and I watching it pretty much every day during the very lazy summer of 1988 between fifth and sixth grade, when the film was made available on VHS. And what’s crazy is that if you were to ask me what my 100 favorite films of all time are, Dirty Dancing likely would not make the cut.
Nevertheless, the film has been a ubiquitous presence in my and, I suspect, many others’ lives. Most days, you can find it playing on at least one cable channel and when nothing else of interest is on the tube, well, you can’t go wrong with refamiliarizing yourself with the tumultuous, yet ultimately redemptive tale of Frances “Baby” Houseman and Johnny Castle.
So yeah, you could say that I know the film, and by extension, the soundtrack like the back of my hand. The handful of pop hits from the 1950s and 1960s courtesy of The Ronettes, Mickey & Sylvia and The Five Satins affirm the film’s summer of 1963 plotline. But it’s the (admittedly) campy contemporary fare (for the time) that serves as the driving force behind the soundtrack’s magnetic, guilty-pleasure allure. Whether it’s co-star Patrick Swayze’s “She’s Like the Wind,” Eric Carmen’s “Hungry Eyes,” or Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes’ Oscar, Golden Globe and GRAMMY-winning theme song “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life,” this soundtrack has an uncanny knack for lodging itself within your most nostalgic memories and remaining there for a lifetime.
LISTEN & WATCH: