The other evening I caught the tail end of the iconic 80s movie Weird Science. If you don’t recall the John Hughes directed film or the premise, the gist is two nerdy friends, desperate for romance, use some Hollywood created science to a turn a Barbie Doll in their real-life dream girl. The dream girl, named “Lisa,” was played by actress and model Kelly LeBrock.
In that movie, and many other films he directed, Hughes had a knack for putting the right song with right scene and making both iconic. It got me thinking about some of those great movies and songs. Here are three great examples of how he inspired musicians to find the right feel and sound for his films.
In Weird Science, Oingo Boingo got the call. Band frontman Danny Elfman, who has gone on to compose and score many Hollywood films, wrote the song in his car following a phone with Hughes. The song reached #45 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1985.
Another John Hughes film helped propel synth-pop band O.M.D. (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) to the top 5 of the charts in 1986. Unhappy with the final scene of Pretty in Pink, Hughes changed the ending and asked the band to write a song to fit the finale. In less that 24 hours, the band wrote and recorded “If You Leave.”
O.M.D., founded by Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys when they were both only 16, recently told Forbes.com a music career was not something either of them have ever intended to pursue. McClusky recalled, “Paul and I started writing songs before we could play. We just got up there and he was picking out melodies with one finger, and I was hammering away on eight notes on my bass guitar playing one note at a time.”
McClusky added, [Paul] would cannibalize his aunt’s radios and things to make circuits that would just make weird noises. We put them through sequence boxes and echo machines. We just made all these ambient noises because that’s all we could do. We had no money and no equipment for the first six months. And slowly but surely we added a cheap electric piano and an even cheaper Vox organ.”
Of course, another John Hughes inspired 80s smash hit is Simple Minds', “Don’t You Forget About Me,” from the film Breakfast Club. I wrote about that a song a few weeks ago and you read about it here.
The third song I think of when I reflect on the contributions of John Hughes to both film and music, is the theme song to National Lampoon’s Vacation, “Holiday Road” by former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham.
Hughes asked Buckingham to write the song, which was used in both the original Vacation film and the franchises three sequels; (National Lampoon’s European Vacation, Vegas Vacation, and Vacation.)
The song was never a big hit on radio but is one of the most recognizable songs from a John Hughes movie.
John Hughes died on August 6, 2009 when he suffered heart attack while visiting family in New York City.
Cox Media Group
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