# Music That Outlived What It Was Originally Associated With **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [August 6, 2026, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186 "2026-08-06T16:54:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2026, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/41 "2026-08-06T18:50:06Z")
Originally a traditional song with origins that aren’t quite clear, “You Are My Sunshine” has come a long way since [Jimmie Davis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmie_Davis) popularized it in his gubernatorial campaigns. > **[You Are My Sunshine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Are_My_Sunshine)** > > "You Are My Sunshine" (French: Tu es mon soleil; Louisiana Creole: To vyé mô soléy) is an American standard of old-time and country music and the state song of Louisiana. Its original writer is disputed. According to the performance rights organization BMI, by the year 2000 the song had been recorded by over 350 artists and translated into 30 languages. Written and recorded as early as 1939, the song was first published and copyrighted in 1940 by Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell. Davis went on ... ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2026, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/42 "2026-08-06T18:57:04Z")
I’ve never seen the movie The Final Countdown, and I probably never will. But man, it’s got a rocking theme. Similar can be said for Chariots of Fire. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2026, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/43 "2026-08-06T19:04:05Z")
The song “Singin’ in the Rain” was originally written for a Broadway musical review in 1929, not for the movie _Singin’ in the Rain_, so it’s now in the public domain. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2026, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/44 "2026-08-06T19:13:49Z")
Allan Sherman, too. I can’t hear “Dance of the Hours” without thinking of summer camp… ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2026, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/45 "2026-08-06T19:15:12Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > I still hear “I’ll Be There for You” by the Rembrandts on oldies radio Holy crap, I’m decrepit! ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2026, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/46 "2026-08-06T19:15:19Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’ve never seen the movie The Final Countdown, and I probably never will. But man, it’s got a rocking theme. I can tell you’ve never seen the film. If you mean the rocker by Europe, that song is not in it. Especially as it didn’t come out until 5 years after the film. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2026, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/47 "2026-08-06T19:17:26Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > How many people remember Crocker-Citizens Bank? I do. I also remember that it was a young Sandy Duncan who did commercials for United California Bank. ---
**Author:** ![Reindeer\_Flotilla](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reindeer_flotilla/32/3024_2.png) [@Reindeer\_Flotilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reindeer_Flotilla)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2026, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/48 "2026-08-06T19:26:46Z")
In 1966, Stephen Stills was a member of what had just become the house band for the Whisky a Go Go on Sunset Boulevard. So when he found himself in the middle of the counterculture Sunset Strip curfew riots there in the late fall in West Hollywood California, he penned a little tune about it that his band recorded a month later in December of that year. Today the Sunset Strip curfew riots are little remembered, however Buffalo Springfield’s “For What it’s Worth (Stop, Hey What’s That Sound)” is much more well known. Especially since it was voted by the Rolling Stone as 63rd of the 500 greatest songs of all time. Over the decades it’s morphed into a Vietnam war protest song (e.g. in the Forrest Gump soundtrack during some Vietnam scenes), and yes you can certainly connect the dots between anti-hippie sentiment → curfew laws → curfew protests → Vietnam war protests, but the inspiration for the song really came about because of evening traffic jams on Sunset Blvd were affecting business owners. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2026, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/49 "2026-08-06T19:32:36Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I can tell you’ve never seen the film. If you mean the rocker by Europe, that song is not in it. Especially as it didn’t come out until 5 years after the film. …Huh. TIL. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2026, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/50 "2026-08-06T19:33:54Z")
You’ve probably never heard of the movie **Unchained** , but I’m sure you know the song from that movie, _Unchained Melody_. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2026, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/51 "2026-08-06T19:46:46Z")
I enjoyed Peter Gunn. It is worth watching to see and hear Lola Albright. Gunn’s girl friend Edie Hart who sings jazz at Mother’s night club. I’ll submit Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2026, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/52 "2026-08-06T19:50:11Z")
Nobody has ever heard of the **"Entrance of the Gladiators,”** but everyone is familiar with the famous circus music. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2026, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/53 "2026-08-06T19:54:33Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > You’ve probably never heard of the movie **Unchained** , but I’m sure you know the song from that movie, _Unchained Melody_. But. Wow. I thought that was a Roy Orbison song or something written for him or Elvis. I had no idea. I learned something today and thanks for teaching me. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2026, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/54 "2026-08-06T19:55:37Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > Seal’s “Kiss from a Rose” has enjoyed lasting popularity long after _Batman Returns_. This is one where I associated the video with the song so much, I’ll never forget what it was for. I also think it was the first time I’d heard of Seal. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2026, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/55 "2026-08-06T19:56:37Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Similar can be said for Chariots of Fire. It’s hard for me to forget the guys running along the beach to this theme, which takes my mind to the movie pretty quickly. I’ve seen the movie a few times and while good, nothing quite lives up to the theme Vangelis wrote for it. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2026, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/56 "2026-08-06T20:03:20Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > > [@Chronos](#): > > > > It’s hard for me to forget the guys running along the beach to this theme, which takes my mind to the movie pretty quickly. Well, sort of? To me, it brings to mind Grover the Muppet running along the beach. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2026, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/57 "2026-08-06T20:07:22Z")
Even if you’ve never heard of François-Joseph Gossec or his opera _Rosine, ou L’épouse abandonnée_, you’ve almost certainly heard its gavotte, which was used as the standard “fussy tidying-up” music in countless Warner Brothers cartoons: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/QdWQcjyF-cA/maxresdefault.jpg "François-Joseph Gossec - Gavotte in D major pour Mademoiselle Laure.") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdWQcjyF-cA) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2026, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/58 "2026-08-06T20:34:56Z")
“[Mah Nà Mah Nà](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mah_N%C3%A0_Mah_N%C3%A0)” was written by an Italian composer, Piero Umiliani, in 1968 for the soundtrack of an Italian exploitation documentary film about sexuality in Sweden, titled _Svezia, inferno e paradiso_ (“Sweden: Heaven and Hell”). That movie is pretty much long forgotten, except for the song, which is now almost entirely associated with The Muppets: [![](https://i.cbc.ca/ais/1.5375778,1574887271000/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C16%2C568%2C319%29%3B) ](https://i.cbc.ca/ais/1.5375778,1574887271000/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C16%2C568%2C319%29%3B) ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2026, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/59 "2026-08-06T20:40:08Z")
Another Christmas one is “White Christmas” which was originally written for a now largely forgotten film called “Holiday Inn” released in 1942. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2026, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/60 "2026-08-06T20:40:57Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > You’ve probably never heard of the movie **Unchained** , but I’m sure you know the song from that movie, _Unchained Melody_. My wife had a little girl in her office while this song played over the sound system. My wife told her it was called “Unchained Melody”. The little girl retorted: “That’s not _Unchained Melody_. That’s the music from _Ghost_!” She followed this with “It was sad when Sam died. It was sad when he died again.” If you’ve seen the movie, you’ll understand. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186.md?page=4)