# What song seems to appear most in pop culture? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 3, 2008, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-seems-to-appear-most-in-pop-culture/455224 "2008-07-03T19:55:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ChrisBooth12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@ChrisBooth12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisBooth12)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-seems-to-appear-most-in-pop-culture/455224/1 "2008-07-03T19:55:45Z")
What do you guys think? Music, movies, TV what song in one version or another seems to be in a lot of things? I nominate Blister in the Sun. One of those songs that almost everyone has heard but doesn’t know where. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-seems-to-appear-most-in-pop-culture/455224/2 "2008-07-03T20:02:52Z")
If “O Fortuna” counts as a song, I nominate it. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-seems-to-appear-most-in-pop-culture/455224/3 "2008-07-03T20:17:58Z")
I call for a moratorium on “What a Wonderful World.” ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-seems-to-appear-most-in-pop-culture/455224/4 "2008-07-03T20:25:50Z")
Happy Birthday To You! ---
**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:** [July 3, 2008, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-seems-to-appear-most-in-pop-culture/455224/5 "2008-07-03T20:35:00Z")
[QUOTE=Ronald C. Semone] Happy Birthday To You! [/QUOTE] That song is pretty much the opposite of what the OP is looking for, due to the copywrite holders wanting so much money for its use. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-seems-to-appear-most-in-pop-culture/455224/6 "2008-07-04T01:47:16Z")
Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” may be in the running. Also, Pachelbel’s “Canon”. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-seems-to-appear-most-in-pop-culture/455224/7 "2008-07-04T01:54:28Z")
Respect by Aretha Franklin. At least half of the [Forrest Gump Sountrack](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forrest_Gump_(soundtrack)). ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-seems-to-appear-most-in-pop-culture/455224/8 "2008-07-04T01:58:04Z")
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-seems-to-appear-most-in-pop-culture/455224/9 "2008-07-04T02:02:33Z")
In 30’s-50’s cartoons, it would be damn hard to not hear “Powerhouse” in almost every other episode. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-seems-to-appear-most-in-pop-culture/455224/10 "2008-07-04T02:05:50Z")
Oh, speaking of cartoons, there’s Grieg’s Morning Mood, Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Overture, and Mysterioso Pizzicato. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-seems-to-appear-most-in-pop-culture/455224/11 "2008-07-04T02:19:57Z")
“Amazing Grace” gets played in an awful lot of funeral scenes. Apparently they even play in for Vulcan funerals on the Enterprise. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-seems-to-appear-most-in-pop-culture/455224/12 "2008-07-04T02:28:53Z")
[QUOTE=Indistinguishable] Oh, speaking of cartoons, there’s Grieg’s Morning Mood, Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Overture, and Mysterioso Pizzicato. [/QUOTE] And the William Tell Overture. Not just the finale (which belongs on this list), but the “storm” and “dawn” sections (the latter has even been used as recently as in **Two and a Half Men** ). ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-seems-to-appear-most-in-pop-culture/455224/13 "2008-07-04T02:32:47Z")
Beethoven’s 5th Symphony Beethoven’s 9th Symphony Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture Pomp and Circumstance by Elgar ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-seems-to-appear-most-in-pop-culture/455224/14 "2008-07-04T02:36:02Z")
[Battle Without Honor or Humanity](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_Without_Honor_or_Humanity) ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-seems-to-appear-most-in-pop-culture/455224/15 "2008-07-04T02:38:37Z")
Of semi-recent songs (last 10 years), “All Star” by Smash Mouth sure gets/got a lot of play on movies and TV. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-seems-to-appear-most-in-pop-culture/455224/16 "2008-07-04T03:34:40Z")
A few years ago, I saw a little magazine blurb that compared the number of uses of “Bad to the Bone” and “I Feel Good” in movies. IIRC, they were neck-and-neck. Sorry about not having a cite, but yeah, those two appear an awful lot. Oh, and a more recent song–“Hey Ya” has been really overused lately. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-seems-to-appear-most-in-pop-culture/455224/17 "2008-07-04T03:38:04Z")
“I feel good” is certainly used a lot in previews. There are some songs that are just used over and over again for movie trailers. I feel like every SINGLE trailer for an “epic” historical movie uses the _exact same Choir music_ - the choir usually comes in when there’s a really long overhead shot of a huge battle sequence. When will they quit with these goddamn cliches? ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-seems-to-appear-most-in-pop-culture/455224/18 "2008-07-04T03:45:45Z")
[QUOTE=ChrisBooth12] What do you guys think? Music, movies, TV what song in one version or another seems to be in a lot of things? I nominate Blister in the Sun. One of those songs that almost everyone has heard but doesn’t know where. [/QUOTE] I’ll see your “Blister in the Sun” and raise you “Lust for Life.” Jim Osterberg isn’t hurting for cash, that’s for sure. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-seems-to-appear-most-in-pop-culture/455224/19 "2008-07-04T03:49:50Z")
_“Won’t Get Fooled Again”_…heck, even the President uses it! ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-seems-to-appear-most-in-pop-culture/455224/20 "2008-07-04T04:06:08Z")
“Chukka-chukka…Ooooh yeah…” What the hell is that song called, and who is responsible for it? There was evidently a law that it had to be in every movie in the mid-late 80’s. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-seems-to-appear-most-in-pop-culture/455224.md?page=2)