In the Spring of 1986, one of the top 25 soundtracks of all time (ranked at #11 according to Rolling Stone) was released to accompany the film PRETTY IN PINK. It’s hard to believe that collection of songs, curated by director John Hughes with rumored help from star Molly Ringwald, was nearly an instant classic from the time it hit shelves, due to the eclectic music and barely known bands at the time (I truly feel, this album put a lot of the artists featured on the map).
Honestly the whole string of Hughes teen films in the 80s had a soundtrack selected specifically by him, but none of those other albums rose to the pop cultural height that the PRETTY IN PINK sndtk did.
I did some research, and in early May of 1986, this compilation album reached #5 on the Billboard hot 100 albums, six weeks after it came out. For that week, it is ranked right behind The Rolling Stones, Prince and the Revolution, Whitney Houston, and Van Halen. Not bad company for a soundtrack of mostly unknown artists at the time.
Yes, THE BREAKFAST CLUB sndtk has some great music, but the only song that really stands out is the 80s Gen-X era anthem “Don’t You Forget About Me”. Unless you are obsessed with the film, which admittedly I am, you most likely don’t have the album, or even care.
SIXTEEN CANDLES also has some good music in the film, but an official soundtrack was limited and not widely available, nor were any of the 5 songs on the short tracklist released as singles. Not even the most recognized track “If You Were Here” by the Thompson Twins. By the way, the vinyl is on ebay, and it goes for well over $100.
The FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF soundtrack is mostly known for “Oh Yeah” by Yello, but again, nothing else unless you are a fan of this movie.
As a matter of fact, the FERRIS soundtrack never had an official release when the film came out (side note: Spotify now has a full playlist of all the songs in the film for your enjoyment). At the time, John Hughes sent out 100,000 7” vinyl singles as an exclusive only to his fan club members. Apparently, Paramount execs were upset over the lack of an official compilation record to represent/promote the movie, but Hughes didn’t think a full album of all those songs strung together would be wanted by consumers. What was he thinking?
Good news FERRIS fans!! In 2016 La-La-Land records released a CD of most of the songs from the film, including the score. Unfortunately, the FERRIS version of “Twist and Shout” was not available for licensing.
However, Hughes clearly made up for it with the PRETTY IN PINK soundtrack that starkly stood out from his other music curations. He really nailed it with the track list, and I don’t think it was just because of the lead single by OMD, “If You Leave”. It’s an album full of great post punk new wave artists like New Order, Suzanne Vega, INXS, Echo and the Bunnymen, and The Smiths. This compilation introduced America at large to these mostly foreign bands, and new sounds. Even to those living in small towns.
See, for a dorky loner kid like me, who was somewhat reclusive and shy, living in West Monroe, Louisiana (a city now famous for being the home of the Duck Dynasty guys if that tells you anything about the music that was available to me), I had no exposure to non-mainstream FM pop/rock stations.
The only way I could discover any music beyond Casey’s Weekly Top 40 was through film and television. Of course, the John Hughes teen films were a huge influence in the mid-80s. Though I wouldn’t reach my teens until the end of the decade, these films still resonated with me, and the music absolutely grabbed me by the eardrums, even at that young age.
At the same time, the main music “influencer”, to use a modern term, on television was of course MTV. Though, pre-”120 Minutes”, the network seemed only to be interested in the 80’s powerhouse trinity of Michael, Prince, and the holy Madonna. All of whom have their place, but without the Ringwald/Hughes film trilogy, and the PRETTY IN PINK soundtrack in particular, I never would have had the opportunity to discover The Specials, The Smiths, Psychedelic Furs, Echo and the Bunnymen, early INXS, Suzanne Vega, and New Order. At least not until high school or college. Some of these discoveries led me to similar artists like Jesus and Mary Chain, Joy Division, English Beat, and Sigue Sigue Sputnik.
I remember buying the cassette on a family road trip at a Target in Texas, circa 1986. I didn’t have a Walkman, so I asked to listen to it through the car cassette player. My father agreed, but he’d only play one side, then listen to his music for an hour, and then play the other side. He hated the music, but I was in the backseat jamming my 10 year old heart out, loving every beat. I felt so cool because it was music from a Hughes film, it was new, and different than anything else widely available, or that my friends were listening to at that time. Though I eventually wore it out on my boombox, I still have that very cassette in my collection to this day.
When we got back home, I’d go to the music section at my local K-Mart or Montgomery Wards, that was little more than two six foot shelves, in my small town and try to search for the full LPs of the bands featured on this album (much to my proper southern family’s dismay), but no luck at those stores.
We did have mall based record stores with glossy posters and 12×12 album covers of the most popular radio bands and artists all around the store. Those stores had a Classical section, a 50s & 60s section, and a modern rock/pop section that included artists from the 70s as well. Not much really strayed outside of these parameters.
The PRETTY IN PINK soundtrack is definitely still in my personal top 5 movie soundtracks, if not in my top 3. It’s right up there with Fast Times,Trainspotting, Lost Boys, Pulp Fiction, Donnie Darko, and Purple Rain (though nothing will ever top Purple Rain for me). I give it a listen several times a year when I feel like taking a deep dive in nostalgia, and never turn the radio down when one of the songs pops up on the radio. Though I will admit, the first track, “If You Leave” by OMD is overplayed.
This compilation of songs and artists helped this former small town boy broaden his musical horizons at a very early age, and it holds a special place in my heart, and my playlist for that reason. So I celebrate this soundtrack maintaining the classic status it has held onto for 35 years now, and that all too rare genuine feeling of new music discovery, no matter where you are from.
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