Top Gun, Top Soundtrack

The film Top Gun, which would go on to become the highest-grossing film of 1986, hit theaters nationwide exactly 25 years ago today.  The film would also spawn three top 20 hits, which included Loverboy’s “Heaven in Your Eyes,” which went to number 12; Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone,” which hit number 2; and Berlin’s “Take My Breath Away,” which would hit the top of Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart for one week in September of that year.  

For Loggins, “Danger Zone” was the next in a line of top-20 1980s’ soundtrack hits that included “I’m Alright” from Caddyshack, “Footloose” from the film of the same name, “Meet Me Halfway” from Over the Top, and “Nobody’s Fool” from Caddyshack II.  Loggins also hit number 60 with “Playing with the Boys” off the Top Gun soundtrack.

For Loverboy, “Heaven in Your Eyes” would be the third of four top twenty hits the band would score, all between 1983 and 1986, following “Hot Girls in Love” and “Lovin’ Every Minute of It,” and preceding “This Could Be the Night.”  (For those who might be wondering, “Turn Me Loose” peaked at number 35 and “Working For the Weekend” peaked at number 29, in 1981 and 1982, respectively.)

For Berlin, “Take My Breath Away” was the band’s only top 20 hit, and it joined “No More Words” as the only two top 40 hits of the band’s career.

The Top Gun soundtrack is also recognized for its award-winning anthem, which was composed by Harold Faltermeyer and features Steve Stevens on guitar.  “Top Gun Anthem” did not chart, but it was released as a single; a video, which is featured above, was made for the song; and it won a Grammy in 1987 for Best Pop Instrumental Performance.

The album also featured other stars from the music industry, including Miami Sound Machine, Teena Marie, and Cheap Trick, whose song from the film, “Might Wings,” was released as a single but did not chart.  The soundtrack might have had another pop star from the time, but Bryan Adams reportedly refused to allow the film to use his song “Only the Strong Survive” because of concerns that the film glorified war.