According to some ambiguous legal front—actually the Toronto Film Festival—September 5 is now Bill Murray Day. It's tough for us to disagree...he's the kind of character that attracts universal praise from those in all walks of life.
Music Times feels its our duty to release some sort of tribute to the comedic genius, thus we hunted down every film that stars Murray with an original single and listed them chronologically below. Sure, none of them can touch the actual performance of the actor but that doesn't mean they don't deliver.
Note: 'The Little Shop of Horrors' was not included as Murray's character does not sing in any of the musical's numbers...and it seemed overkill to list every song from that soundtrack below.
"Makin' It" by David Naughton from Meatballs (1979)
Meatballs seems to have standards on several fronts: A) screwball comedies that star Bill Murray and B) screwball comedies that take place at summer camp. It was also common practice to package comedies at the time with original songs, but few ended up being as vanilla as Naughton's single.
"Home On The Range" by Neil Young from Where The Buffalo Roam (1980)
Murray wasn't always busy with comedies, even during his earliest days in film. This role helped him make lifelong friend Hunter S. Thompson, and his performance as the gritty writer/cultural icon required a gritty theme song. Neil "The Godfather of Grunge" Young stepped in by performing the standard "Home On The Range" with guitar and harmonica.
"I'm Alright" by Kenny Loggins from Caddyshack (1980)
Kenny Loggins has made a name for himself by delivering hit songs for '80s films. Everyone is of course familiar with "Danger Zone" from Top Gun but he also landed a successful number with "I'm Alright" from Caddyshack. What it has to do with golf is beyond us but it certainly pairs with Murray's role as the screwball groundskeeper.
"Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker Jr. from Ghostbusters (1984)
No song on this list ever got as big as Ray Parker's groovy theme for the film of the same name. It would be easy to write an original song about men who trap unwanted specters that was terribly corny but Parker managed to walk the fine line between covering the subject matter while keeping it believable. Still a great listen to this day.
"Put A Little Love in Your Heart" by Annie Lennox and Al Green from Scrooged (1988)
The theme song from Scrooged took together elements from two eras and resulted in a wonderful smorgasbord. The earlier influences were of course the 1969 single "Put A Little Love In Your Heart" by Jackie DeShannon and vocalist Al Green, who was at his most renowned closer to that time. Pair him with Eurythmics vocalist Annie Lennox to get the '80s element worked in and run with it. It sounds like the potential for disaster but it spun splendidly.
"I Got You Babe" by Sonny & Cher from Groundhog Day (1993)
Okay, this track was hardly recorded for the purpose of being featured in Groundhog Day but it'd be criminal of us to ignore the track that woke up Phil Connors every morning during his imprisonment in February 2.
"Space Jam" by Quad City DJ's from Space Jam (1996)
The history of Quad City DJ's essentially begins and ends during 1996. The dance crew landed a no. 3 hit with "C'mon N' Ride It (The Train)" and then provided the theme for the Michael Jordan-starring Space Jam. Theer are few films nowadays where Bill Murray deserves second-billing but if someone's gonna do it, it's probably Jordan.
"Independent Woman Part I" by Destiny's Child from Charlie's Angels (2000)
Bill Murray might have regretted taking the role of Bosley for the first Charlie's Angels flick (he didn't return for the sequel) but Destiny's Child certainly didn't regret supplying its "Independent Woman Part I" for the soundtrack. The track is the second that's gone to no. 1 while serving as a soundtrack headliner for a Murray film. Beyoncé also looks as fierce as ever on the single cover.
"City Girl" by Kevin Shields from Lost In Translation (2003)
Lord knows fans of My Bloody Valentine such as Music Times staffer Joey "Toegaze" Degroot complain frequently how the band doesn't turn out enough music. Frontman Kevin Shields made this in the meantime however, a single as melancholy as anything from his primary band and certainly fitting for what's ultimately a depressing film.
"Holla!" by The Baha Men from Garfield (2004)
Murray didn't seem to find a distaste for the Garfield film adaptation as he did Charlie's Angels, considering that he returned to voice the fat cat a second time. Ultimately however this has to be the worst combination of film/song in Murray's career as the Baha Men delivered a track just as annoying as their notoriously obnoxious "Who Let The Dogs Out?"
"Fantastic Mr. Fox AKA Petey's Song" by Jarvis Cocker from Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
Wes Anderson is known for a number of qualities in his films: A) Finding a role for Murray and B) making his soundtrack from classic rock and folk tracks while (typically) Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo does everything else. He changed directions during Fantastic Mr. Fox however, having Jarvis Cocker write a short biographical banjo piece on the title character.
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