MUSIC #63: DIRTY DANCING 1987 (ENGLISH OST)

Don’t know about you, but mention Dirty Dancing, and automatically that lean supple body of Patrick Swayze comes to mind (fan face) - and the famous quote - “No one puts Baby in a corner”!

I had just started my first uni degree when this movie came out and was the first movie I went to watch with my new found friends. Yes my parents were quite strict in this aspect and I was only allowed to go out or watch movies with the family, or at least chaperoned….yah, so archaic….And then suddenly, here I was, at uni, away from home and all this freedom…Scary yet exhilarating. Anyway this post is about the music, not my life story!

Dirty Dancing, the movie, was released in August 1987 and features Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, Cynthia Rhodes, and Jerry Orbach. The story, set in 1963, is a coming of age drama about a teenage girl's rebellion against her father by starting a relationship with a dance instructor during a family summer vacation. Although a low-budget film by a new studio and with no major stars (except for Broadway legend Jerry Orbach in a supporting role), Dirty Dancing became a massive box office hit and it was the first film to sell more than a million copies on home video.

Dirty Dancing, the soundtrack, generated two multi-platinum albums and multiple singles, including "(I've Had) The Time of My Life", which won both the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Original Song, and a Grammy Award for best duet.

As the movie was set in the early 1960’s, the film's soundtrack started as an oldies music revival. But what no one expected was the demand for the album which caught RCA Records by surprise. Even before a single had been released, there were a million albums on back-order for the OST. The Dirty Dancing album spent 18 weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 album sales charts and went platinum eleven times, selling more than 42 million copies worldwide. It spawned a follow-up multi-platinum album in February 1988, entitled More Dirty Dancing, which I will be posting shortly.

Songs from the album which appeared on the charts included:

1. (I've Had) The Time of My Life – Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes: #1 on the pop charts.

2. She's Like the Wind – Patrick Swayze (yes, he sings too): #3 in 1988.

3. Hungry Eyes – Eric Carmen: #4 in 1988.

4. Yes – Merry Clayton: #45 in 1988.

My verdict: 4 stars

Dirty Dancing 1987 – The Original Soundtrack

Side One

1. (I've Had) The Time of My Life – Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes

2. Be My Baby – The Ronettes

3. She's Like the Wind – Patrick Swayze

4. Hungry Eyes – Eric Carmen

5. Stay – Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs

6. Yes – Merry Clayton

Side Two

1. You Don't Own Me – The Blow Monkeys

2. Hey! Baby – Bruce Channel

3. Overload ¬ Alfie Zappacosta

4. Love Is Strange - Mickey & Sylvia

5. Where Are You Tonight? – Tom Johnston

6. In the Still of the Night – The Five Satins

NOTE: On 15 October 2007, RCA Records re-released a 20th anniversary edition of the soundtrack. The release contained remastered versions of the original album's songs (in a different tracklisting) plus additional tracks, as well as a DVD featuring promotional video and photo material.