Way Back 2025

September 3, 2025 - Movie Music: Sedaka, Dusty, Wanda J. and 3 "Nobodys" Accompany the Action

Current box office films that reach back into the oldies 'n' goodies hit files include director Darren Aronofsky's Caught Stealing (with Austin Butler heading up an all-star cast), which features Neil Sedaka's 1961 hit "Calendar Girl" among a diverse selection of 20th century tunes.

Honey Don't!, an edgy shoot-'em-up directed by Ethan Coen and starring Margaret Qualley and Aubrey Plaza, puts the always-preferred best foot forward: in its trailer, Dusty Springfield's version of "Spooky" (originally a U.K. flip side) plays throughout to dramatic (and darkly comedic) effect. The film includes Wanda Jackson's mid-'60s remake of Carl Perkins' classic "Honey Don't," which supplies the title and name of Qualley's lead character.

Nobody 2, continuously-battered star Bob Odenkirk's sequel to the action-packed 2021 chart-topper, finds varying ways to use three hits from the 1960s: "More Today Than Yesterday" by Spiral Starecase, "If I Ruled the World" by Tony Bennett and U.K. number one (and movie title tune) "Summer Holiday" by Cliff Richard and the Shadows.


August 7, 2025 - Martha, Brenton, Cannonball and Bobby "Boris" Getting Extra Summer Exposure

"Heat Wave": 1. An extreme weather alert going on in many parts of North America, Europe and Asia right now. 2. The blazing 1963 hit by Martha and the Vandellas, currently getting lots of play on commercials for Dave's Hot Chicken restaurants. Liam Neeson's move from action thrillers to humorous action, The Naked Gun, gives us an opportunity to revisit saxophonist Cannonball Adderley's 1958 masterpiece Somethin' Else featuring trumpeter Miles Davis; "Dancing in the Dark" is part of the film's soundtrack.

The Fantastic Four, at one time Marvel's top-selling comic book, is riding the box office crest with Fantastic Four: First Steps, featuring two hit singles concurrent with the series' '60s heyday: Brenton Wood's spell-casting "Oogum Boogum Song" and "Monster Mash" by Bobby (Boris) Pickett, its Halloween vibe anticipating continued interest in the movie through autumn.


July 5, 2025 - Ben E., Les B., Ronnie, Neil and Nilsson Perform Current Movie Tunes

Now playing on large public screens: Ben E. King's 1961 classic "Stand By Me" has a moment in box office leader Jurassic World: Rebirth, the seventh in the dino-packed Jurassic film series. Across the hall at the cineplex, "Taboo," the lead track from Les Baxter's 1956 album Caribbean Moonlight, helps heighten the mood in scary-doll sequel M3GAN 2.0.

Materialists, Oscar nominee Celine Song's directorial follow-up to Past Lives, features three '60s singles on its soundtrack. "So Young," a 1964 Phil Spector production by Veronica (a.k.a. Ronnie Spector), was included on the album ...presenting The Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica later that year. Two hits from '69 are also heard in the film: "Sweet Caroline (Good Times Never Seemed So Good)" by Neil Diamond and "I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City" (referencing the romantic comedy's setting) by Harry Nilsson.



Calendar Girl Heat Wave Monster Mash

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