On The Road Again: Various Artists "Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: St. Elmo's Fire"

martes, 28 de diciembre de 2021

Various Artists "Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: St. Elmo's Fire"

It was the first soundtrack written by Canadian composer/producer David Foster. "When I was writing the score to St. Elmo's Fire, I loved it," he said. "But for that month and a half or so that I had to write the songs, it just felt like doing my regular job."

The theme song "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)" was written by Foster and English musician John Parr, and also performed by Parr. Foster had been impressed by Parr's song "Naughty Naughty" and invited him to perform the title track. Originally another song was chosen which Parr disliked. "That song sounded like `Fame II' or "Flashdance II," said Parr later. "I thought the movie was supposed to have more class than that. It was a regurgitated song and I didn't really want to sing it."

Parr urged Foster to try another song. They wrote it together, "very fast, between 2 and 4 on Friday afternoon," Parr recalled. "We wrote it together, with David sitting at the piano." Schumacher had given Parr rough guidelines for the lyrics. "He wanted a song about determination," Parr recalled. "He wanted a song about kids who are growing up and have to make decisions about what to do with their lives. That's what the movie is about." Schumacher told them not to use "St Elmo's Fire" in the lyrics but Parr did it regardless. "I thought it fit in the song," he said. "In the movie, St. Elmo's is a bar. But to me St. Elmo's Fire is a magical thing glowing in the sky that holds destiny to someone. It's mystical and sacred. It's where paradise lies, like the end of the rainbow."

Parr was inspired to write the lyrics not by the movie (which he had not seen) but by the Canadian athlete Rick Hansen who, at the time, was traveling around the world via his wheelchair to raise awareness for spinal cord injuries, a trip called the "Man in Motion Tour." The song did not appear on any Parr album until Letter to America was released in July 2011.

The song "Give Her a Little Drop More", which plays during the movie when the characters enter St. Elmo's Bar & Restaurant, was written by British jazz trumpeter John Chilton.

"St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)" hit No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart for two weeks in September 1985, and "Love Theme from St. Elmo's Fire" (the instrumental theme to the movie by David Foster) reached No. 15. Another version of the "Love Theme from St. Elmo's Fire" with lyrics, titled "For Just a Moment", was performed by Amy Holland and Donny Gerrard, and was included as the final song on the soundtrack album.

Track list: