BROADCASTS.com

There was a time when movie soundtracks were the lifeblood of the recorded music industry\u2026the lp record, which was introduced in June 1948, was developed at least partially at the behest of movie studios and Broadway show producers looking a better listening experience.\n\nThe first movie soundtrack to be released as a record seems to have been \u201cSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs\u201d in 1938\u2026but the problem was that everything was divided up over multiple 10-inch 78 rpm records\u2026every four minutes, you had to get up and either flip the record over or change it entirely\u2026the same thing happened with \u201cThe Jungle Book\u201d in 1942.\n\nThat all changed in the summer of 1948 when the 33 1/3 rpm lp allowed up to 22 minutes of audio per side\u2026movie studios bought in and the marketplace was flooded with not only movie soundtracks but original cast recordings of Broadway shows throughout the late 40s, all through the 50s and into the 1960s.\n\nMovie soundtracks were seen as \u201cserious\u201d music for adults\u2026the kids and their rock\u2019n\u2019roll had their 7-inch singles\u2026even as late as the middle 60s, movie soundtracks often did the biggest business.\n\nTake \u201cThe Sound of Music\u201d\u2026it was a top 10 record in the U.S. for 109 weeks between May 1, 1965 and July 16, 1967\u2026it was the best-selling album in the UK in 1965, 1966, and 1968\u2026for years, the Guinness Book of World Records listed it as the best-selling album of all time\u2026the best guess we have is that it sold 20 million copies\u2014a very big number, especially back in the day.\n\nAs the years passed, it became standard practice to release a soundtrack album with your movie\u2026in many cases, it was just the score, the incidental music written for the title credits, the closing credits and scenes in between.\n\nIn others, the records featured songs from the movie, some original, some licensed for the purpose\u2026and some of these soundtracks went on to sell very, very well.\n\nPrince\u2019s \u201cPurple Rain,\u201d 25 million copies\u2026\u201cTitanic,\u201d 30 million copies\u2026\u201cDirty Dancing, \u201c 32 million\u2026\u201cGrease,\u201d 38 million\u2026\u201cSaturday Night Fever,\u201d 40 million\u2026\u201cThe Bodyguard,\u201d 45 million\u2026even \u201cSpace Jam\u201d from 1996 sold six million.\n\nBy the 90s, every movie had a soundtrack as part of its business plan\u2026they were cheap to compile and the margins were fantastic\u2026they even launched a career or two.\n\nLet\u2019s take a look at some of the key alt-rock-based movie soundtracks of all time\u2026\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices