The Most Iconic Musical Moments From Film, Ever.

Okay, first things first, before you get all pissy for not seeing your favourite musical number on this here list, I have to stress that this is a list of ICONIC musical moments. Some of these song and dance routines will not strike you as being great, or even good, but these moments have managed to last longer in some cases, than the films they were created for. These are the musical moments where, if I started to sing the lines from them, you would know the next line, and be able to see the scene and dance play out in your head.

That's the level of power these songs have.

Of course there are a couple of rules to this list; first and foremost the songs must be created exclusively for the film. That means Marty McFly playing Johnny B. Goode is out. As are Grease and The Sound of Music. That cuts out a lot of songs I know, but this is about film's musicals. Allowing Broadway to stick it's Tony loving nose in here would be unfair as it means the song was already relatively famous in certain circles thus giving it a boost. The same goes for songs recorded by artists and appropriated into the film by writers.

And secondly, it has to be a musical moment. This means that the characters have to sing and dance all on their own. A song playing while characters dance, a la Flashdance, Wayne's World or Pulp Fiction, does not count. If it's going in, they've gotta sing.


All right then, lets get cracking.

Trying to pick out the most iconic Disney song would take a blog in and of itself, and there would be no clear outcome by the end. Trying to pick out just one for this list was extraordinarily difficult. It was impossible. However, when I thought of Disney songs seven dwarfs started singing. It's hard to describe what exactly makes this moment so much more memorable than songs from later Disney films. Maybe it's the little people singing (it's something that I've yet to see since this film), or that it's a film most children have watched, and it's usually the introduction to Disney. Or perhaps it's simply that the song marks the introduction to some of Disney's best remembered characters; Doc, Grumpy, Sleepy, Dopey, Sneezy, Happy and Bashful.

Credit must also go to the song. It's simple and catchy. You'll probably spend the next hour singing "Heigh ho, heigh ho" and cursing my name for causing so much singing in your mind. The song is a simple set-up to introduce some great characters, a cheery break from the evil Step-mother who prevailed throughout most of the picture to this point, and also injects some much needed humour into the proceedings. It's hard not to start humming along when you hear the melody play. Start humming this in an elevator and see how many people you can get going by the end of it.





Remember when I said that trying to pick out just one Disney song to add to the list was impossible? Well, here's the proof. In many ways this song defines people's memories of Mary Poppins. There's not much that can be said about it beyond the fact that it created one of the most ingenious words ever. Every person in the 'Western' world knows supercalifragalisticexbealidocious. For that alone the song would make it to the list, but the combination of cartoon and live action characters, the incredibly upbeat music and the insane lyrics make it a song that's just so much bloody fun to listen to, and to sing.

Perhaps the only problem with it is the atrocious accent on Dick van Dyke, something derided by critics, particularly English ones, to this day. But outshining van Dyke at all times is the gorgeous Julie Andrews, singing her heart out and blowing us away time and again.





Freaky? Yeah. Iconic? Oh yeah. Maybe it's because it's freaky that it has made such an impact. It also has the distinction of being the first song to have warnings against... well everything in consumer cultures. No matter what, you can't deny that these little orange, green-haired, chocolate makers have left their mark on pop culture, and in our minds.

Once again it's a song you know how to sing without really having to have listened to it before. It's simple, catchy, feels a little drug induced, and instantly singable. Forget about the Burton remake's songs, this is how to create an iconic musical moment; lots of little people in weird face paint and clothes, mocking children's lives. No goth crap here please, we're on acid.





To cure you from your state of agitation induced by the Oompa Loompas, here's Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz. Another film straight out of childhood memories. While "Follow The Yellow Brick Road" is better remembered for the colours in the black and white era, Somewhere Over the Rainbow has grown larger than it in the public consciousness. The film itself is a classic of Hollywood's Golden Age and this song is the best and biggest of them all.

There have been numerous covers and the song still gets airplay. It helps that the song was also won an Academy Award, as did Miss Garland which surely helped to solidify its place in Hollywood and pop culture. Undoubtedly Garland's early death from an accidental drug overdose helped in creating a bitter sweet memory in previous generations. What's perhaps most interesting about this song, compared to every other song on this list, is that it's a very slow, reserved number. There's no big routine and flashy choreography to be found here, just an emotional performance and an iconic moment in film musical history.




It's just one of those songs. You just can't help but smile when you hear it. Often called the greatest musical of all time, Singing in the Rain really does deserve the title. Singing in the Rain truly beats all when it comes to choreography and style. It's odd to find that you know the lyrics to a song, without ever having knowingly heard it before, but you find it with this song. Gene Kelly is fantastic and this song is his best remembered work.

The melody, the lyrics, the choreography, and the star all come together and create easily one of the best pieces of musical cinema ever. Honestly, there's not much that can even come close to touching it, let alone surpassing it. Well, there is one, but we'll get to that momentarily.


There's not a lot of films which can claim to be truly iconic. There are even less musicals. How many are there that can claim to be widely held by the public, widely known, and widely sung? Not many. Arguably not enough. But all the songs mentioned here have something in common; they are the most known pieces of film song and dance routines in the world. Ask the next person you meet to hum the tune to any of these songs and they will know.

You may have noticed that I haven't numbered these songs. Well, there's a reason for that. I can't decide which of these has more impact in the world over the other. Something like that is incredibly difficult to measure. Each of these songs has something special (or scary) about them that keeps them embedded in your mind, and embedded in our culture.

I call it the whistle factor.

Mostly out of a need to call it something other than 'A special something', or 'the X factor', but also because it fits.



"But Daedalus Ciarán," I hear you say across the internet, and you can just call me Daedalus, "What about the song that surpasses Singing in the Rain? Surely that's a joke?" Ladies, Gentleman, Hermaphrodites of all ages, I give you the most iconic musical moment in film. The UK's third favourite funeral song. It has been sung by losing football teams around the world. And once, used as a protest song in Norway. In 1993, when Sidney was announced as the host of the 2000 Olympic Games, a large crowd in Manchester, a rival for the Olympics, spontaneously burst out singing this. And in all fairness, it takes a lot of guts to have a song and dance routine on crucifixes and easily deserves the title.

Drum roll please...






Talk to ya later!