Soundtrack

Generally speaking, the term soundtrack refers to the recorded sound in a motion picture.

In terms of film formats, the soundtrack is the physical area of the film which records the synchronized sound.

The term soundtrack is also commonly used to refer to the music used in a movie, and/or to a record album sold containing that music. Sometimes, the music has been recorded just for the film or album (e.g. Saturday Night Fever), though this is rare. In 1916, Victor Schertzinger recorded the first music specifically for use in a motion picture, and releasing soundtracks of songs used in films became standard in the 1930s.

Notable Soundtracks

2001: A Space Odyssey (memorable theme music Also Sprach Zarathustra became a radio hit, rare for a classical instrumental piece)
American Graffiti (massive-selling double album of rock oldies)
Apocalypse Now (another hit, memorable use of the Ride of the Valkyries by Richard Wagner)
The Bodyguard (by Whitney Houston and others, best selling of all time)
Selmasongs (from Dancer in the Dark by Björk)
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (successful soundtrack, using contemporary hits)
Flashdance (launched several hit songs, surprise hit)
A Hard Day's Night (early rock and roll soundtrack by The Beatles)
The Harder They Come (massively successful soundtrack and movie, launched career of Jimmy Cliff, early mainstream reggae music)
The Jungle Book (first soundtrack in the modern sense, scored by Miklos Rozsa)
Mo' Better Blues (established Gang Starr's reputation and helped launch jazz rap)
O Brother Where Art Thou? (surprise bluegrass hit, Grammy winner)
Reservoir Dogs (soundtrack deliberately chose the worst songs of the 1970s, became a cult favorite)
Saturday Night Fever (massive hit mostly by the Bee Gees, brought disco to the mainstream)
Shaft (massive hit by Isaac Hayes, his biggest record)
Star Wars (hugely popular movie, and music by John Williams that became the best selling score-only soundtrack of all time)
The Stoned Age (early teen film focused on a cult band, Blue Oyster Cult)
That's the Way of the World (film unsuccessful, soundtrack a huge hit for Earth, Wind & Fire)
Till the Clouds Roll by (soundtrack and film inspired by life of Jerome Kern, early use of the release of a soundtrack to promote a film)
Maceo (film showing summary of three Maceo Parker concerts in Cologne; this film and the brilliant soundtrack really catches the atmosphere of those concerts)

The Best-Selling Soundtracks

The Bodyguard 1992 16 times platinum
Saturday Night Fever 1977 15 times
Purple Rain 1984 13 times
Forrest Gump 1994 12 times
(tie) Dirty Dancing 1987, Titanic 1997 11 times
The Lion King 1994 10 times
Top Gun 1986 9 times
(Tie) Grease 1978, Footloose 1984 8 times
Waiting to Exhale 1997 7 times

List of songs popularized by a movie

Some of these songs had been released before the movie, but had found little success, while others were released alongside the film or were briefly re-popularized some years after their initial peak. This list does not include songs associated with a cinematic opera or musical. Most of these theme songs occur at least once during a climax during the movie, and are often played during the opening and/or closing credits; the close association between the highlights of a movie and a particular song, especially when the two are marketed together (as in a music video), means that songs can find new audiences. For example, Quentin Tarantino's use of "La La Means I Love You" and 1970s Philly soul group The Delfonics led to a renaissance in hipness for the band some fifteen years after their mainstream success ended.

Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper" from The Stoned Age
Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go One" from Titanic
Stealers Wheel' "Stuck In The Middle" from Reservoir Dogs
Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Tuesday's Gone" from Dazed and Confused
The Proclaimers' "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" from Benny and Joon
Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" from Wayne's World
Rolling Stones' "Time Is on My Side" from Fallen
Simple Minds' "Don't You (Forget About Me)" from The Breakfast Club
Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" from The Bodyguard

See also:

List of soundtrack composers