"Ghostbusters" is a song written by American musician Ray Parker Jr. as the theme to the 1984 film Ghostbusters,and included on its soundtrack. Debuting at number 68 on June 16,1984,the song peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on August 11,staying there for three weeks (Parker's only number one on that chart),and at No. 2 on the UK singles chart on September 16,staying there for three weeks. The song reentered the UK Top 75 on November 2,2008 at No. 49 and again on November 5,2021,at No. 38.
Parker was approached by the film's producers to create a theme song,although he only had a few days to do so. Parker had been specifically instructed to include the film's title in the lyrics,but struggled to find a way to do so. However,when watching television late at night,Parker saw a cheap commercial for a local service that reminded him that the film had a similar commercial featured for the fictional business. This inspired him to include the phrase "Who ya gonna call?",which allows a crowd to respond with "Ghostbusters!" sparing him from needing to sing the phrase.[3]
The theme is estimated to have added $20 million to the film's box-office gross.[4]
Music video
Parker on "Ghostbusters":"I was the last resort. I really didn't think I could do it."
The music video for the song was directed by Ivan Reitman,who also directed the Ghostbusters film,and produced by Jeffrey Abelson. It features a young woman played by actress Cindy Harrell[6] who is haunted by a ghost portrayed by Parker,roaming a nearly all-black house interior (with vibrant neon designs outlining the sparse architectural and industrial features) until the woman finally calls the service.[citation needed]
The video concludes with Parker and the stars of the film,in full Ghostbuster costume,dancing down the streets of New York City. Times Square was closed in order to film the scene,although a sizable crowd may still be seen in the background.[3] The Ghostbusters also perform the same dance in the closing credits to The Real Ghostbusters,the cartoon spin-off,as well as in a trailer for Ghostbusters:The Video Game (2009).[citation needed]
Shortly after the film's release, Huey Lewis sued Ray Parker Jr. for plagiarism, alleging that Parker had copied the melody from Lewis's 1983 song "I Want a New Drug".[7][9] The case was settled out of court in 1985 for an undisclosed sum and a confidentiality agreement that prohibited discussion of the case. According to Parker, there were several lawsuits at the time, because "when you sell that many records, I think everybody wants to say that they wrote the song."[9][10] Parker later sued Lewis for breaching the confidentiality agreement in a 2001 episode of VH1's Behind the Music by reasserting that Parker stole the song. Regarding his case against Lewis, Parker said, "I got a lot of money out of that."[9] Lewis said it was at least $30,000 in an interview with Dutch television NPO.[11]
In a 2004 article for Premiere magazine, the filmmakers acknowledged they used the song "I Want a New Drug" as temporary background music in the montage for test screenings prior to hiring Parker.[12]
Martin Page – keyboards, atmospheric synthesizer effects[17]
Brian Fairweather – rhythm and lead rock guitar[18]
Unknown – backing vocals
Track listing
7-inch Arista / ARI 8391 (US), ARIST 580 (UK)
Side one
"Ghostbusters" – 3:56
Side two
"Ghostbusters" (instrumental) – 4:07
Charts and certifications
Ray Parker, Jr.'s "Ghostbusters" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on August 11, 1984, two months after the film's release, and remained there for three weeks. It spent a total of 21 weeks on the charts.[8][19]
Weekly charts
1984–1985 weekly chart performance for "Ghostbusters"
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
The song's music video begins with Sigourney Weaver and Annie Potts climbing out of a limousine in front of a large crowd, with Run-D.M.C., dressed in the standard beige Ghostbusters' uniform, accompanying them. The group then performs the song on stage to a packed audience for the remainder of the video, intercut with clips from the film. Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Ernie Hudson also cameo at the beginning of the video as security personnel.
British thrash metal band Xentrix covered the song[75] and it was released as a single in 1990.[76] There was some controversy caused by the cover of the single, as the original artwork had an unauthorised use of the Ghostbusters logo (with the ghost giving the finger).[77] The single was subsequently re-released using a different cover.[77]
In 2005, the original song was covered by the animated character Mickael Turtle, reaching No. 5 in France on December 3, 2005, and No. 23 in Switzerland on January 15, 2006.[79]
Track listing
"Ghostbusters" (radio edit) – 2:26
"Ghostbusters" (extended club original mix) – 5:07
"Ghostbusters" (who's that remix long voix) – 6:15
"Ghostbusters" (extended club instrumental mix) – 5:07
In 2015, German virtual artist Gummibär released his cover of the song for his fourth album The Gummy Bear Album (2019).[88] It was eventually released as a single on March 11, 2016.[89]. The music video features a Gummibär mascot costume interacting with real-world environments in a ghost house. As of May 2026, it has over 10 million views on YouTube.[90]
"Ghostbusters (I'm Not Afraid)",a version of the song by American rock band Fall Out Boy,featuring hip hop recording artist Missy Elliott,was released on June 23,2016,from the soundtrack of the 2016 reboot Ghostbusters. The cover received negative reviews from critics,who criticized its musical structure.[92][93][94]
Over the years,a handful of local and national businesses across North America and around the world have done parodies of the Ghostbusters theme for advertising or promotional purposes,and used an instrumental version of either the original theme or a remake. The most notable parodies were used by CBS station KMOX-TV (now KMOV) in St. Louis,AutoNation,and the Carpet Mart chain of Central,Berks County,and Lehigh ValleyPennsylvania among others.[96][97][98]
In the UK,the 118 118 directory assistance telephone service also used the Ghostbusters theme in one of their ads,and featured Ray Parker Jr. performing the parody.[99] In Romania,Automobile Dacia released a television advertisement in 2018 for one of its models,the Duster,accompanied by the song,in an instrumental version,but with people in various costumes singing "Go,Duster!" when in the standard song the chorus says "Ghostbusters!".[100][bettersourceneeded]
↑Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992: 23 years of hit singles & albums from the top 100 charts. St Ives, N.S.W, Australia: Australian Chart Book. p.229. ISBN0-646-11917-6.
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