| "Walk the Dinosaur" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Was (Not Was) | ||||
| from the album What Up, Dog? | ||||
| B-side | "11 Miles An Hour (Abe Zapp Ruder Version)" (Europe) "Wedding Vows In Vegas" (US) | |||
| Released | 1987 (Europe) 1989 (US) | |||
| Genre | Funk | |||
| Length | 4:22 (album version) 3:40 (single edit) | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | ||||
| Was (Not Was) singles chronology | ||||
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"Walk the Dinosaur" is a song by Was (Not Was), released in 1987, from their album What Up, Dog?
The tune features a tight, funky sound, punctuated by horns and a cowbell. [1]
When released in the UK in 1987, the song reached No. 10 on the singles chart, becoming the group's first UK top 10 hit. The music video features four scantily clad 'cavewomen' dancing while a Flintstones -style TV plays clips from Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur . Towards the end of the video, a group of modern-day humans dance to the song's chorus. The video received heavy rotation on MTV. The song reached No. 7 on the US chart on April 1, 1989 [2] , two years after its UK success and became the band's biggest hit single in their home country.
According to an interview with co-writer Randy Jacobs, it "was an infectious sing-along with a Flintstonesque video that probably got played on MTV way too much. But even that seemingly good-time anthem had a dark side. [...] The song's about nuclear Armageddon. It became a dance (anthem) because of the video. They connected it with the girls in the little Pebbles and Bam-Bam outfits. All the sudden it became, like, 'do the mashed potato' or 'the twist.'" [3]
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The original recording of "Walk the Dinosaur" appears on the soundtrack of the 1994 film The Flintstones . [22]
A version performed by George Clinton appears on the Super Mario Bros. soundtrack in 1993, and is also featured in the credits. [23]
The song is one of the songs that can be heard playing at DinoLand U.S.A. at Disney's Animal Kingdom . It is one of sing-along songs with only a few of the lyrics that have been changed for Flik's Musical Adventure at Disney's Animal Kingdom (1999) from the Disney Sing-Along Songs series. It can also be heard during the Electrical Water Pageant.
The song was heard in promotional spots for the 2000 Disney film Dinosaur .
In the movie Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs a version of the song by Queen Latifah (who also voices Ellie in the Ice Age franchise) is featured during the film and the credits. [24] This version featured minor lyrical changes to make the song more family-friendly, notably substituting the word "slave" with "friend". [25]
"The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is a song originally written and first recorded in 1939 by Solomon Linda under the title "Mbube", through South African Gallo Record Company. Lyrics of Linda's original version were written in Zulu, while those of the English one were later written by George David Weiss.
"Stand by Me" is a song originally performed in 1961 by American singer-songwriter Ben E. King and written by him, along with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who together used the pseudonym Elmo Glick. According to King, the title is derived from, and was inspired by, a spiritual written by Sam Cooke and J. W. Alexander called "Stand by Me Father", recorded by the Soul Stirrers with Johnnie Taylor singing lead.
"Life Is a Highway" is a song by Canadian musician Tom Cochrane from his second studio album, Mad Mad World (1991). The song became a number-one hit in Canada in late 1991. "Life Is a Highway" also peaked at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in August 1992 and reached the top three in Australia and New Zealand the same year. The song was covered by Chris LeDoux for his 1998 album One Road Man and Rascal Flatts for the Cars soundtrack.
"The Great Beyond" is a song by American rock band R.E.M., written for the 1999 film Man on the Moon. It was released as a single the same year for support of the film's soundtrack album. On the soundtrack, there is some dialogue from the movie at the end of the track; meanwhile, the single version is a radio edit, with the bridge omitted.
"She's Like the Wind" is a 1987 song by American actor and singer Patrick Swayze from the soundtrack to the film Dirty Dancing. The song features additional vocals from singer Wendy Fraser. The ballad reached number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Adult Contemporary chart.
"You'll Be in My Heart" is a song by English drummer and singer Phil Collins from the 1999 Disney animated feature Tarzan. It appeared on Tarzan: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack as well as various other Disney compilations. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and became Collins' last US top-40 single, peaking at number 21.
"In the Still of the Nite", also subsequently titled "In the Still of the Night", is a song written by Fred Parris and recorded by his band the Five Satins. Originally the song was titled "(I'll Remember) In the Still of the Nite" to distinguish itself from Cole Porter's "In the Still of the Night". Later the title was changed to "In the Still of the Night".
"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, 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.
The Lion King: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album for the 1994 Disney animated film The Lion King. It contains songs from the film written by Elton John and Tim Rice, and a score composed by Hans Zimmer. Elton John has a dual role of performer for several tracks. Additional performers include Lebo M, Carmen Twillie, Jason Weaver, Rowan Atkinson, Joseph Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, Jeremy Irons, Cheech Marin, Jim Cummings, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, and Sally Dworsky. The album was released on May 31, 1994 on CD and audio cassette. The soundtrack was recorded in three different countries: the U.S., the U.K. and South Africa. It is the best-selling soundtrack album to an animated film in the United States with over 7 million copies sold, with 4,934,000 copies sold in 1994.
"Streets of Philadelphia" is a song written and performed by American rock musician Bruce Springsteen for the 1993 film Philadelphia, starring Tom Hanks, an early mainstream film dealing with HIV/AIDS. Released as a single by Columbia Records in 1994, the song was a hit in many countries, including Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, and Norway, where it topped the singles charts. In the United States, the single peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Springsteen's 12th and latest top-10 hit.
"Looking for a New Love" is a song by American singer Jody Watley from her debut studio album, Jody Watley (1987), released as her debut solo single. Written by André Cymone and Watley, and produced by Cymone and David Z., the song was issued as the lead single from the Jody Watley album on January 6, 1987, by MCA Records. One of the song's key phrases became a popular saying: "Hasta la vista, baby". It wound up on innumerable answering machines and was used by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1991 film Terminator 2: Judgment Day. In 2005, Watley re-recorded and released the song, titled "Looking for a New Love '05", in various remixes.
"Freak" is a 1997 song by Australian rock band Silverchair, released as the first single from their second album, Freak Show (1997). The song reached number one on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, Silverchair's second single to do so after "Tomorrow" in 1994. The band would not have another number-one hit until "Straight Lines" in 2007. One of the B-sides of the single is a cover of "New Race" by Australian band Radio Birdman.
"Shame" is a 1977 single recorded by American singer Evelyn "Champagne" King, written by John H. Fitch Jr. and Reuben Cross, and released by RCA Records. It was released by RCA Records as part of King's debut album, Smooth Talk. The extended remix was produced for the twelve-inch vinyl single and would later replace the album version of the song in late-1970s reprints of the album. "Shame" was successful on Billboard music charts and would become one of King's signature songs, though it varied on international music charts. The song was covered by Zhané for the 1994 film A Low Down Dirty Shame and Kim Wilde in 1996.
The discography of American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett consists of 32 studio albums, 11 compilations albums, 14 live albums, one soundtrack album, and 67 singles. Buffett was known for his unique style of music called "Gulf and Western", which combines elements of country, folk rock, pop, and Caribbean, with tropical lyrical themes. Buffett has sold over 20 million albums worldwide and had a net worth of $550 million.
"Magic" is a song recorded by British-Australian singer Olivia Newton-John for the soundtrack to the 1980 musical fantasy film Xanadu, which starred Newton-John and Gene Kelly. Written and produced by Newton-John's frequent collaborator John Farrar, "Magic" was released as the soundtrack's lead single in May 1980 and topped the US Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks beginning on August 2. On August 30, it was displaced from the top by Christopher Cross's "Sailing".
"Invisible Man" is the debut single by American boy band 98 Degrees, released on June 24, 1997 as the first single from their debut album 98 Degrees (1997). It was their breakthrough hit, peaking at number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song is featured as a bonus track on the European version of 98 Degrees and Rising. An acoustic version of the song is the closing track on their 2013 studio album 2.0.
"Circle of Life" is the song from Disney's 1994 animated feature film The Lion King. Composed by English musician Elton John, with lyrics by Tim Rice, the song was performed by Carmen Twillie and Lebo M as the film's opening song. In an interview, Rice said he was amazed at the speed with which John composed: "I gave him the lyrics at the beginning of the session at about two in the afternoon. By half-past three, he'd finished writing and recording a stunning demo." John sang a pop version of the song with the London Community Gospel Choir, which was included in the film's soundtrack and made into a music video.
"Someday" is a song from Disney's 1996 animated feature film, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It was written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz and originally recorded by American singer and actress Heidi Mollenhauer in her film role as the singing voice of Esmeralda. It was one of three recordings, along with "In a Place of Miracles" and "As Long as There's a Moon", that were discarded during the storyboarding process to be replaced by "God Help the Outcasts." The codirectors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise both desired a quieter song for Esmeralda's scene inside the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral.
"Can We" is a song by American R&B trio SWV featuring guest vocals from Missy Elliott and production by Timbaland and Elliott. The song was eventually included on SWV's third album, Release Some Tension (1997), but was originally a hit earlier in the year when it was included on the soundtrack to the 1997 film, Booty Call.
"Meet the Flintstones", also worded as "(Meet) The Flintstones", is the theme song of the American 1960s animated television series The Flintstones. Composed in 1961 by Hoyt Curtin, Joseph Barbera and William Hanna, it is one of the most popular and best known of all theme songs, with its catchy lyrics "Flintstones, meet the Flintstones, they're the modern Stone Age family".
[Was (Not Was)] international breakthrough came several years later with the sublime funk of the US/UK Top 10 hit 'Walk the Dinosaur'.
