[I've been meaning to write this post for at least two years now, so, with the Oscars fast approaching...]
Since the advent of "talkies" in the film industry, there's been a link between popular music and film. It should have surprised no one that the first commercially released full-feature film with sound- The Jazz Singer- starred the popular music star Al Jolson (who wasn't actually the first choice- George Jessel, who starred in the Broadway version from which the film was adapted, passed on reprising his role on film).
From that time forward, pieces of popular music have been inextricably linked with visual imagery to create some of the most memorable scenes in the film art form. The song I've featured here, released in 1973, had a full life of it's own before Quentin Tarantino employed it to enhance an iconic scene of sadistic violence in his 1992 debut, Reservoir Dogs. I'd have linked the scene here, but since I know for a fact that it would make at least one of our regulars very squeamish, I'll suffice it to say that since viewing the film, any time I hear the song I immediately imagine Michael Madsen dancing a jig, straight razor in hand...
So...what are the pieces of music that immediately bring a filmed image to your mind?
