"
Ghostbusters" is a song written by
Ray Parker Jr. as the theme to the
film of the same name starring
Bill Murray,
Dan Aykroyd,
Harold Ramis, and
Ernie Hudson. Debuting at #68 on June 16, 1984, the song reached number one on the
Billboard Hot 100 on August 11, 1984, staying there for three weeks, and at number two on the
UK Singles Chart on September 16, 1984, staying there for three weeks. The song re-entered the
UK Top 75 on November 2, 2008, at No. 49. It was nominated at the
57th Academy Awards for
Best Original Song, but lost to
Stevie Wonder's "
I Just Called to Say I Love You". According to Parker, he was approached by the film's producers to create a theme song for the film, though he only had a few days to do so and the film's title seemed impossible to include in any lyrics. 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 write the song as a pseudo-advertising jingle that the business could have commissioned as a promotion.
Lindsey Buckingham claims to have been approached to write the
Ghostbusters theme based on his successful contribution to Harold Ramis's
National Lampoon's Vacation (the song "
Holiday Road"). He turned down the opportunity as he did not want to be known as a soundtrack artist. He mentions this on the "Words & Music" interview disc. The music video for the song was directed by the same director as the
Ghostbusters film,
Ivan Reitman, and produced by Jeffrey Abelson. It features a young woman, played by actress Cindy Harrell, 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. It also contains footage from the film and features cameos from many celebrities of the day, including
Chevy Chase,
Irene Cara,
John Candy,
Melissa Gilbert,
Ollie E. Brown,
Jeffrey Tambor,
George Wendt,
Al Franken,
Danny DeVito,
Carly Simon,
Peter Falk, and
Teri Garr; all of whom exclaim the song's "Ghostbusters!"
refrain when shown. Chase appears again after Garr, but chokes on his cigarette when he tries to exclaim "Ghostbusters!"; Franken also pops up in the house before the separately framed cameos begin. The video concludes with Parker and the stars of the film, in full Ghostbuster costume, dancing down the streets of
New York City. The Ghostbusters also perform the same dance in the closing credits to the
Real Ghostbusters cartoon series as well as in a trailer for the 2009
Ghostbusters video game.
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