Footloose (1984) is one of the great soundtrack movies, a kind of film we were treated to far more often in the 80s. Think Top Gun, Flashdance, Dirty Dancing, and any number of John Hughes movies.
Six of this soundtrack’s nine songs reached Billboard’s Top 40, and three reached the top ten. Of those, two made it to #1 — Deniece Williams’ ‘Let’s Hear it for the Boy’ and the title track by Kenny Loggins, today’s featured Throwback Weekend song.
‘Footloose’ spent three weeks at #1 and gave Loggins his only chart-topper. The closest he got again was a #2 berth for ‘Danger Zone,’ from the Top Gun soundtrack. With those two plus ‘I’m Alright’ from 1980’s Caddyshack (a top ten hit), Loggins held the mantle as the soundtrack king of the 80s.
This absolute banger was nominated for Best Original Song at the Oscars but lost to Stevie Wonder’s ‘I Just Called to Say I Love You.’ Also nominated that year were Phil Collins’ ‘Against All Odds’ and Ray Parker Jr.’s ‘Ghostbusters.’
The worst song won. My vote would have gone to ‘Footloose.’
I been workin’ so hard
I’m punchin’ my card
Eight hours, for what?
Oh, tell me what I got
[Pre-Chorus]
Well, I got this feeling
That time’s just holdin’ me down
I’ll hit the ceiling
Or else I’ll tear up this town
[Chorus]
Tonight, I gotta cut loose, footloose
Kick off your Sunday shoes
Please, Louise
Pull me off of my knees
Jack, get back
Come on before we crack
Lose your blues
Everybody cut footloose
[Verse 2]
You’re playin’ so cool
Obeyin’ every rule
But dig way down in your heart
You’re burnin’, yearnin’ for some
[Pre-Chorus]
Somebody to tell you
Life ain’t passin’ you by
I’m tryin’ to tell you
It will if you don’t even try
[Chorus]
You can fly if you’d only cut loose, footloose
Kick off your Sunday shoes
Ooh-ee, Marie
Shake it, shake it for me
Whoa, Milo
Come on, come on, let’s go
Lose your blues
Everybody cut footloose
[Bridge]
Yo-oh-oh-oh-oh
(Cut footloose, ah)
Yo-oh-oh-oh-oh
(Cut footloose, ah)
Yo-oh-oh-oh-oh
(Cut footloose, ah)
(First) You’ve got to turn it around
(Second) And put your feet on the ground
(Third) Now take ahold of your soul
[Chorus]
I’m turnin’ it loose, footloose
Kick off your Sunday shoes
Please, Louise
Pull me off of my knees
Jack, get back
Come on before we crack
Lose your blues
Everybody cut footloose
[Outro]
(Footloose)
Footloose (Footloose)
Kick off your Sunday shoes (Kick ’em on off)
Please, Louise
Pull me off of my knees
Jack, get back (Get on back, Jack)
Come on before we crack (Come on before we)
Lose your blues
Everybody cut, everybody cut
Everybody cut, everybody cut
Everybody cut, everybody cut
(Everybody)
Everybody cut footloose
Meet Me In Montauk 
As someone who really liked Loggins’ earlier work, I was not a fan of either “Footloose” or “Danger Zone” when they were incessantly played on the radio and MTV. I considered them commercial sellout songs of the highest order.
Time and nostalgia have softened my feelings though. Still, both then and now, I would have chosen the beautiful “Against All Odds” for the Oscar win, certainly over the drivel of “I Just Called….” about which no amount of time or nostalgia could change my disdain.
My vote would have gone to Footloose too!