"(I've Had The) Time of My Life," Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes

I swear Dirty Dancing is just as popular now as it was when I was a kid.  It combined a classic coming-of-age tale with dance scenes that were, essentially, mini music videos perfect for the MTV generation.  (In fact, I’m sure that right now, there’s a television station airing this movie as I write this post).  Since the soundtrack’s “Time of My Life” was recently sampled by The Black Eyed Peas (and some may not know where it originally comes from), I thought it deserved the proper Throwback treatment.

Rewatching the video now, it’s fun to see all the iconic scenes it features, yet it is also bittersweet to watch Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze (who died in 2009) in the roles that would, for better or worse, define their careers.  The song itself, however, was a perfect match for Dirty Dancing’s theme – becoming as much a part of the movie as the stories and characters it portrays.  That’s fairly difficult to find now in an era where songs are usually chosen for soundtracks based on the artist and their ability to promote the music – and not how relevant they are to the actual film.    

While “Time of My Life” was produced in 1987, it clearly drew much of its inspiration from the 1960s.  Not only was Dirty Dancing set at a summer resort in the Catskills in the early part of the decade, but the male vocalist on “Time of My Life” was Bill Medley, who is best known as half of the popular sixties duo The Righteous Brothers.  

Those who are discovering the song and film through The Black Eyed Peas probably think that’s a really long time ago.