1. “Batdance” – Prince – “Batman”
It’s said that Prince has disowned this song and will never perform it. “Batdance” can’t be included on any kind of greatest hits albums or compilation of any kind for licensing reasons. Yet even that forced revisionist history can’t change the fact that in the summer of 1989, this song was it.
Considering this was in the pre-internet age, it’s hard to describe now what kind of craze “Batman” really was 25 years ago. The preview alone had people hyped up, merchandise was everywhere, and the movie did not disappoint. “Batdance” just topped it all off with a strange but awesome video and the greatest use of movie quotes in any song ever. I still drop the occasional “Stop the press, who’s that?” or “Go … go … go with a smile!” as references every now and then even though they’re getting more dated by the year.
“Batdance” was Prince’s first #1 song in three years, and it hit #1 on the R&B chart the next week. For that reason and for its valuable contribution to Bat-mania, “Batdance” gets the nod as the best of our top songs from super hero movies — whether its creator will ‘fess up to its power or not.