The Musical Heart Of 'The Transformers The Movie' (1986) Soundtrack
Image Source: TFW2005
As much as John Williams’ iconic scores for _Star Wars_ could be considered integral parts of the film, if not “characters” themselves, so too was the case for the soundtrack for _The Transformers The Movie (1986)_.
Although not the only contributors to the 1980s heavy metal rock-oriented soundtrack, credit for much of the success of the film’s iconic soundtrack rests on its film score composer, Vince Dicola, as well as little known adult-oriented-rock star Stan Bush, who sang the two most iconic vocal songs featured in the film, _The Touch_ and _Dare_.
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#### **Vince DiCola**
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Pennsylvania-born Vince Dicola (b. 1957) cut his teeth co-writing songs for the soundtrack for the film, _Staying Alive (1983)_ with Frank Stallone (_Far From Over_). He was later recruited by Sylvester Stallone to compose the synthesizer-driven electronic score for his blockbuster film, _Rocky IV (1985)_. DiCola has stated that his musical style is heavily influenced by bands such as _Yes_ and _Emerson, Lake & Palmer_.
His audition piece, _Legacy,_ as well as his work on _Rocky IV_ , ultimately helped win him the job of scoring _The Transformers The Movie_. What DiCola came up with was an extremely unique synthesizer/rock score that still remains unique in the world of original film scores, as well as extremely well-suited for a film featuring transforming robots and their galaxy-spanning adventures. Here is a supercut of his score and other music from the film:
Vince has gone on to score several Transformers-related projects, including providing scores for games such as _Angry Birds Transformers_ and, most notably, _Transformers Devastation_ , a Transformers-based videogame. He also released an album featuring demos of his music for the film,_The Protoform Sessions_ , an album of solo piano interpretations of his score, _Artistic Transformations_ , _Transformers Suite 2006_ , and _Transformers Medley_ (released as part of a _Turrican_ soundtrack album)_._
Despite the brilliance of the score, only a small portion from the film score made it onto the first two official film soundtrack album releases. These tracks included _Death of Optimus Prime_ , _Escape_ , _Autobot/Decepticon Battle_ , _Megatron Must Be Stopped (Pts. 1 & 2)_, _Moon Base 2-Shuttle Launch_ , and _Unicron Medley_. Two full-length albums, _Til All Are One_ (1997) and _Lighting Their Darkest Hour (2001),_ featuring DiCola’s complete score from the films were made available exclusively at Botcon conventions.
The full-length score for the film has since been released on CD and digital download. As of this writing, Vince DiCola has not been hired to score any other Transformers-related films and/or series. He and his songwriting partner, Kenny Meriedeth, submitted a track, _Bound and Gagged_ , for consideration for use in Michael Bay’s second live-action Transformers film, _Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)_ , though it was ultimately not selected for the film. DiCola’s work on the score for _The Transformers The Movie_ still remains highly sought after by fans. DiCola occasionally appears at Botcon conventions to perform his music from the film, sometimes alongside fellow songwriter, Stan Bush. Many of his past and present music projects can downloaded and streamed on various music platforms.
#### **Stan Bush**
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American singer and songwriter Stan Bush (b. 1953) contributed memorable vocal performances for _The Transformer The Movie’s_ most iconic songs, _Dare_ and _The Touch_. _Dare_ introduced the film’s young free-spirited protagonist, Hot Rod, and his young human sidekick, Daniel. _The Touch_ is prominently featured in the film as a melodic rock anthem for the heroic Autobot Leader, Optimus Prime. The song is also returns later in the film, heralding the rise of the new Autobot leader, Rodimus Prime.
_The Touch_ was included in Stan Bush’s most successful album to date, _Stan Bush & Barrage (1987),_ and Bush has re-recorded several versions of the hit song over the years, starting with an updated version that he submitted for consideration for the Michael Bay’s live-action film, _Transformers (2007)_. It was not selected for the film, however it was included on his album, _In This Life (2007)_.
He also wrote a heavy guitar version of the song for the videogame, _Guitar Hero World Tour_ (available as a downloadable track in the game). _Dare_ , which was co-written with Vince DiCola, has not been featured as prominently outside of _The Transformers the Movie_ , but it was updated and re-released on one of Bush’s later solo albums, _Change the World (2017)_. Much of Stan Bush’s past and newer albums can be found at his online official website and downloaded and streamed on various platforms.
_The Touch_ has become so ubiquitous in pop culture that it has been featured in several television series and movies over the years, most notably, in the third season finale of the original Transformers series, _The Return of Optimus Prime Part 2 (1987)_. The song has also appeared in several television series, _American Dad (s6e14)_ , _Chuck (s2e5), The Regular Show (s4e22),_ and several episodes of _The Goldbergs_. The song was featured in the film, _Boogie Nights (1997)_ badly sung by Mark Wahlberg.
Wahlberg, coincidentally, would go on to star in two live-action Transformers films, _Age of Extinction (2014)_ and _The Last Knight (2017)_. The song was also featured in the live-action Transformers film, _Bumblebee (2018)._ Stan Bush continues to write adult-oriented rock songs and release new solo albums. However, like with Vince DiCola, remains best known for his songs for _The Transformers The Movie_, which he occasionally performs for fans at Botcon conventions.
Source(s): Wikipedia, WhatSong, Wikipedia, Stan Bush
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