"Take My Breath Away" is a song written by

Giorgio Moroder Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer, songwriter, and record producer. Dubbed the " Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering euro disco and electronic dance music. His work with synthesizers had ...

and

Tom Whitlock Thomas Ross Whitlock (Springfield, Missouri, 1954) is an American songwriter and musician, best known for his Academy Award-and Golden Globe-winning song "Take My Breath Away", from the film ''Top Gun'', which he co-wrote with Giorgio Moroder. C ...

for the 1986 film ''

Top Gun ''Top Gun'' is a 1986 American action drama film directed by Tony Scott, produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, with distribution by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., and was inspired by an ...

'', performed by American new wave band

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

. It won the

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed ...

, as well as the

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song The Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song is a Golden Globe Award that was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The award is presented to the songwriters of a ...

in 1986.

Background

Italian musician

was asked by

Jerry Bruckheimer Jerome Leon Bruckheimer (born September 21, 1943) is an American film and television producer. He has been active in the genres of action, drama, fantasy, and science fiction. His films include '' Flashdance'', ''Top Gun'', '' The Rock'', '' ...

, the co-producer for ''Top Gun'', to write a song for the film. He first wrote " Danger Zone" which was recorded by

Kenny Loggins Kenneth Clark Loggins (born January 7, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. His early songs were recorded with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, which led to seven albums recorded as Loggins and Messina from 1972 to 1977. His ...

. Happy with the result, Bruckheimer then requested a slower song for a romantic scene. Once Moroder had written the musical backing to what would become "Take My Breath Away", he recorded a demo which featured a distinctive bass sound on a synthesiser that would later be used on the actual recording. Moroder gave the demo to lyricist

. The two first became acquainted when Whitlock, a mechanic, fixed the brakes on Moroder's

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

, and informed him that he was also a lyricist. Whitlock wrote the lyrics while driving home from the studio, and then spent a few hours at home polishing them. A demo of the song, sung by a background singer, impressed director

Tony Scott Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was an English film director and producer. He was known for directing highly successful action and thriller films such as '' Top Gun'' (1986), '' Beverly Hills Cop II'' (1987), ''D ...

and producers Bruckheimer and Don Simpson, who decided to film new romantic scenes between

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Go ...

and

Kelly McGillis Kelly Ann McGillis (born July 9, 1957) is an American stage actress. She is known for her film roles such as Rachel Lapp in ''Witness'' (1985), for which she received Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations; Charlie in ''Top Gun'' (1986); ''Made in ...

to feature the song. The song was first offered to The Motels, who much later released their original demo, which is fairly similar to Berlin's released version, on their compilation album ''

Anthologyland ''Anthologyland'' is a compilation album containing material from the new wave band, The Motels, plus work by Warfield Foxes (an earlier incarnation), and solo work by Martha Davis, including a couple of duets with Sly Stone and Ivan Neville. Th ...

'' (2001).

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the A ...

suggested some of their signed artists, but eventually Moroder thought of the band

, whose song "

No More Words "No More Words" is a song by American new wave band Berlin from their third studio album, '' Love Life'' (1984). It was released on February 27, 1984, as the album's lead single. The single was the band's first top-40 entry on the ''Billboard'' ...

" he had produced. Whitlock made a few changes to the lyrics before

Terri Nunn Terri is an alternative spelling of Terry. It is a common feminine given name and is also a diminutive for Teresa. Notable people with the name include: *Terri Allard (born 1962), American country/folk singer/songwriter * Terri S. Armstrong, Ame ...

recorded the vocals. Moroder has said that of all the songs he has produced in his career, he is most proud of this song.

Releases and performances

"Take My Breath Away" was the second single from the ''Top Gun'' soundtrack album, following Kenny Loggins' " Danger Zone", and was released in 1986 as a split single alongside the song "Radar Radio", performed by Moroder featuring

Joe Pizzulo Joe Pizzulo is an American vocalist best known as one of the lead singers on 1980s hit singles credited to Sérgio Mendes, including " Never Gonna Let You Go" (from Mendes' self-titled 1983 album) and "Alibis" (from the 1984 album ''Confetti''). ...

. The song peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and also topped the charts in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Ireland and Belgium. It later went on to win Best Original Song at the

59th Academy Awards The 59th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 30, 1987, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During ...

. "Take My Breath Away" is available on both the original ''Top Gun'' soundtrack album and the expanded edition. The song was also featured on Berlin's fourth studio album, ''

Count Three & Pray ''Count Three & Pray'' is the fourth studio album by American new wave band Berlin, released on October 13, 1986, by Geffen Records. The album spawned four singles, including "Take My Breath Away", which was featured in the film ''Top Gun''. T ...

'' and, as the band's biggest hit, on several of the band's compilation albums: ''Best of Berlin 1979–1988'', ''Master Series'', ''Greatest Hits Remixed'' (which includes a "

Mission UK The Mission (known as The Mission UK in the United States) are an English gothic rock band formed in 1986. Initially known as The Sisterhood, the band was started by frontman Wayne Hussey and bassist Craig Adams (both from The Sisters of Merc ...

Remix" version), ''Live: Sacred & Profane'', and ''Metro Greatest Hits''. "Take My Breath Away" was one of the few songs not written by Berlin's John Crawford that they had performed on any album up to that point. Following the release of "Take My Breath Away", the band split over different points of view regarding the track: while Nunn viewed it as an opportunity that allowed the band to perform worldwide, Crawford disliked it as it had not been written or composed by any of them. He later said: "None of us had ever heard it. None of us had anything to do with it. I didn't play on it. Nobody played on it. No one wrote it". "Take My Breath Away" was re-released in the United Kingdom in October 1990 to coincide with the first television showing of ''Top Gun'' (by ITV, on the evening of October 6, 1990), as well as

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and then ...

's new television advertising campaign for the 405 model range. The re-release reached number three on the UK Singles Chart. In 2017, ''

ShortList A short list or shortlist is a list of candidates for a job, prize, award, political position, etc., that has been reduced from a longer list of candidates (sometimes via intermediate lists known as "long lists"). The length of short lists varie ...

''s Dave Fawbert listed the song as containing "one of the greatest key changes in music history".

Music video

The music video features scenes from the film ''Top Gun'' intermingled with Berlin's singer

performing the song in blue

coveralls A boilersuit (or boiler suit), also known as coveralls, is a loose fitting garment covering the whole body except for the head, hands and feet. Terminology The term ''boilersuit'' is most common in the UK, where the 1989 edition of the ''Oxfo ...

, walking between parts of planes in a windy

aircraft boneyard An aircraft boneyard or aircraft graveyard is a storage area for aircraft that are retired from service. Most aircraft at boneyards are either kept for storage with some maintenance or have their parts removed for reuse or resale and are then s ...

(part of the Mojave Air & Space Port) at night. Bandmates John Crawford and Rob Brill are shown relaxing in the yard and then following Nunn.''Top Gun Soundtrack: Take My Breath Away Video'' http://www.topgunsoundtrack.com/Take_My_Breath_Away.html#Video The video can be seen occasionally on

VH1 Europe VH1 (referred as VH1 Europe) was a European music television channel owned by ViacomCBS Networks EMEAA. It played a wide variety of music programs on a daily or weekly basis, and various VH1 original series. The channel focused on current mu ...

's Top 10 Movie Soundtracks program. It was later included on the 2004 ''Top Gun'' collector's edition DVD.

Track listings

*7-inch single :A. "Take My Breath Away" – 4:13 :B. "

Radar Radio "Radar Radio" is a single performed by Giorgio Moroder featuring Joe Pizzulo and written by Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock. It was featured in the film ''Top Gun''. The song was released in 1986 as a B-side to the hit split single that featured ...

" (performed by

featuring

) – 3:40 *UK 12-inch single :A. "Take My Breath Away" – 4:13 :B1. "

You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin is a song by Phil Spector, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, first recorded in 1964 by the American vocal duo the Righteous Brothers, whose version was also produced by Spector and is cited by some music critics as ...

" (performed by

The Righteous Brothers The Righteous Brothers are an American musical duo originally formed by Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield but now comprising Medley and Bucky Heard. Medley formed the group with Hatfield in 1963. They had first performed together in 1962 in the Lo ...

) :B2. "Radar Radio" (performed by Giorgio Moroder featuring Joe Pizzulo) – 3:40 *UK 7-inch single (1990) :A. "Take My Breath Away" – 4:11 :AA. " Danger Zone" (performed by

) – 3:35 *UK CD single (1990) #"Take My Breath Away" – 4:11 #"Danger Zone" (performed by Kenny Loggins) – 3:35 #"Hot Summer Nights" (performed by

Miami Sound Machine Miami Sound Machine was an American band of Latin-influenced music that had featured the vocals of Cuban-born recording artist Gloria Estefan (née Fajardo). Established in 1975 by Emilio Estefan Jr., the band was originally known as the Miami ...

) – 3:34 #"

Top Gun Anthem "''Top Gun'' Anthem" is an instrumental rock composition and the theme of the ''Top Gun'' media franchise, including the original 1986 film ''Top Gun'' and its 2022 sequel ''Maverick''. Harold Faltermeyer wrote the music with Steve Stevens playi ...

" (performed by

Harold Faltermeyer Hans Hugo Harold Faltermeier (born 5 October 1952) is a German musician, composer and record producer. Faltermeyer is best known for composing the "Axel F" theme for the feature film ''Beverly Hills Cop'', an influential synth-pop hit in the 1 ...

and

Steve Stevens Steve Stevens (born Steven Bruce Schneider; May 5, 1959) is an American guitarist. He is best known as Billy Idol's guitarist and songwriting collaborator, and for his lead guitar work on the theme to ''Top Gun'' – " Top Gun Anthem" – for ...

) – 4:02 *UK cassette single (1990) :A1. "Take My Breath Away" – 4:11 :A2. "Danger Zone" (performed by Kenny Loggins) – 3:35 :B1. "Take My Breath Away" – 4:11 :B2. "Danger Zone" (performed by Kenny Loggins) – 3:35

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Jessica Simpson version

American singer

Jessica Simpson Jessica Ann Simpson (born July 10, 1980) is an American singer, actress, entrepreneur and philanthropist. After performing in church choirs as a child, Simpson signed with Columbia Records in 1997, aged seventeen. Her debut studio album, ''Swee ...

covered "Take My Breath Away" and released it as the third single from the album '' In This Skin'' in March 2004. Her version was produced by

Billy Mann William H. Mann (born William Isaiah Erlichman; December 20, 1968) is a Grammy-nominated American songwriter, record producer and founder of independent music publishing company Green & Bloom/Topline, as well as chairman of management firm Man ...

. Simpson chose to cover this song because she thought that it was the theme song of her relationship with her then-husband,

Nick Lachey Nicholas Scott Lachey ( ; born November 9, 1973) is an American singer, actor, television personality, and host. He rose to fame as the lead singer of the multi-platinum-selling boyband 98 Degrees, and later starred in the reality series '' Newl ...

Commercial performance

"Take My Breath Away" reached number 20 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, as well as the top 10 on the

Top 40 Tracks Top 40 Tracks was a chart from ''Billboard'' magazine. It debuted in the issue dated December 5, 1998 to preserve the notion of Hot 100 Airplay when it expanded to include airplay data from radio stations of other formats such as R&B, rock and cou ...

and

Top 40 Mainstream Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/ CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the Un ...

charts. It also became another number-one single for Simpson on the

Hot 100 Singles Sales The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

chart. On November 7, 2005, the song was certified gold by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

(RIAA).

Track listings

* Original 2-track release # "Take My Breath Away" # "Fly" * Australian CD single # "Take My Breath Away" # "With You" (acoustic version) # "Take My Breath Away" (Eddie Baez Late Night Club Mix) # "Take My Breath Away" (Passengerz Hourglass Mix) # "Take My Breath Away" (music video) * Brazilian promotional CD single # "Take My Breath Away" # "Take My Breath Away" (Eddie Baez Late Night Club Mix) # "Take My Breath Away" (Eddie Baez Late Night Dub Mix) # "Take My Breath Away" (Passengerz Hourglass Mix)

Awards and nominations

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

The Shadows version

An instrumental version was recorded by

The Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...

for their 1991 album ''Themes & Dreams''. As is typical for the group's cover versions, it features

Hank Marvin Hank Brian Marvin (born Brian Robson Rankin, 28 October 1941) is an English multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and songwriter. He is widely known as the lead guitarist for The Shadows, a group which primarily performed instrumentals and was the ba ...

's lead guitar played to the original vocal melody, with considerable note elongation, echo and whammy bar application.

References

{{Authority control 1980s ballads 1986 singles 1986 songs 2004 singles Berlin (band) songs Best Original Song Academy Award-winning songs Best Original Song Golden Globe winning songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Columbia Records singles Dutch Top 40 number-one singles European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles The Flying Pickets songs Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Jessica Simpson songs Film theme songs Love themes Song recordings produced by Giorgio Moroder Songs from Top Gun Songs written by Giorgio Moroder Songs written by Tom Whitlock Synth-pop ballads UK Singles Chart number-one singles

Background

Releases and performances

Music video

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Jessica Simpson version

Commercial performance

Track listings

Awards and nominations

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

The Shadows version

See also

References