''Ghostbusters II'' is the

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ( ...

for the film of the same name, released by

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

in 1989. The soundtrack includes the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number two hit " On Our Own" performed by

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown Sr. (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and dancer. Alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, he is recognized as a pioneer of new jack swing: a fusion of hip-hop and Contemporary R&B, R ...

, as well as Run-D.M.C.'s rendition of "

Ghostbusters ''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler, three eccentric ...

". The

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

, ''Ghostbusters II: Original Motion Picture Score'' is composed by

Randy Edelman Randy Edelman (born June 10, 1947) is an American musician, Record producer, producer, and composer and Conducting, conductor for Film score, film and television. He began his career as a member of Broadway theatre, Broadway's pit orchestras; he ...

. Since the release of the film in 1989, the complete film score was unreleased, until it was finally released on August 13, 2021.

''Ghostbusters II''

Development

Ray Parker Jr. Ray Erskine Parker Jr. (born May 1, 1954) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. As a solo performer, he wrote and performed the theme song for the 1984 film '' Ghostbusters'' and also sounds from the animated series '' The ...

helped develop an updated version of his hit song "

", performed by Run-D.M.C. Aiming to replicate the success of the

original soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured ...

, producer Peter Afterman wanted to hire

, who had a recent succession of hit songs. To secure Brown's involvement, Afterman offered Brown's music label, MCA Records, the rights to the soundtrack. Brown agreed in exchange for receiving a role in the film. Filming had nearly concluded at that time, but Reitman wrote Brown a cameo as the mayor's doorman. Brown worked with Dennis Austin, Larry White and Kirk Crumpler to write and produce "We're Back".IMBDSoundtrackGhostbustersII Other songs on the soundtrack include "Flip City" by

Glenn Frey Glenn Lewis Frey (; November 6, 1948 – January 18, 2016) was an American musician. He was a founding member of the rock band Eagles, for whom he was the co-lead singer and frontman, roles he came to share with fellow member Don Henley, with ...

, "Spirit" by Doug E. Fresh & The Get Fresh Crew, and "Love is a Cannibal" by

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

. The song "Flesh 'n Blood" by composer

Danny Elfman Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer, songwriter, and musician. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since scoring his ...

and

Oingo Boingo Oingo Boingo () was an American new wave music, new wave band formed by songwriter Danny Elfman in 1979. The band emerged from a Surrealism, surrealist musical theatre troupe, The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, that Elfman had led and wri ...

was written for the film but Elfman said he was disappointed that only four musical bars of it were used. He thought the small usage was an excuse to be able to release it on the soundtrack and said if he had known he would have pulled the song.

Singles

Two singles were released from the album, Bobby Brown's "On Our Own" and Run-D.M.C.'s "Ghostbusters". Brown's single performed better, reaching number two on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

, while Run-D.M.C.'s did not chart. Music videos were released for both.

Track listing

The movie includes two versions of the song "

(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" is an R&B song written by Gary Jackson, Raynard Miner, and Carl Smith. It was recorded by Jackie Wilson for his album '' Higher and Higher'' (1967), produced by Carl Davis, and became a Top 1 ...

Jackie Wilson Jack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson Jr. (June 9, 1934 – January 21, 1984) was an American singer who was a prominent figure in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. Nicknamed "Mr. Excitement", he was considered a master showman and one of th ...

's original version was used during the dancing toaster scene, and a cover by

Howard Huntsberry Howard Stafford Huntsberry (born March 5, 1952) is an American R&B singer, drummer/percussionist, and actor from Pacoima, California. Biography In the mid-1970s, he served as drummer and male co-lead vocalist of the one-off project, The Ultimat ...

was used during the Statue of Liberty scene. The soundtrack only included the Howard Huntsberry version.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

''Ghostbusters II: Original Motion Picture Score''

Development

Randy Edelman composed the score for ''Ghostbusters II''. It was one of Edelman's first experiences working with a large scale orchestra. Although familiar with ''Ghostbusters'', he chose not to re-watch it for inspiration so the sequel would have its own unique sound. Edelman believed the distinct personalities of the existing characters meant they rarely needed a musical accompaniment, and instead focused his efforts on scoring the supernatural and action setpieces to represent the menace and "dark nature of the evil Carpathian".

Track listing

References

{{Ghostbusters Ghostbusters music 1989 soundtrack albums MCA Records soundtracks Randy Edelman soundtracks Sony Classical Records soundtracks Comedy film soundtracks

''Ghostbusters II''

Development

Singles

Track listing

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

''Ghostbusters II: Original Motion Picture Score''

Development

Track listing

See also

References