Pick a Day

Forrest Gump Debuts

The light-hearted drama Forrest Gump hits theaters. Aside from becoming the top-grossing film of the year in North America and winning multiple Academy Awards, the movie spawns a hit soundtrack with songs from Elvis Presley, Three Dog Night, The Doors, The Byrds, The Mamas & the Papas, Buffalo Springfield, and more.

Tom Hanks plays Forrest Gump, a dim-witted mama's boy from Alabama who stumbles his way into nearly every major historical event in the second half of the 20th century in the US and finds fame at every turn. His pure heart and childlike perspective make him a college football star, a war hero, an international ping-pong celebrity, an entrepreneur, and a famous cross-country runner. He even uncovers the Watergate scandal and coins the phrase "Shit Happens." Forrest also makes his mark on music, teaching Elvis Presley what will be his trademark gyrating dance and inspiring John Lennon to write the lyrics to "Imagine." The film's director Robert Zemeckis says the movie depicts "the coming-of-age of a generation and a country. And at the heart of the story is the music, music that lives with us, always there to remind us of the people, the places, and the events of our time." Against the backdrop of Alan Silvestri's score, Forrest's journey through the tumultuous '60s and '70s is punctuated by the hits of the era. Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son" carries him to Vietnam, while the Byrds' "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)" marks a bittersweet goodbye to his girlfriend. The Doors' "Break On Through (To The Other Side)" amps up his ping-pong playing, and Jackson Browne's "Running On Empty" bolsters him during his run across the United States. "We wanted to have very recognizable material that would pinpoint time periods," says the film's music producer Joel Sill. "Yet we didn't want to interfere with what was happening cinematically." Featuring 32 throwback hits, the double-album soundtrack is a smash, selling more than 12 million copies and peaking at #2 on the albums chart. The movie, which wins the Academy Award for Best Picture, as well as Best Actor for Tom Hanks, becomes a cultural touchstone, with the lines "Life is like a box of chocolates" and "Stupid is as stupid does" entering the vernacular. Forrest also pops up all over the music front. Weird Al Yankovic parodies the Presidents of the United States of America song "Lump" as "Gump." He inspires the forthcoming crop of hip-hop artists who namecheck him in several songs - including Kanye West's "All Day" and Ludacris' "Party Girls" - proving Forrest is still relevant two decades after the film's release. Frank Ocean even likens his love interest to the character, who is "running on my mind," in his 2012 song "Forrest Gump."

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