Take My Breath Away

"Take My Breath Away"
Single by Berlin
from the album Top Gun soundtrack and Count Three & Pray
B-side	"Radar Radio"
Released	1986
Format	7", 12"
Recorded	1986
Genre	Power Ballad,New Wave
Length	4:15
Label	Columbia, Geffen
Writer(s)	Giorgio Moroder, Tom Whitlock
Producer	Giorgio Moroder
Certification	Gold (US)
Berlin singles chronology
"Dancing in Berlin" (1984) "Take My Breath Away" (1986) "Like Flames" (1986)

"Take My Breath Away" is the name of a love song from the film Top Gun (1986). The song was written by Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock, performed by the band Berlin. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song in 1987.

Releases and performances

"Take My Breath Away" was the first single from the Top Gun soundtrack album and was released in 1986 as a split single alongside the song "Radar Radio":

1. "Take My Breath Away (Love Theme from Top Gun)" (performed by Berlin)
2. "Radar Radio" (performed by Giorgio Moroder featuring Joe Pizzulo, written by Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock)

The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 13, 1986 and became number 1 in the UK for four weeks in November 1986.

"Take My Breath Away" is available on both the original Top Gun soundtrack album and the expanded edition. The song was also featured in several of the band's best-of and remix albums: Best of Berlin 1979-1988, Master Series, Greatest Hits Remixed (which includes a "Mission UK Remix" version), Live: Sacred & Profane and Metro Greatest Hits. "Take My Breath Away" was one of the only songs not written by Berlin's John Crawford that they had performed on any album up to that point.

"Take My Breath Away" was re-released in October 1990 to coincide with the first television showing of Top Gun (by ITV, on the evening of October 6) as well as Peugeot's new television advertising campaign for the 405 model range. The re-release reached number three in the UK singles charts.^[1]

Music video

The music video features scenes from the movie Top Gun intermingled with Berlin's singer Terri Nunn performing the song in blue coveralls walking between pieces of planes in a windy aircraft boneyard (part of the Mojave Air & Space Port) at night. Bandmates John Crawford and Rob Brill are shown relaxing in the yard and then following Terri.^[2] This video clip can be seen occasionally in VH1 Europe's Top 10 Movie Soundtracks program. This video was re-released within the 2004 Top Gun DVD Collector's Edition.

Uses in the media

This "In popular culture" section may contain too many minor or trivial references. Please reorganize this content to explain the subject's impact on popular culture rather than simply listing appearances, and remove trivia references. (October 2009)

• This song was used by Ford Motor Company in advertisements for the Mercury Cougar in 1989.
• This song was used on a Peugeot 405 advertisement for United Kingdom market at the end of eighties. The adverts opening sequence (featuring an unknown man dousing a corn field with petrol, prior to it being 'ignited' by the car driving past) was cut due to concerns arsonists would be tempted to 'copycat' the advert.
• This song was used by GE Transportation Systems in an advertisement for the GE Evolution Series diesel locomotive.
• The song was used on a Daewoo Espero advertisement in early nineties for the Korean market.
• The song was used in a video called "NBA Superstars" released by NBA
• The song was also played in an episode of The King of Queens.
• A little fragment of the song was performed in a scene of Ocean's Eleven.
• The song plays during a clip from Baywatch watched by Borat in the 2006 film of the same name.
• The popular Canadian teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation named an episode after this song.
• The song is featured prominently in Wong Kar-Wai's 1988 Movie As Tears Go By
• This song was used in the Season 3 finale of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia as Charlie's winning dance song against Dennis in a dance competition. It was also featured in the episode "The D.E.N.N.I.S. System" in a parody of the love scene in Top Gun.
• The song appears in the video game Karaoke Revolution Volume 3.
• This song was featured in a 2009 Gain (laundry detergent) television commercial. The chorus is heard once at the very end of the commercial.

Track listings

12"

1. "Take My Breath Away" — 4:13
2. "Radar Radio" by Giorgio Moroder featuring Joe Pizzulo — 3:40

Certifications

Charts

Cover versions

Flying Pickets cover version

In 1994 has The Flying Pickets released a Acapella-Version of this song on him Album The Original Flying Pickets: Volume 1 and is 4:34 long. The B-Side of this cover is the cover of Road to Nowhere.

Jessica Simpson cover

"Take My Breath Away"
Single by Jessica Simpson
from the album In This Skin
Released	US March 25, 2004 UK September 27, 2004
Format	CD single
Recorded	2004
Genre	Pop
Length	3:15
Label	Columbia
Writer(s)	Giorgio Moroder, Tom Whitlock
Producer	billymann
Certification	Platinum
Jessica Simpson singles chronology
"With You" (2004) "Take My Breath Away" (2004) "Angels" (2004)
Audio sample file info · help

American pop singer Jessica Simpson covered "Take My Breath Away" and released it as the third single from the album In This Skin in 2004. Her version was produced by Billy Mann. Simpson chose to cover this song because she felt that it was the theme song of her relationship with her then husband, Nick Lachey. Simpson's version was also included on the compilation album Now That's What I Call Music! 16 (from the U.S. Now! series). The remix is seen on Much Dance 2005. It also received heavy airplay on Mainstream Urban stations.

Music video

The video shows her driving through a southwestern desert. She stops to fill up with gas, and then arrives at a diner where she watches lovers in motion. The music video peaked at #5 on MTV's TRL and spent a total of 12 days on the countdown.

Original 2-Track Release

1. "Take My Breath Away"-3:15
2. "Fly"-3:31

Australian CD-Single

1. "Take My Breath Away"
2. "With You" [Acoustic Version]
3. "Take My Breath Away" [Eddie Baez Late Night Club Mix]
4. "Take My Breath Away" [Passengerz Hourglass Mix]

Brazilian Promo CD-Single

1. "Take My Breath Away"
2. "Take My Breath Away" [Eddie Baez Late Night Club Mix]
3. "Take My Breath Away" [Eddie Baez Late Night Dub Mix]
4. "Take My Breath Away" [Passengerz Hourglass Mix]

Remixes and other versions

• "Take My Breath Away" [Album Version] - 3:12
• "Take My Breath Away" [Eddie Baez Night Dub Mix] - 7:08
• "Take My Breath Away" [Orangefuzzz Club Mix] - 7:35
• "Take My Breath Away" [Passengerz Hourglass Mix] - 6:17
• "Take My Breath Away" [Eddie Baez Late Night Club Mix] - 6:30

Chart performances

"Take My Breath Away" became a number-twenty hit on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as a top ten hit on the Top 40 Tracks and the Top 40 Mainstream charts. The song also became another number-one hit for Simpson on the Hot 100 Singles Sales. Although the song did not break records of any sorts, it performed decently on the other tracks it charted on: the Adult Top 40, the Adult Contemporary, the Hot 100 Airplay, the Hot Dance Club Play, and the Hot Digital Tracks. In late 2005 it received a gold certification by the RIAA.

Charts

Other cover versions

The song has been performed by other artists; the band Copeland performed it on their album of cover songs, Know Nothing Stays the Same, and it was translated into Cantonese and covered by Sandy Lam.

The Christian rock band Relient K also covered it as part of their "Top Gun Medley" on a few of their tours.

Originally Martha Davis of The Motels was asked by Giorgio Moroder to make a demo of the song. Her demo version is available on The Motels' Anthologyland CD.

Also to be found on YouTube under the listing for a Romanian band by the name of Activ,^[19] but unsure as to its validity due to not finding it on their website Activmusic.ro.

Diana Ross covered the song in 2007 for her album I Love You (US only; the song does not appear on the European edition).

X Factor 2008 finalist Ruth Lorenzo covered the song for the first live shows, and secured a place in the second round.

Though not strictly a cover, Swedish electro-pop band The Knife released a song called "You Take My Breath Away", a song that contains some melodic allusions to the Take My Breath Away, and a direct lyrical reference in the line "I wanted to get laid to 'Take my breath away' "

My Morning Jacket has a rendition on one of its Early Recordings discs. It ends with a clip from the film Top Gun.

Notes

References

External links

• The Berlin Fan Page