"Tonight Is What It Means to Be Young" by Fire Inc.

Song#:  1923
Date:  06/02/1984
Debut:  90
Peak:  80
Weeks:  5
Genre:  Rock, Soundtrack



Pop Bits:  The soundtrack to the box office dud Streets of Fire ended up doing better than the film thanks to the #6 hit "I Can Dream About You" by Dan Hartman. As a follow-up, the label issued this Jim Steinman-penned tune that was performed by Fire, Inc. In reality, there wasn't actually a band called Fire, Inc. It was just a name given to the studio musicians Steinman assembled who recorded the song along with another contribution, "Nowhere Fast." Lead vocals on this song were done by Holly Sherwood, who had worked with Steinman on other projects. In the film, actress Diane Lane lip syncs to this song. Unfortunately, the single didn't catch on as well as "I Can Dream" and it dropped off the chart after a few weeks.

ReduxReview:  I think Steinman's bombastic songs were a perfect fit for this film. In fact, adding a few more of his tunes would have been even better. That said, his two contributions were not necessarily his most single-ready efforts. This epic workout featured all of Steinman's signature composition and production points, but it's just lacking a significant hook that would capture the attention of pop listeners. Like a lot of Steinman's material, it's fun and interesting. It ended up working well in the movie, but it just wasn't a great single.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  Double Shot!  1) Sherwood worked with Steinman when he produced Bonnie Tyler's hit album Faster Than the Speed of Night. Sherwood sings background on several songs. Most notably, she provided the big vocal wail that comes near the end of the epic title track. Rory Dodd, who provided the male vocal part on Tyler's #1 hit "Total Eclipse of the Heart," was also a part of Fire Inc. doing background vocals.  2) The movie was named after the Bruce Springsteen track "Streets of Fire" from his 1978 LP Darkness on the Edge of Town. Producers of the movie wanted the song for the finale and were sure they could secure use of the tune, so they filmed the ending with the song. Unfortunately, when Springsteen found out that it was going to be a remake of his song and not his own version, he cancelled the deal. Stuck with no final song, the producers called up Steinman and asked him to supply a new finale number. Steinman wrote this song in two days and the producers loved it. What they didn't love though is that they had to reshoot the finale again, which cost the studio an extra $1 million.

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