Movies and TV have repeatedly given older songs a second life, sometimes decades after their original release.
1. Kate Bush — “Running Up That Hill”
The 1985 song became a massive hit again after its prominent role in Stranger Things.
It eventually reached the U.S. Top 10 for the first time, introducing Kate Bush to a generation that hadn’t been born when the song was released.
2. Fleetwood Mac — “Dreams”
The 1977 hit received another major boost after a viral video used the song in 2020.
A new generation discovered Fleetwood Mac through the clip, sending the song back onto the Billboard Hot 100 more than four decades after its original release.
3. Harry Nilsson — “Gotta Get Up”
The song was already more than 45 years old when it became closely associated with Netflix’s Russian Doll.
Its repeated use in the series introduced Nilsson’s music to viewers who had never encountered the singer during his lifetime.
4. Queen — “Bohemian Rhapsody”
Queen’s 1975 classic gained another enormous wave of attention after the 2018 Bohemian Rhapsody biopic.
The movie introduced the song to millions of younger viewers and helped push Queen’s catalog back into everyday pop culture.
5. The Chordettes — “Mr. Sandman”
The 1954 song received a huge streaming boost after appearing in Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters.
The exposure sent a song more than 70 years old to a completely new generation of listeners.
6. ABBA — “Fernando”
ABBA’s 1976 song also received a major streaming boost after appearing in KPop Demon Hunters.
The renewed attention shows how a well-placed song can suddenly introduce even very old music to audiences who have no connection to its original era.
