For the 1986 film starring Tom Cruise he wrote two very successful songs with Giorgio Moroder.
American composer and lyricist Tom Whitlock, who co-wrote two songs with Giorgio Moroder that helped make the 1986 film “Top Gun” a pop icon and won an Oscar, has died at a nursing home in Gallatin, Tennessee, at the age of 68. His death, which occurred on Saturday, February 18, was confirmed by a spokesperson for the Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home in Springfield, Missouri.
Whitlock suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, friends told the Springfield News Leader. The songs “Danger Zone” and “Take My Breath Away” in the Tony Scott-directed film starring Tom Cruise are just two of more than 100 songwriting credits Whitlock has amassed over the course of his career, including songs performed by Bonnie Tyler, Ray Charles and Graham Nash. “Danger Zone,” sung by Kenny Loggins, was written to go with the opening scene on the aircraft carrier bridge, while “Take My Breath Away,” performed by Terri Nunn of Berlin, inspired the director to shoot an additional love scene between Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis to go with the song. “Take My Breath Away” won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe in 1986 for Best Original Song.
“Take My Breath Away” reached No. 1 on the Billboard 100 in September 1986, while “Danger Zone” reached No. 2 on the chart. The film’s soundtrack has sold 9 million copies.
