The July 1986 Script vs. The Movie -- The Songs (1)

I know of two Dirty Dancing scripts -- the September 1985 script and the July 1986 script. I have not seen the first script. The reasons for rewriting the first script included the following:

1) Patrick Swayze was allowed to change the script. One of his changes (there were many) was that Johnny Castle beat up Robbie Gould, and that beating is in the second script. Changes were made also by other people at the producer and director levels.

2) The producers could not afford to buy all the music rights that would be necessary in the first script. For example, the first script must have named the songs "La Bamba" and "Twist and Shout". The second script, however, indicated new (or cheaper) songs that would be merely similar to "La Bamba" and "Twist and Shout".

My previous article, Business Decisions About the Movie's Music, indicates that the producers dealt with many difficulties in acquiring and paying for song rights.

Part of the solution was to place five new songs -- written in 1986 -- into the movie. The second script mentions (below at Scene 145) that five new songs were being written in July 1986.

I assume that those songs replaced five period songs -- songs from the late 1950s and early 1960s -- the rights of which were too expensive for the producers to buy. Since I do have not seen the first script, I do not know for sure which period songs were replaced by the new songs.

However, I speculate that Eleanor Bergstein restored at least some of those five songs in the stage musical, which was produced in about 2003-2004. I will discuss this speculation in a future article.

In a previous article, Which Lionel Richie Song Was Replaced?, I argued that one of the new songs was Richie's song "Dancing on the Ceiling", but it was replaced, after filming began, by Franke Previte's new song "Time of My Life".

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The second script specified the song "You Don't Own Me", sung by Leslie Gore. However, the movie's rendition is sung by The Blow Monkeys. This change must have saved the producers a lot of money.

After filming began, the producers decided to buy the rights to "Love Is Strange". In order to afford to buy those expensive rights, the producers (I think) decided to replace Lesley Gore's expensive rendition of "You Don't Own Me" with The Blow Monkeys' much cheaper rendition.

Below I compare the songs in the July 1986 script with the songs in the final movie.

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Scene 2 -- The Houseman family's car driving to Kellerman's

The script -- "Original song"

The movie -- "Be My Baby", sung by The Ronettes

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Scene 4 -- The Houseman family's car driving into mountains

(Remark: This script scene is not in the movie)

The script -- "Not Too Young to Get Married", sung by The Dixie Cups

The movie -- "Big Girls Don't Cry", sung by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons

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Scene 10 -- Dance lessons in the gazebo

The script -- "New substitute for La Bamba-like merengue"

The movie -- "Merengue", performed by Erich Bulling and Michael Lloyd

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Scene 16 -- Guests dancing in the ballroom

The script -- "Band version of new song like 'I Love When Your Eyes Close, Whenever I Kiss You'"

The movie -- "Trot the Fox", performed by Michael Lloyd

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Scene 16 -- Johnny and Penny dance

The script -- "original tango"

The movie -- "Johnny's Tango", performed by Erich Bulling, John D'Andrea and Michael Lloyd

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Scene 23 -- Dance party in staff quarters

The script -- "Do You Love Me?", sung by The Contours

The movie -- "Do You Love Me?", sung by The Contours

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Scene 23 -- Johnny and Penny dance

The script -- "Wild Thing", sung by The Troggs

The movie --  "Love Man", sung by Otis Redding

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Scene 35 -- Baby brings money to Penny in staff quarters

The script -- "Duke of Earl", sung by Gene Chandler

The movie -- "Stay", sung by Maurice Williams and The Zodiacs

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Scene 36 -- Johnny begins to teach Baby how to dance

The script -- "A Latin dance number ... a ballad"

The movie -- "Wipe Out", sung by The Surfaris

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Scene 39 -- Dance lessons continue

The script -- The above Latin dance number again?

The movie -- "Hungry Eyes", sung by Eric Carmen

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Scene 45 -- Johnny driving Baby out to the countryside

The script -- "Tell Him", sung by The Exciters -- or a new song

The movie -- "This Overload", sung by Alfie Zappacosta

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Scene 49 -- Johnny and Baby dance on a log

The script -- "He's So Fine", sung by The Chiffons

The movie -- "Hey, Baby", sung by Bruce Channel

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Scene 51 -- Johnny and Baby practice in a lake

The script -- "new song -- love ballad"

The movie -- "Time of My Life", instrumental

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Scenes 54 and 58 -- Johnny and Baby dance at other hotels

The script -- The above Latin dance number again?

The movie -- De Todo un Poco", performed by Lou Perez

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Scene 59 -- Johnny drives Baby back to Kellerman's

The script -- No music

The movie -- "Some Kind of Wonderful", sung by The Drifters

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Scene 76 -- Baby enters Johnny's cabin

The script -- "Original song"

The movie -- "These Arms of Mine", sung by Otis Redding

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Scene 77 -- Baby and Johnny dance in his cabin

The script -- "Cry to Me", sung by Solomon Burke

The movie -- "Cry to Me", sung by Solomon Burke

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Scene 81 -- Baby and Johnny in his bed again

The script -- "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?", sung by The Shirelles

The movie -- "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?", sung by The Shirelles

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Scene 93 -- Johnny and Baby dancing in a studio

The script -- "a cha cha"

The movie -- "Love Is Strange", sung by Mickie and Sylvia

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Scene 94 -- Johnny and Baby walking outside, discussing Neil and her father

The script -- "You Don't Own Me", sung by Lesley Gore

The movie -- No music

(In the movie, the song "You Don't Own Me", sung by The Blow Monkeys (not by Lesley Gore), is played while Johnny is beating up Robbie. Beating scenes, without music, are elsewhere in the script. Johnny beats up Robbie in Scene 73 and beats up Ricco in Scene 92B.

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Scene 98 -- Preparing for the talent show

The script -- "Don't Fence Me In", sung by Moe Pressman

The movie -- "Hula Hana", sung by Lisa Houseman

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Scene 101 -- Baby and Johnny talking after sex

The script -- No music

The movie -- "In the Still of the Night", sung by the Five Satins

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Scene 102 -- Lisa finds Robbie in bed with Vivian

The script -- No music

The movie -- "Yes", sung by Merry Clayton

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Scenes 103-110 -- Baby and Johnny enjoy more sex

The script -- "New song ... rhythm of "Twist and Shout"

The movie -- This sequence is not in the movie

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Scene 125 -- Johnny parts from Baby

The script -- No music

The movie -- "She's Like the Wind", sung by Patrick Swayze

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Scene 145 -- Johnny and Baby dance for the talent-show audience

The script -- "'Dirty Dancing', the fifth of the original tracks we are writing for the movie"

The movie -- "The Time of My Life", sung by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes

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This is the first in a series of articles that compare the July 1986 script to the final movie.