Sorry it’s been a while since there has been a Song of the Day, but we are back! I recently made it to the movie theater for the first time since, The Rise of Skywalker (I’ve seen every single live action Star Wars film in the theater from 1977 through today). And as with a lot of GenXers, it took Tom Cruise and Top Gun to get us back. I don’t want to get into a review here, but Top Gun: Maverick is a must see! I wish all sequels/remakes/reboots of our 80s movies were treated with such respect.

Since I’m in a Top Gun mood, today’s Song of the Day is my favorite (and very underrated) track from the legendary soundtrack – “Mighty Wings” by Cheap Trick.

The song was written by Harold Faltermayer and Mark Spiro. It was the third single released from the soundtrack album. Unfortunately, it had to follow “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins and “Take My Breath Away” by Berlin. The latter of which won both the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.

“Mighty Wings” has that classic 80s inspirational power rock sound that pumps you up. It is full of power chords and Robin Zander’s sweeping vocals. It is a perfect fit for Top Gun.

Before this, Cheap Trick had been launched into international stardom with their 1978 live album, Cheap Trick at Budokan. After the success of that album, the band struggled until they recorded “Mighty Wings”. Shortly after this, the band had a huge resurgence in 1988 with their Lap of Luxury album and their number one smash hit, “The Flame“.

The band is still recording brand new music, most recently 2021s In Another World. They are still rocking as hard as ever, and Robin Zander is a freak of nature as he still sounds as strong as ever.

If this song flew under your radar, just as Maverick needs to do in the new movie, definitely check this out!