Dirty Dancing (soundtrack)
1987 compilation soundtrack album; various artists

Dirty Dancing: Original Soundtrack from the Vestron Motion Picture is the original soundtrack to the 1987 film Dirty Dancing. It was released on August 4, 1987, by RCA Records. Sales estimates vary; Guinness World Records reported in 2012 that the album had sold approximately 42 million copies worldwide.
In the United States, the album spent 18 weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 chart and has been certified 14-times Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). With shipments of at least 3.25 million copies, it is the all-time best-selling album in Germany.
A follow-up album, More Dirty Dancing, was released in March 1988. The album Ultimate Dirty Dancing, released in December 2003, contains every song from the motion picture Dirty Dancing in the order it appears in the film.
Due to the strong resurgence of vinyl record sales, for the film's 30th anniversary in 2017, Dirty Dancing received a vinyl reissue, along with a Blu-ray remaster with a 5.1 surround soundtrack and previously unreleased material.
Track listing
1987 original edition
"(I've Had) The Time of My Life" (Bill Medley, Jennifer Warnes) – 4:50
"Be My Baby" (The Ronettes) – 2:37
"She's Like the Wind" (Patrick Swayze) – 3:53
"Hungry Eyes" (Eric Carmen) – 4:06
"Stay" (Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs) – 1:34
"Yes" (Merry Clayton) – 3:15
"You Don't Own Me" (The Blow Monkeys) – 2:59
"Hey! Baby" (Bruce Channel) – 2:21
"Overload" (Alfie Zappacosta) – 3:39
"Love Is Strange" (Mickey & Sylvia) – 2:52
"Where Are You Tonight?" (Tom Johnston) – 3:59
"In the Still of the Night" (The Five Satins) – 3:03
20th Anniversary Edition
On October 15, 2007, RCA Records released a 20th anniversary edition of the soundtrack, containing remastered versions of the original album's songs (in order of which they appeared in movie) plus additional tracks, as well as a DVD featuring promotional videos and photo material.
The public source identifies “Dirty Dancing (soundtrack)” as 1987 compilation soundtrack album; various artists. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Dirty, Dancing and soundtrack.
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Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q520319. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1987, 2012, 1988 and 2003.
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