Songs That Spark A TV Memory: 'Chasing Cars,' 'Goo Goo Muck,' 'At This Moment,' 'Love Story,' 'Back In Black,' 'Wayward Son' And 40+ Others

How does a powerful TV moment turn into an iconic one? By being paired with a song that perfectly encapsulates the moment or feeling.

The songs in our list below are indelibly linked to TV greatness. Yes, they may have been popular long before their small screen showcases, but the likes of Sia's "Breathe Me" or a ukulele-accompanied cover of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" will always and forever make us think about specific TV episodes.

These aren't just "cool needle drops," but ones that elevated these special scenes or sequences even higher. You can close your eyes and picture Crocket and Tubbs cruising the streets of Miami in a Ferrari Daytona Spyder when you hear that Phil Collins classic. You wince again for Alex P. Keaton as his already-complicated romantic dream is dashed as "At This Moment" spins. You can feel the tension as Tony Soprano looks up from his menu while Journey plays on the tableside jukebox.

Revisit our favorite TV needle drops and watch some of these classic moments below. Then, weigh in with your favorites or offer up some other tunes that trigger specific small-screen memories!

The Waterboys' best-selling single accompanied a rare moment of levity in this otherwise melancholic Showtime drama, as Whitney's husband Colin led a flash mob for his blushing bride in the 2019 series finale. A cover of the Scottish ditty, sung by theme song artist Fiona Apple, proceeded to close out the episode, as Old Man Noah recalled the choreography from his daughter's wedding. — Ryan Schwartz

This is how you kick off a Super Bowl aftershow. The minute that high-hat intro to AC/DC's rock classic kicks in, we are right back there on the plane with superspy Sydney Bristow at her beautiful baddest: abs for days, riding crop in hand, lingerie-as-a-means-to-trick-the-bad-guy-into-submission. How gorgeously that guitar riff pairs with Syd's scantily-clad butt-kicking! And just for the record? There was absolutely nothing wrong with the black one. — Kim Roots

In search of a hallucinatory metaphor to represent Calista Flockhart's titular character's ticking biological clock, series creator David E. Kelley paired Blue Swede's cover of B.J. Thomas' classic '60s track with one seriously creepy animated dancing baby. The recurring bit, much like the Fox dramedy itself, became a polarizing pop culture phenomenon, so much so that to this day it's impossible to hear the song and not think of Baby Cha-Cha. — Michael Ausiello

Ryan Murphy's horror anthology has had a bevy of cool castings, but landing one of the world's biggest pop stars to play a bloodsucking vampire raised the... stakes. And what better way to introduce Lady Gaga's Countess than a sexy, disgusting orgy soundtracked by She Wants Revenge's "Tear You Apart"? The dark wave track set the perfect goth vibe as the vamp queen slashed fresh victims open and lapped up geysers of crimson. The massacre made for one hell of a scene in Hotel's premiere, and the tune has lived on all of our Halloween playlists ever since. — Nick Caruso

Little did Simon & Garfunkel know that their haunting 1965 ballad would eventually, one day, forever be associated with a meme. And they can blame series creator Mitch Hurwitz, who in Season 4 cued up the track whenever the camera panned in on Gob Bluth, realizing that he'd just made a "huge mistake." — R.S.

We were already worried about Richie being convinced he was a useless waste of space in Season 2. But then he told his daughter he needed a break from Taylor Swift and we knew he was in real trouble! Richie finally found his purpose in "Forks," falling in love with service and making customers happy. And when our favorite moody Chicagoan triumphantly sang along to "Love Story," we were punching the air in celebration. This song, for this guy, was so unexpected that it was just perfect. Now, whenever we think of Cousin at his best, Taylor's music is always blasting in the background. — Jason Averett

Buffy and Angel may have been broken up by the time her prom came, but thanks to The Sundays' Rolling Stones cover, the couple was afforded one last romantic hurrah. Singer Harriet Wheeler turned the scene's emotion up to 11. As she sang lines like, "You know I can't let you slide through my hands," and "Let's do some living after we die," we couldn't help but be filled with feeling, as we reminisced about the rollercoaster relationship (and pain) BAngel had endured. — N.C.

NBC's Chuck ended where it veritably began, with "a guy who worked at Buy More" and "a spy named Sarah" huddled on the beach. Only this time, instead of getting to know each other for the first time, Chuck was hoping against all hope that Sarah would reclaim the memories that had been zapped by her intersection with the Intersect. And because this tune from the folk band The Head and the Heart lilted over "The Story of Chuck & Sarah," its three-word title will forever send us back to the couple's second first kiss. — Matt Webb Mitovich

You don't have to put on the red light, Jeff Winger! The Police classic was way too basic for our cynical group leader, but when Britta finally got to belt out a full "Roooooooxanne..." at the end of "Remedial Chaos Theory," the fractured house party came together... without him. Watching the joyfully unironic group dance, Jeff understood his too-cool-for-community-college aura was killing his pals' natural vibe together. "Roxanne" may have been deeply uncool in the dark timelines, but in this reality, it's the celebratory soundtrack the Greendale gang always needed. — J.A.

Many of the classic WB teen drama's songs were replaced with different tunes when the series hit DVD and then streaming, but thankfully, Edwin McCain's heartfelt '90s ballad remains in the Season 1 finale (at least on Hulu). Regardless of who you would go on to "ship" Joey with in later seasons, hearing the emotional strands of "I'll Be" – which plays when Joey, on the verge of confessing her feelings for Dawson, sees him and Jen almost kissing in bed and runs off — is sure to send you down an angsty teen well of hormonal, nostalgic feelings. — Vlada Gelman

Israel Kamakawiwoʻole's 1990 recording of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" first popped up on the soundtracks to such films as Meet Joe Black and Finding Forrester. But you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone of a certain age who doesn't associate the acoustic tune with "On the Beach," ER's penultimate Season 8 episode that would mark the swan song for both Dr. Mark Greene and original cast member Anthony Edwards. Knowing that his days were numbered due to an aggressive brain cancer, Mark had returned home to Hawaii to, among other things, make amends with daughter Rachel, before suffering a seizure that was the beginning of the very, very sad end for the beloved character. — M.M.

Earnest '80s heartache, thy name is Billy Vera & The Beaters' mournful ballad, which provides the soundtrack for Alex P. Keaton's best and worst night ever. We'd never seen Michael J. Fox's character so undone, and the scene takes on special resonance when you factor in that Ellen — the object of Alex's awkward affection — was played by Tracy Pollan, who'd later marry Fox in real life. There was a whole lotta angst for Alex and Ellen before they [Decades-Old Spoiler Alert!] became a couple, but this song made the suffering all the sweeter. Truly one of the all-time songs most indelibly associated with a TV moment. — M.M.

It's no "Smelly Cat," but this U2 ballad remains a favorite among Friends fans for underscoring one of the show's most iconic moments: Ross and Rachel staring out of their rainy windows as they contemplated their future... with or without each other. Because that's what sad people did before doom-scrolling was invented. They just stared out at the rain. Oh, and did we mention that Ross called in to a radio station and had this song dedicated to Rachel? That's also a thing people used to do. — Andy Swift

In the Season 5 premiere, after being told by the Observers' Captain Windmark that in the year 2036 there is no music, nor can anything grow in the dystopian landscape, Walter is woken from a nap by the glimmering of a CD sculpture outside his window. Ducking down to the street to check out the display, he picks a random disc out of a satchel and pops it into an abandoned cab's CD player. And as the incongruous synth pop (courtesy of Yazoo) plays over the stark landscape, Walter spies a lone dandelion sprouted from the sidewalk — representing but a glimmer of hope for the future/past. Other TV shows have cued up "Only You" since, but never in such a perfectly trippy way. — M.M.

Luke Spencer loved Laura Baldwin. Laura was married to Scotty. Luke feared his mob ties were catching up to him, and he'd be dead inside of a month. And one night, as Laura waited for a ride home from her job at the campus disco, a despondent Luke lured Laura into a dance... and then he raped her, all as trumpeter Herb Alpert's "Rise" blared through the air. The problematic storyline steered Luke and Laura into supercouple status (and in doing so reversed the lagging ABC sudser's fortunes), while Alpert's instrumental rose to No. 1 on the charts. It's a tragic TV memory, for sure, but a iconic one nonetheless. — M.M.

Girl's Hannah Horvath had just found out two hard-to-stomach truths for any self-absorbed young adult: Her college ex-boyfriend was gay and she had HPV. But instead of unraveling completely — as she so often could — Robyn's "Dancing on My Own" nudged our favorite millennial in a different direction. Against the backdrop of a dance beat, she forged ahead like the adventurous woman that she was by dancing her troubles away. (After all, all adventurous women do get HPV.) Now, whenever we hear that Robyn track, we can't help but see Hannah's thrashing bob and hear the echoes of "Yo, girl!" off in the distance. — Claire Franken

Often regarded as one of the best love songs ever written, "You and I (We Can Conquer the World)" — from Stevie Wonder's 1972 album, Talking Book — was sung by a young Michael Evans (played by Ralph Carter) as his big sis Thelma walked down the aisle to marry football player Keith Anderson. "Will it stay, the love you feel for me? Will it say, that you will be by my side?" the lyrics asked. For all those in attendance, and despite some drama revolving around a career-jeopardizing injury Keith suffered on this Big Day, the answer was clearly yes. — M.M.

There's a reason that Snow Patrol's heart-tugging ballad has been used over and over on the long-running ABC drama. All we have to hear are those first few guitar chords, and immediately, we get deja feels that take us back to the Season 2 finale and Denny's devastating death just as he's on the verge of beginning a new life with Izzie. So visceral is our reaction that even without the clip above, we could picture the scene through newly misty eyes.

Donna presenting former business partner Cameron with her Next Great Idea was drowned out by Peter Gabriel's debut solo single — an acoustic lament about being prepared to lose what you had in exchange for what you might get. And that was especially fitting for the underrated AMC drama's closing montage, revealing that our onetime antihero, Joe MacMillan, found solace in heartbreak. In the wake of Gordon's death, Comet's demise and the end of his relationship to Cameron, he left California behind and began the next chapter of his life as a high school educator in upstate New York. But unlike his previous efforts to start anew, he took parts of his past with him, as evidenced by framed photographs of Gordon, Cameron and Haley on his office desk. — R.S.

June and her fellow handmaids have just pulled off the mass murder of the men who raped and tortured them for years, and Swift's revenge anthem starts bumping on the soundtrack — look what the Commanders made them do, indeed. The pairing of subject matter and song was so perfect, was it any wonder that some Swifties were sure Taylor herself had made an uncredited cameo during the scene? (We have it on good authority that she did not.) — K.R.

The Season 1 scene in which Charlie Spring frolicked in the snow with crush Nick Nelson and his dog Nellie was so stunningly sweet, we would've died a hundred times watching it even if it had unfolded without any music at all playing underneath. But the use of Beabadoobee's ballad, as beautiful and fragile as any snowflake, elevated the moment from enviably romantic to impossibly magical. — Charlie Mason

You're bound to find this Proclaimers track on any HIMYM fan's road trip playlist. The cassingle was stuck in Marshall's tape deck for the better part of two decades, until Judge Fudge was forced to say "Arrivederci, Fiero!" to his cherished Pontiac. Though the song was reused throughout the run of the show, to this day it remains most commonly associated with Season 2 flashbacks to Marshall and Ted's first road trip together, during which the bickering Wesleyan roommates became lifelong friends. — R.S.

What at first seems like an extremely odd interaction between two survivors of a zombie apocalypse blooms into the most tender — and unlikely — of love stories between men who likely never would've found each other otherwise. And it's all thanks to Linda Ronstadt's ballad, performed haltingly, and hauntingly, by Nick Offerman's Bill. — K.R.

Would Justin Theroux's Kevin Garvey get a chair turn on The Voice? Doubtful. Nonetheless, the rendition of Simon & Garfunkel's golden oldie that he delivers in order to gain passage back to the land of the living in Season 2 of the surreal HBO drama is so profoundly heartfelt and vulnerable that we can't hear the original anymore without recalling his version. Usually while dabbing at tears. — C.M.

"What is inside the hatch?!" The answer to that question, which was raised by the very end of the mystery drama's freshman finale, was, in short: a Scotsman named Desmond... an Apple II Plus into which he punched the Numbers every 108 minutes... a turntable... and Cass Elliot's take on this 1969 pop song written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. Just the visual of the island bunker's comfort-laden contents was jarring enough a start to Season 2, but setting its reveal to such an out-of-time tune upped the WTF?! factor. — M.M.

Every time we hear Phil Collins' pulsating synth-rock tune, we flash back to the pilot episode of NBC's slick '80s cop drama, where it played as Crockett and Tubbs drove in silence through the Miami night to get revenge on the Colombian drug dealer Calderone. It's a gorgeously cinematic, supremely cool scene that established Vice as TV's hot new series — and the song use was so iconic, they even included a cover of it in the 2006 big-screen reboot.

Forget, for a moment, that Angela was in no way as over Jordan Catalano as she thought she was at the top of this episode. Forget, also, that she got a very short amount of time before she suffered a giant betrayal at the hands of her best friend, Rayanne. Instead, focus on the sheer joy that infused every moment of Claire Danes' gleeful dance to Violent Femmes' manic tune. — K.R.

Make no mistake, we will picture Gibbs and Ruth drinking beers over a jigsaw puzzle the next time "Blue Bayou" plays on the department store Muzak. But with the prequel spinoff's gut punch of a Season 1 finale, "Cecilia" (penned by Paul Simon and originally recorded by Simon & Garfunkel) now will always conjure the image of Lala en route to tell Gibbs about how she saved his bacon, until her Jeep tragically (?) flipped when she steered it to dodge a little girl. — M.M.

Some musical moments become instant classics for all the wrong reasons. Such was the case with this trippy Imogen Heap track, which began playing the instant Marissa fatally shot Trey in the Fox drama's second season finale. It was a jarring audio cut, one that turned the pivotal moment from melodramatic to a downright parody of itself. Speaking of parodies, this moment was ridiculous enough to be lampooned by Saturday Night Live (watch that Digital Short).

This WB/CW teen drama was as much about music as it was about basketball, and it never failed to find the right song to fit each dramatic moment. But this Led Zeppelin jam holds a special place in fans' hearts (and music libraries) for how perfectly it underscored the absolute chaos that ensued following Nathan and Haley's wedding in the third season finale. The way it crescendoed during the limo crash on the bridge, then dramatically faded out as multiple lives hung in the balance? Sublime. — A.S.

There are many good reasons not to hold a press conference on the ice at a skating rink, all of which play out perfectly in this classic Parks and Recreation bit. Because of a too-short red carpet, Leslie Knope and her team are forced to walk across the ice to the podium, slipping and falling the entire way — all to the tune of Gloria Estefan's "Get on Your Feet." Would if they could, Ms. Estefan. Would if they could. — A.S.

The Blue Öyster Cult classic was used in one of SNL's most beloved sketches of all time — a parody of VH1's Behind the Music wherein Will Ferrell's Gene Frenkle wows Christopher Walken's Bruce Dickinson with his passionate cowbell performance. Nowadays, you can't hear this song without picturing Gene "exploring the room," or passive-aggressively striking his cowbell in Chris Parnell—err, Eric Bloom's ear. — R.S.

Despite limited chart success, this Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers banger went on to become one of the band's most popular songs thanks to its inclusion in countless TV and film soundtracks. But for fans of the long-running medical dramedy Scrubs, "American Girl" will forever be associated with Dr. Elliot Reid's extreme makeover at the start of Season 3. The chorus provided killer accompaniment as she strutted into Sacred Heart, revealing freshly cut bangs, a sexier wardrobe and an unmistakable swagger that forced everyone to reevaluate "Blonde Doctor." — R.S.

Elaine Benes revealed herself to be a breathtakingly bad dancer in the memorable Season 8 episode, "The Little Kicks." Then again, we wouldn't necessarily classify what Julia Louis-Dreyfus' character did as "dancing," per se. To borrow a line from George Costanza, it was more like "a full-bodied dry heave set to music." Yet nearly 30 years later, you'll still catch folks recreating Benes' signature moves at an Earth, Wind & Fire concert. — R.S.

If this stunning heartbreaker didn't reduce you to tears, you may as well be dead on a slab in the Fishers' funeral home. As the episode flash-forwarded to show the demise of every major character, "Breathe Me" served as a crucial component to the scene's gutting effectiveness — so much so that we named it the best series finale of all time. Sia's crooning vocals will forever remind us of Claire's Toyota Prius cruising down the highway as our hearts shattered to pieces. — N.C.

In Somebody Somewhere's third season, Bridget Everett's Sam finally took steps toward living the kind of life she always wanted to. Enter Miley Cyrus' "The Climb," a song about dreaming big and rising above life's many hurdles, which wound up delivering the perfect message for the show's swan song. "There's something about the positive, life-affirmation of it all that just felt right for the moment," Everett told TVLine. "I listened to it and I was very emotional. Every time I start crying, I know it's right for the show." — N.C.

The funny thing about this Journey anthem isn't that its opening notes instantly evoke images of Tony Soprano seated in Holsten's, but that one of its final runs at the chorus, three-and-a-half minutes in, absolutely makes you think back to that night in June 2007 when your TV set suddenly went black and dead-silent. Released more than a quarter-century prior to The Sopranos' series finale, "Don't Stop Believin'" had already had its day in the sun on the Billboard charts, but its association with the mystery of what happened to Tony will last forever.

We always knew that Kate Bush's '80s hit was awesome, but we didn't realize that it was a life saver, not until Season 4 of the Duffer Brothers' Netflix smash. When Max's friends played her favorite song through the headphones of her Walkman, the anthem not only helped break the diabolical Vecna's hold on her, it gave her the strength to fight her way out of the Upside Down and left us with goosebumps that still haven't altogether subsided. — C.M.

Frank's tribute to A Tribe Called Quest wasn't just a showstopping highlight from the series' best episode, "Goodbye My Damaged Home." It was a microcosm of the Station Eleven mantra: Even post-apocalypse, we can still build community through art and passionate performance. At this makeshift family's lowest point, Frank rapping over looped samples was pure magic, pulling the freezing Jeevan and Kirsten to their feet for a spontaneous pandemic dance party. Yes, it was Frank's "way to stay hot," but this song and this memory will always give us chills. — J.A.

The long-running series never had an official theme song, but from the moment the Kansas hit played during a Season 1 montage, it became the anthem of both the Winchester brothers and the fandom. With lyrics that perfectly captured the show's spirit ("Carry on, my wayward son, there'll be peace when you are done"), the song would go on to be featured in multiple "The Road So Far" recap montages, in addition to being covered in the 200th episode's musical production and in the series finale's closing scenes. — V.G.

In the episode "Jim's Inheritance," from Season 5 of the workplace comedy, Christopher Lloyd's character had to deal with not only his father's passing, but also his siblings' bid to have him declared incompetent and thus not able to directly access a sizable inheritance. Despite his coworkers' best efforts/testimony, Jim lost the suit — but he forgot all about that soon as he found a cassette tape his dad left for him and which declared Jim to be, in Stevie Wonder's words, "the sunshine of my life." (Watch on Daily Motion, starting at the 20:00 mark.) — M.M.

By the mid-aughts, Rick Astley's signature song was thought of as little more than a punchline. "Rickrolling" was the name of the game, and the song itself had lost all meaning. Then in 2021, the Emmy-winning Apple TV+ comedy put the song to good use when an emotionally taxed Rebecca began mouthing the lyrics in lieu of a traditional eulogy for her father. Now we may never get Rickrolled without tearing up again. — R.S.

First of all, no, we're not talking about the Justin Bieber tune of the same name. This "Never Say Never" comes courtesy of the Fray, and it serves as a bookend for The Vampire Diaries' eight-season run, playing in both the first and last episodes of the series. Whether this song makes you think of Elena inviting Stefan into her house in the pilot, or (spoiler alert!) Lexi welcoming Stefan into the afterlife in the grand finale, it's guaranteed to hit you in the feels. — A.S.

For any Veronica and Logan 'shipper, the opening sounds of the Tommy James & the Shondells tune immediately causes one's heart to constrict. That's because the song memorably played over a scene of Logan, alone on a boat, waiting for Veronica to show up for their first date. Unbeknownst to him in that moment, she ditched the outing after learning that Logan brought drugs to the party where she was roofied and raped. With their newfound romance cut short before it could even really begin, the lyric "I think I could love her" never sounded so heartbreaking. — V.G.

The will-they-won't-they between Amina and Ahsan in We Are Lady Parts' second season was all sorts of adorable, so we were happy to see our leading lady ditch her flirtmance with Billy. And all of the crushes, mixed signals and off-timing led to one emotionally charged finale where Amina finally admitted her real feelings to Ahsan while serenading him with the sweet sounds of Hoobastank's "The Reason." If we're never reunited with the Muslim punk band ever again, well, it was a fitting farewell — but that doesn't mean we won't forever be jonesing for Season 3. — N.C.

Not only was Jenna Ortega's totally improvised dance to The Cramps' "Goo Goo Muck" imbued with punk spirit, but Wednesday's weird waltz was one of the most viral clips of 2022. Introducing new generations to the band's raucous gothabilly and surf sounds, the Addams daughter's dance moves are iconic, now forever linked with the track's twangy riffs and offbeat '80s vibes. — N.C.

Kevin and Winnie's young romance was filled with heart-wrenching highs and lows... and scored to some classic tunes as well. We'll never forget Bob Seger's swoon-worthy ballad playing as Kevin rushed to see Winnie after she was in a car accident, with the two exchanging "I love you"s through her bedroom window. Yeah, we know that song wasn't actually released until 1978, way after Kevin and Winnie had grown up — but who cares, when it fits so perfectly here?