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"Take My Breath Away"
#1 weeks: 1
weeks: 1986-09-13
genre: new wave
artist: Berlin
album: Top Gun soundtrackCount Three & Pray
writers: Giorgio Moroder, Tom Whitlock
producers: Giorgio Moroder
label:
formats: 7", 12"
lengths: 4:15

"Take My Breath Away" is the name of a love song from the film Top Gun(1986). The song was written by Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock, performed by the band Berlin. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song in 1986.

"Take My Breath Away" was the first single from the soundtrack album and was released in 1986 as a split single alongside the song "Radar Radio":

The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 13, 1986 and became number 1 in the UK for four weeks in November 1986.

"Take My Breath Away" is available on both the original Top Gunsoundtrack album and the expanded edition. The song was also featured in several of the band's best-of and remix albums: Best of Berlin 1979-1988, Master Series, Greatest Hits Remixed(which includes a "Mission UK Remix" version), Live: Sacred & Profaneand Metro Greatest Hits. "Take My Breath Away" was one of the only songs not written by Berlin's John Crawford that they had performed on any album up to that point.

"Take My Breath Away" was re-released in October 1990 to coincide with the first television showing of Top Gun(by ITV, on the evening of October 6) as well as Peugeot's new television advertising campaign for the 405 model range. The re-release reached number three in the UK singles charts.

The music video features scenes from the movie Top Gunintermingled with Berlin's singer Terri Nunn performing the song in blue coveralls walking between pieces of planes in a windy aircraft boneyard (part of the Mojave Air & Space Port) at night. Bandmates John Crawford and Rob Brill are shown relaxing in the yard and then following Terri. This video clip can be seen occasionally in VH1 Europe's Top 10 Movie Soundtracks program. This video was re-released within the 2004 DVD Collector's Edition.

In 1994 has The Flying Pickets released a Acapella-Version of this song on him Album The Original Flying Pickets: Volume 1 and is 4:34 long. The B-Side of this cover is the cover of Road to Nowhere.

American pop singer Jessica Simpson covered "Take My Breath Away" and released it as the third single from the album In This Skinin 2004. Her version was produced by Billy Mann. Simpson chose to cover this song because she felt that it was the theme song of her relationship with her then husband, Nick Lachey. Simpson's version was also included on the compilation album Now That's What I Call Music! 16(from the U.S. Now!series). The remix is seen on Much Dance 2005. It also received heavy airplay on Mainstream Urban stations.

The video shows her driving through a southwestern desert. She stops to fill up with gas, and then arrives at a diner where she watches lovers in motion. The music video peaked at #5 on MTV's TRL and spent a total of 12 days on the countdown.

"Take My Breath Away" became a number-twenty hit on the Hot 100, as well as a top ten hit on the Top 40 Tracks and the Top 40 Mainstream charts. The song also became another number-one hit for Simpson on the Hot 100 Singles Sales. Although the song did not break records of any sorts, it performed decently on the other tracks it charted on: the Adult Top 40, the Adult Contemporary, the Hot 100 Airplay, the Hot Dance Club Play, and the Hot Digital Tracks. In late 2005 it received a gold certification by the RIAA.

The song has been performed by other artists; the band Copeland performed it on their album of cover songs, Know Nothing Stays the Same, and it was translated into Cantonese and covered by Sandy Lam.

The Christian rock band Relient K also covered it as part of their "Top Gun Medley" on a few of their tours.

Originally Martha Davis of The Motels was asked by Giorgio Moroder to make a demo of the song. Her demo version is available on The Motels' AnthologylandCD.

Also to be found on YouTube under the listing for a Romanian band by the name of Activ, but unsure as to its validity due to not finding it on their website Activmusic.ro.

Diana Ross covered the song in 2007 for her album I Love You(US only; the song does not appear on the European edition).

X Factor 2008 finalist Ruth Lorenzo covered the song for the first live shows, and secured a place in the second round.

Though not strictly a cover, Swedish electro-pop band The Knife released a song called "You Take My Breath Away", a song that contains some melodic allusions to the Take My Breath Away, and a direct lyrical reference in the line "I wanted to get laid to 'Take my breath away'"

My Morning Jacket has a rendition on one of its Early Recordings discs. It ends with a clip from the film Top Gun.