Moving images share a rich history with sound. Before audio could be recorded on location or even on set, movies relied heavily on player actions in each short film or feature film. In fact, music would often permeate an otherwise silent film to fill the void that lacked ambient sound or dialogue. Tension, happiness and fear could easily be conveyed through music, as in the classic Buster Keaton movies. Nonetheless, the composers helped lay the foundations for a powerful relationship between music and movies.

As audio became more prevalent in movies, it was easier to get a tone because viewers could now hear the actors and actresses and the film’s score. But occasionally, songs recorded by musicians could be heard, which helped convey a deeper, more relatable tone and explore the personality of the person the music was focusing on. For example, in The crowthere was a lot of emo and gothic rock music that surrounded the main character and helped inform the pain he was constantly in. That said, with so many famous musicians, what music has been heard in over 100 movies?

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Which artist had the most songs used in the film?

It is difficult to delve into the number of films in which a musician has performed his music individually. Fortunately, there is an algorithm on the site Casumo who scours thousands of movies to see which artist has been heard the most in theaters. While plenty of iconic singers and songwriters are on there, it’s surprisingly revealed that musician Bob Dylan took the cake with a total of 123 movie appearances through his music. His film appearances also add to his wider influences on popular culture.

For this reason, there have been extensive lists of movies and times when Dylan’s work shone, and it’s almost always in some culturally definitive films. For example, for comic book movie fans, “The Times They Are A-Changin’ echoed throughout the opening credits of watchmen as the history of the world has shown. His song “It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)” was also featured in Easy Rider, a film presenting a new facet of Americana. However, one of the cleverest uses of Dylan’s music was in the movie based on him, I am not herewhere much of his works have been heard.

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Who are other notable mentions?

Although Bob Dylan took the cake in terms of his music appearing the most in movies, that doesn’t mean there aren’t others catching up. Right behind him at number two is Elvis Presley, who has had 119 appearances as well as his his own film based on his life. That said, the first five have their own meaning, with sci-fi icon David Bowie at 113, the Rolling Stones at 96 and Bruce Springsteen at 90.

While this list may likely change over time, its meaning will never change. Without music, movies could still exist, but it would be much harder to convey the emotions needed to engage viewers in the moment. But between the scores and the many artists who lent their music to the films, it changed the landscape of cinema and showed that while Bob Dylan is the most used today, it could change at any time and continue to enrich the medium.