(I've Had) The Time of My Life

Theme song of the 1987 film Dirty Dancing, performed by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes

"(I've Had) The Time of My Life" is a 1987 song composed by Franke Previte, John DeNicola, and Donald Markowitz. It was recorded by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, and used as the theme song for the 1987 film Dirty Dancing. and he thought the film was a pornographic film based on the title, but Ienner was persistent, declaring that it would "change his life", and got Previte to write several songs for the film, including "Hungry Eyes", later recorded by singer Eric Carmen, which also became a top 10 hit. Previte wrote the lyrics, and the music was written by John DeNicola and Don Markowitz. He compared writing the song to the writing process of "MacArthur Park". The title was conceived at random while he was traveling down the Garden State Parkway. He suggested that Ienner's pleading inspired the lyric. After getting further approval, Previte, along with DeNicola and Markowitz, created a demo of the song, performing on it himself, along with singer Rachele Cappelli. The demo showcased how the harmonies were to be used, employing a "cold open", or a slow build up of the song to its finale. A song by Lionel Richie was initially planned to be used as the finale of Dirty Dancing, but choreographer Kenny Ortega and his assistant Miranda Garrison (who also played Vivian in the film) selected "The Time of My Life" instead. This demo wasn't used in the final cut of the film − the more polished version with Warnes and Medley was. However, because the Warnes/Medley track was not ready by the time the finale was filmed (it was shot first, due to the tight budget), Previte and Cappelli's much lighter and more youthful version was used as a backing track, so that the actors, Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, and the dancers, could have something to dance to. (Swayze later remarked that it was his favorite version, even including all the subsequent remakes.) The demo version finally appeared on the 1998 CD reissue of Previte's 1981 album Franke and the Knockouts, but is only listed as a "Bonus Track". The movie's writer, Eleanor Bergstein, wanted a famous 1960s singer to perform it to blend then contemporary musical elements with the aesthetics of the period. The song was initially intended for Donna Summer and Joe Esposito, but Summer turned it down because she did not like the title of the film. Afterwards, producer Michael Lloyd approached Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates and singer songwriter Kim Carnes to perform; they declined as well. In response, Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers was approached by Jimmy Ienner repeatedly over two months to do the recording, but he also turned it down because his daughter McKenna was due to be born, and he had promised his wife he would be there. He was also concerned about appearing in another song that would flop (as had happened with "Loving on Borrowed Time" with Gladys Knight, from the soundtrack for Cobra) and also thought the title was "like a bad porno movie". Medley then agreed to record the track, having also admired her singing, on the condition that he record the song in Los Angeles. To give emotional depth to the song, Warnes had a video playback machine and footage of the final scene brought in to synchronize her singing with the movie's ending scene, particularly "the lift". After completing the main vocals, Medley and Warnes were asked by Lloyd to add additional harmonies and flourishes for the song. Laurence Juber – guitar
Dennis Belfield – bass
Paul Leim – drums
Marcy Levy – backing vocals
Produced by Michael Lloyd
Arranged by Gene Page; additional arrangements by Michael Lloyd and John D'Andrea
Recording (at The Village Recorder) and Mix by Carmine Rubino; First engineer: Dan Nebenzal (Second engineer: Jeff DeMorris)
Remixed by Carmine Rubino, Dan Nebenzal, Jimmy Ienner and Michael Lloyd
Published by Knockout Music Inc., Jemava Music Corp., Donald Jay Music and R U Cyrius Music.

In the United States, the single topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart in November 1987 for one week and also reached number one on the Adult Contemporary for four weeks. In the United Kingdom the song had two chart outings: in November 1987, after the film's initial release, the song peaked at No. 6;

The Black Eyed Peas' 2010 single "The Time (Dirty Bit)" features interpolations of the song performed by Will. i. am and Fergie. In the ninth episode of the second season of Glee, "Special Education", the New Directions performed this song. It was released as a single from Glee: The Music, Volume 4 and peaked at No. 38 in the Billboard Hot 100. One of the writers of the song, John DeNicola, released his own version of "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" on his debut album The Why Because, released in 2019.