1984 Comedy Hit, Whose Theme Song Was Hastily Written, Launched a Major Franchise

If you've seen a certain movie from the 1980s, chances are you've pulled the "ghostbusters" joke in everyday conversation. Whenever someone asks, "Who are you gonna call?" you can't help but reply with the in-universe answer.

Monday, June 8 marks exactly 42 years since Ghostbusters premiered, becoming both a critical and commercial success and ultimately launching a massive franchise - which is still going strong today with additional film entries.

The supernatural comedy holds an impressive 95% average critics' rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which offers this synopsis:

"After the members of a team of scientists (Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray) lose their cushy positions at a university in New York City, they decide to become 'ghostbusters' to wage a high-tech battle with the supernatural for money. They stumble upon a gateway to another dimension, a doorway that will release evil upon the city. The Ghostbusters must now save New York from complete destruction."

The late film critic Roger Ebert gave the flick 3 1/2 stars out of 4, writing at the time: "Ghostbusters is a head-on collision between two comic approaches that have rarely worked together very successfully. This time, they do. It's (1) a special-effects blockbuster, and (2) a sly dialogue movie, in which everybody talks to each other like smart graduate students who are in on the joke."

Then there's the iconic theme song, by Ray Parker Jr. He once opened up in a MusicRadar article about being approached by the senior vice president of Columbia's music division for the rather unique opportunity.

"He thought that I was the guy to do it so much that he said, ‘There will be 20 songwriters at the meeting but we're going to pay you 50 grand, to just to write a song,'" Parker, 72, said in the 2024 article. "'Whether we use or not you get to keep the money. I want you to stay here three more days and do this.' I thought he was crazy."

There was a catch. They needed it done in just three days. But he got it done, and the rest is history.

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This story was originally published June 8, 2026 at 4:39 PM.