Did You Know These Facts from Fast Times at Ridgemont High?

Amy Heckerling has described herself as the kind of teenager who believed her music taste was unimpeachably right, and everything else fell short. That attitude carried straight into Fast Times, where she pushed for a soundtrack that reflected what real high-school kids in the early ’80s were actually listening to rather than what adults assumed they liked.

While producers leaned toward mainstream acts such as the Eagles, Heckerling argued for edgier, contemporary bands and managed to get artists like Oingo Boingo onto the album. Still, compromises had to be made. Although we don’t know which tracks were concessions, it’s telling that solo songs from four different Eagles members ended up on the soundtrack, showing how the push-and-pull ultimately shaped the final mix.