“I remember saying, ‘Come on, you’re gonna edit it down to, what, four bars?’ Harold goes, ‘No, we’re gonna keep everything.’ And they did!”: How a guitar hero's epic 64-bar solo lit up a classic movie theme

In 1986, Top Gun, starring Tom Cruise, was the biggest grossing movie in the world — a genuine blockbuster which, of course, had an epic central theme.

The Top Gun Anthem was written by German composer Harold Faltermeyer, who knew — being that this was the ’80s after all — that said theme would need an equally epic guitar solo.

Enter Steve Stevens, the guitar-playing sidekick for Billy Idol, who had connected with Faltermeyer during the recording of Idol’s 1986 album Whiplash Smile.

Speaking to MusicRadar, Stevens recalls: “Harold used to work with Keith Forsey, who was Billy Idol’s producer. And when we did Billy’s third record, Whiplash Smile, Harold came into New York to do the keyboards.

“He mentioned to me, ‘I’m working on this new movie about fighter pilots called Top Gun. It’s with Tom Cruise…’

“Now, the only thing I knew about Tom Cruise was [1983 comedy] Risky Business, but Harold said, ‘You should play guitar on this song,’ and that’s how it got started.”

Stevens says that his epic Top Gun Anthem solo was spawned during an after-hours session while wrapping up recording tracks for Whiplash Smile in 1985.

“It was probably a Saturday,” he says. “We’d gotten done recording with Billy around ten, Harold put on the multi-track, and I think we did the whole Top Gun session in about three hours.”

Fortuitously, Stevens’ gear was already “set up,” as he’d been tracking with Idol, leading to an easy, breezy session based on inspiration.

“The guitars sounded great,” he says. “My vintage Marshall Plexi was there, so I didn’t have to get a sound together. I just plugged in, played, and we nailed the melody and solo.”

Given that this was the ’80s, a time when eight-bar guitar solos were often inserted into three-minute pop bangers, Stevens had no expectations regarding the length of his solo. But Faltermeyer had other ideas.

“That solo is 64 bars!” Stevens says. “It was such a long solo!”

He adds: “I remember saying, ‘Come on, you’re gonna edit it down to, what, four bars?’ Harold goes, ‘No, no, I’m telling you, man, we’re gonna keep everything that you did.’ And they did!”

Harold Faltermeyer & Steve Stevens - Top Gun Anthem (Official Video) Full HD (Remastered & Upscaled) - YouTube

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In the nearly 40 years since its release, moviegoers continue to love Top Gun for its depiction of death-defying, high-flying, mid-air theatrics. And that’s nice and all, but for a specific subset of fans, the movie would be nothing without the six-stringed heroics that Steve Stevens captured one late Saturday night back in ’85.

“It was a great experience,” Stevens says. “It was absolutely amazing.

"And all these years later, I get amazing compliments from servicemen, and enlisted people, too. They say it touched them in some way. So, it’s great to be recognized.”