Karla Bonoff "Standing Right Next to Me"

The generation that grew up during the 1990s lost one of their former teenage heartthrobs last month: Luke Perry. While he's best known as Dylan McKay in Beverly Hills, 90210, Perry exited the teenage soap after five seasons to take on more grown-up roles in films (Perry returned to 90210 for the show's final two seasons). The year before leaving 90210, Perry starred as rodeo legend Lane Frost in the film 8 Seconds. While not a hit at the box office, the film's soundtrack gave us the Adult Contemporary hit "Standing Right Next to Me" from singer/songwriter Karla Bonoff.

Bruce Willis "Respect Yourself"

The year 1987 not only saw actor Patrick Swayze transition from actor to singer with "She's Like The Wind", but Bruce Willis also turned up with a hit song on the radio. The star of Moonlighting released an album that contained a remake of "Under the Boardwalk" as well as The Staple Singers' "Respect Yourself". "Under The Boardwalk" was a minor hit, but "Respect Yourself" (which featured The Pointer Sisters) became into a Top 5 hit on the Hot 100.

Michael Damian - "Rock On"

If fellow soap star Jack Wagner could release hit records, why not Michael Damian?  The Young and the Restless actor re-recorded David Essex's "Rock On' in 1989 resulting in a #1 hit for Damian.

Patrick Swayze - "She's Like The Wind"

Most 80's movies featured soundtracks loaded with radio-ready pop songs, and the "Dirty Dancing" soundtrack was no exception.  It spawned three big hits during the summer of 1987 including a song from Patrick Swayze, one of the movie's lead characters.  Swayze originally wrote "She's Like The Wind" for the 1984 movie "Grandview, USA", but it was never used.  He dusted off the song and presented it to the "Dirty Dancing" producers who liked it and included it in their film's soundtrack.  The song shot to #1 on the Adult Contemporary charts and received increased airplay following Swayze's 2009 death.