sparing him from needing to sing the phrase[3] Lindsey Buckingham, on his interview disc Words & Music [A Retrospective], stated that he was approached to write the Ghostbusters theme based on his successful contribution to National Lampoon's Vacation, "Holiday Road".

It features a young woman played by actress Cindy Harrell[6] who is haunted by a ghost portrayed by Parker, roaming a nearly all-black house interior (with vibrant neon designs outlining the sparse architectural and industrial features) until the woman finally calls the service.

1 on MTV and features cameos by celebrities Chevy Chase, Irene Cara, John Candy, Melissa Gilbert, Ollie E. Brown, Jeffrey Tambor, George Wendt, Al Franken, Danny DeVito, Carly Simon, Peter Falk and Teri Garr.

[7][8][9] The video concludes with Parker and the stars of the film, in full Ghostbuster costume, dancing down the streets of New York City.

They also noted that they had offered to hire Huey Lewis and the News to write the main theme but the band had declined.

[13][14] Ray Parker, Jr.'s "Ghostbusters" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on August 11, 1984, two months after the film's release, and remained there for three weeks.

The song's music video begins with Sigourney Weaver and Annie Potts climbing out of a limousine in front of a large crowd, with Run-D.M.C., dressed in the standard beige Ghostbusters' uniform, accompanying them.

The group then performs the song on stage to a packed audience for the remainder of the video, intercut with clips from the film.

The most notable parodies were used by CBS station KMOX-TV (now KMOV) in St. Louis, AutoNation, and the Carpet Mart chain of Central, Berks County, and Lehigh Valley Pennsylvania among others.

[83][84][85] In the UK, the 118 118 directory assistance telephone service also used the Ghostbusters theme in one of their ads, and featured Ray Parker Jr. performing the parody.

[87] American musician and comedian Neil Cicierega uses the song in "Bustin", released on his 2017 mashup album Mouth Moods.

[88] It takes Parker Jr.'s vocals and edits them to feature many innuendos, most notably by repeating the titular line "Bustin makes me feel good" to use it as slang for ejaculation.

Streamer Vargskelethor Joel made a parody album, titled Super Ghostbusters, using a MIDI of the song, that has received over 3 million views on YouTube.