Harry Warren and Mack Gordon – You’ll Never Know (Hello, Frisco, Hello, 1943)īy now, it was obvious that the second world war – and the United State’s involvement therein – was having a profound effect on the country’s songwriting: despite coming from a musical set in 1915, You’ll Never Know was a gorgeous balled steeped in a very pertinent kind of longing and trepidation: “You went away and my heart went with you, I speak your name in every prayer.” 21. Photograph: Moviestore/Rex/Shutterstockīarbra Streisand’s second Oscar triumph of the decade: another show-stopping ballad that quickly became an MOR standard, this time from the third remake of A Star Is Born, Evergreen boasted a melody written by Streisand that pulled off the trick of sounding instantly familiar, as if it had always existed.
Barbra Streisand and Paul Williams – Evergreen (A Star Is Born, 1976)īarbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson in A Star Is Born, 1976. As naff as pop could get on release – the rise of MTV killed the singer Christopher Cross’s burgeoning career overnight – the latter-day soft-rock amnesty has allowed people to look beyond the gloss and admit what a fantastic, oddly moving bit of songwriting lies at its centre. Peter Allen, Burt Bacharach, Christopher Cross & Carole Bayer Sager – Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do) (Arthur, 1981)Ī perennial staple on late-night smooth radio, the years have been kind to Arthur’s Theme. But the old tricks still work, as evidenced by its rapturous critical reception. In a sense, Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s Shallow is a return to the kind of songs that won Oscars in the 80s: it is in effect an old-fashioned power ballad that shifts from fragility to belting-it-out intensity. Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt – Shallow (A Star Is Born, 2018)
One of umpteen Frank Sinatra hits penned by Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Khan, All the Way became so popular that it overshadowed the film in which it was featured indeed, it overshadowed it to such an extent that The Joker Is Wild – a downbeat drama about an alcoholic nightclub entertainer, Joe E Lewis – ended up being briefly renamed after the song. Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn – All the Way (The Joker Is Wild, 1957) Not the easiest topic to essay in an animated children’s film, but it does it beautifully. Every version carries emotional weight, such is the song’s subtle, delicate treatment of the subject of loss. Remember Me recurs in different versions throughout Pixar’s Day of the Dead-inspired Coco, from mariachi to Miguel-fronted pop. AR Rahman and Gulzar – Jai Ho (Slumdog Millionaire, 2008)Ĭoco, 2107. Karen Carpenter’s astonishing voice, as ever, teases out a sense of doubt and unease under the romantic exterior and easy-listening gloss. For All We Know, a ballad written by two members of Bread, is, largely because of the Carpenters’ definitive version. Fred Carlin, Jimmy Griffin and Robb Royer – For All We Know (Lovers and Other Strangers, 1970)Ī huge hit at the time, the romantic comedy Lovers and Other Strangers isn’t much remembered 50 years on.
It does a fantastic job of updating the traditional high-drama approach of the series, with a particular nod to Shirley Bassey’s explosive approach: Adele’s vocal is similarly brassy and effective. Incredibly, Skyfall was the first Bond theme to win an Oscar – most of the legendary 60s and 70s themes didn’t warrant a nomination. Adele and Paul Epworth – Skyfall (Skyfall, 2012) Seventy-five years later, you can still see why: the melody is hard to resist and its depiction of New York nightlife makes staggering home at dawn sound like the most fun it is possible to have. The second winner of the best original song Oscar was used in three separate films in 1935. 31 Harry Warren and Al Dubin – Lullaby of Broadway (Gold Diggers of 1935, 1935) It has never since quite escaped the tag of being the sound of a million early 80s school discos, masking what a smartly constructed disco-rock hybrid it was.
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Michael Gore and Dean Pitchford – Fame (Fame, 1980)īizarrely, Fame only became a UK hit two years after winning an Oscar: it was the spin-off TV series, not the movie, that turned it into a No 1. Photograph: Allstar/PARAMOUNTĪfter Flashdance’s 1983 victory, ballads – especially power ballads – reigned supreme at the Oscars for the rest of the decade: devotees of Up Where We Belong or, indeed, I’ve Had the Time of My Life might disagree, but the pick is Berlin’s Moroder-produced, synth-heavy Top Gun smash: a song as evocative of its era as the smell of Studio Line hair mousse.
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