The Best Song Podcast

Episode 91: No One Can Kill Your Vibe (2023)

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 00:01:00 -0700

The final episode of The Best Song Podcast sort of comes full circle to the first Original Song Oscar nominees of 1934, with a big song-and-dance number among the 2023 nominees and of course, a sentimental love song. Mixed in with that is yet another nomination from Diane Warren, and the first song to be nominated using lyrics from a Native American language. Find out more about these nominees on episode 91! A big thank you to everyone who tuned in to the show and learned something about movie music that will enhance your movie-watching experience.

Episode 90: I Won’t Let Go ‘Til the End (2022)

Mon, 16 Sep 2024 00:01:00 -0700

The crop of Oscar-nominated songs from 2022 come from two sequels, one little-seen film about female empowerment, one big-budget musical from India, and the eventual Best Picture Oscar winner. All of them beat out a song from Taylor Swift for the Oscar nomination, and before the nominations, all five had an equal shot at winning. Which one eventually took home the prize? Find out on this episode!

Episode 89: The Path Was Never Paved with Gold (2021)

Mon, 09 Sep 2024 00:01:00 -0700

The five Oscar-nominated songs of 2021 feature Beyonce earning her first nomination for writing the anthemic song giving tribute to the famous tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams, as well as the chart-topping theme song to Danie Craig's final movie as James Bond. Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas O'Connell wrote that song and released it in February 2020, giving "No Time to Die" 20 months to earn the public's praise as the Bond film suffered two COVID release delays. Did the extended runway for the song help it take off and earn an Oscar for the O'Connell siblings? Find out on this episode of The Best Song Podcast!

Episode 88: There’s No One Like You (2020)

Mon, 02 Sep 2024 00:01:00 -0700

The COVID pandemic forced film studios to adjust release dates of their big movies, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences followed suit by adjusting the eligibility dates for their 2021 ceremony. The result meant some songs nominated for the Oscar came from films released in January and February 2021. Diane Warren was the only nominated songwriter who had previous Oscar experience, earning nomination 12 for a song that was translated into Italian for Sophia Loren's latest film. Would Warren win over three songs about political and social upheaval, or one about an Icelandic town performed in the finale of a comedy film?

Episode 87: Far Across the River (2019)

Mon, 26 Aug 2024 00:01:00 -0700

For the third year in a row, a woman was Oscar nominated for acting and songwriting in the same year. In 2019, that was Cynthia Erivo, the Tony Award-winning actress from The Color Purple who played abolitionist Harriet Tubman in the movie Harriet and wrote the song "Stand Up" with Joshuah Brian Campell. Their Oscar competition included previous Oscar winners Randy Newman, Elton John, Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. Did Erivo win her first Oscar, or did an Oscar veteran pick up another statuette? Find out on this episode of The Best Song Podcast!

Episode 86: Let’s Talk About Love (2018)

Mon, 19 Aug 2024 00:01:00 -0700

The much-anticipated arrival of Bradley Cooper's directorial debut, the remake of A Star Is Born, gave us an Oscar-nominated song from Lady Gaga that kept the streak alive of all the remakes at least getting a nominated song. In this episode, you'll hear the nominated song from the 2018 version, "Shallow," and learn about the four songs that battled with it for the year's Academy Award. That includes Kendrick Lamar's entry into the movie song game, and one from Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman for the Mary Poppins sequel.

Episode 85: You Can’t Just Talk the Talk (2017)

Mon, 12 Aug 2024 00:01:00 -0700

Diane Warren earned Oscar nomination number nine for her song "Stand Up for Something," a song that highlights the motto of future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and the subject of the 2017 film Marshall. On this episode of The Best Song Podcast, you'll hear her nominated song that she co-wrote with Oscar winner Common, and the four songs competing for the big prize. That includes a song of empowerment written by the reigning Oscar champs and a multi-use by the husband-and-wife team that brought us "Let It Go."

Episode 84: It’s Something Magical (2016)

Mon, 05 Aug 2024 00:01:00 -0700

The live-action musical La La Land was primed to take over the 89th Academy Awards as the frontrunner for Best Picture, and its chances of winning multiple awards included Best Original Song, where two tunes from the movie were nominated. On this episode, learn more about the men who created those songs -- Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul -- and the writers of the other three nominated songs. Lin-Manuel Miranda earned his first Oscar nomination that year, as did Justin Timberlake for the most popular song of 2016.

Episode 83: I Feel Complete (2015)

Mon, 29 Jul 2024 00:01:00 -0700

Pulitzer Prize winner David Lang joins the show to talk about earning his first Oscar nomination, and the process behind writing the nominated song "Simple Song #3" for the movie Youth. Lang details the journey he and director Paolo Sorrentino took to deliver the song, and how a Google search helped him find the lyrics he needed to tell the song's story. You'll also hear the other nominated songs, written and performed by superstar pop singers Sam Smith, Lady Gaga, and The Weeknd, as well as a message song about dying marine wildlife by the first transgender person to receive an Original Song Oscar nomination.

Episode 82: Youth Is Wasted on the Young (2014)

Mon, 22 Jul 2024 00:01:00 -0700

Three of the five Oscar-nominated songs from 2014 come from movies about musicians, including a documentary about the final tour of country music legend Glen Campbell. And then there's a comedic song about using teamwork to make things awesome, and a message song about equal rights for "every man, woman, and child." Learn more about these songs, and the men and women who created them on episode 82 of The Best Song Podcast.

Episode 81: Your Heart Is On My Sleeve (2013)

Mon, 15 Jul 2024 00:01:00 -0700

A major scandal hit the Original Song Oscar category for 2013, as a song was deemed ineligible for the award after the nominations announcement. Learn more about that song and what caused it to be disqualified on this episode, plus the two hit songs that made a big impression on the worldwide public and fought for the Oscar.

Episode 80: I'm Drowning In the Laughter (2012)

Mon, 08 Jul 2024 00:01:00 -0700

The 50th anniversary of the first James Bond movie brought the 23rd Bond film, introducing superstar pop singer Adele into the movie songwriting world. Her title song for Skyfall was a big hit, and helped the movie make a mint worldwide. Would Adele and the fanfare around Bond's 50th anniversary help end the drought for Bond songs, or would Seth McFarlane win the award for a song about a friendship between a boy and his teddy bear? Or would a new song for Les Miserables take the win? Host Jeff Commings brings you the stories of all five Oscar-nominated songs of 2012 on this episode.

Episode 79: Get Up and Join In the Fun (2011)

Mon, 01 Jul 2024 00:01:00 -0700

For the first time in Academy Awards history, only two songs were picked by the music branch as worthy of Oscar consideration. A few other songs by big names in the music industry missed out on the coveted nominations this year, including one by Madonna. You'll hear the two nominated songs on this episode, and learn why Madonna was once again shunned by the Academy.

Episode 78: Ain’t Nothin’ But a Blue Sky Now (2010)

Mon, 24 Jun 2024 00:01:00 -0700

Only four songs were nominated for the Original Song Oscar for 2010, and three of them were written by previous Oscar winners. learn more about these four songs, and the ones that Diane Warren had hoped would get her back in the Oscar race, but were shut out.

Episode 77: Fairy Tales Can Come True (2009)

Mon, 17 Jun 2024 00:01:00 -0700

The Academy increased its number of Best Picture nominees from five to 10 for the 2009 movie year, but the minimum of Best Original Song nominees dropped from three to two. Was this a signal that maybe the music branch was worried about getting at least three quality songs nominated? That wasn't a problem in 2009, when Randy Newman got two nominations for his songs from the musical The Princess and the Frog and a little-known movie from France got one of its songs named as an Oscar nominee, thanks to the Academy's nomination system for movie songs.

Episode 76: There’s No Better Place to Go (2008)

Mon, 10 Jun 2024 00:01:00 -0700

Only three songs were nominated for the Academy Award in 2008, the first time that had happened in 20 years. In this episode, we learn about the three songs, including two from prolific Bollywood composer A.R. Rahman that gave us some new sounds that had not been presented in Hollywood films. The other song gave Thomas Newman another chance to end his Oscar losing streak, thanks to his work on his second animated Pixar movie.

Episode 75: Feeling Like a Motherless Child (2007)

Mon, 03 Jun 2024 00:01:00 -0700

Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz monopolized the Original Song Oscar nominees for 2007, giving us three songs from their Disney musical Enchanted that paid homage to previous Disney classic songs and paid homage to them at the same time. Also nominated was a poignant song from a movie drawing from the Oliver Twist story, and a love song from a very low-budget Irish movie about two lost souls finding love through music. Learn more about these five songs and the people who created them on this episode!

Episode 74: You’ve Taken My Heart (2006)

Mon, 27 May 2024 00:01:00 -0700

Another film earned three Oscar nominations for original song, and this time it was the film adaptation of the Broadway smash musical Dreamgirls. Henry Krieger, the original composer of the stage show, enlisted new lyricists to work with him on the songs that impressed the Academy enough to get three into the list of five. Melissa Etheridge's history-making nomination as the first song to come from a documentary, and another nomination from Randy Newman made 2006 a very competitive year for the Original Song Oscar.

Episode 73: I’m Just a Weary Pilgrim (2005)

Mon, 20 May 2024 00:01:00 -0700

Only three songs were nominated by the Academy's music branch from 2005, perhaps signaling that the quality of songs was going downward sharply. But, maybe this marked just a blip in the movie music industry. Take a listen to the nominated songs and why the Academy only picked three in 2005.

Episode 72: Laugh In Your Loneliness (2004)

Mon, 13 May 2024 00:01:00 -0700

Andrew Lloyd Webber finally got the movie version of The Phantom of the Opera into movie theaters, and got an Oscar nomination for putting an original song into the film. The other nominees for the 2004 Original Song Oscar included two songs not performed in English, the first time that had happened. But, more memorable about the year was who performed the majority of the songs at the Oscar ceremony. Learn all about it on this episode!

Episode 71: I Want to Be Wrinkly (2003)

Mon, 06 May 2024 00:01:00 -0700

The Oscar nominees for 2003 featured a toe-tapping song from a groundbreaking animated movie, a sincere love song from a very funny mockumentary, and a song that closed out one of the most popular trilogies of all time. Two songs from the Civil War drama Cold Mountain were also in the mix, written by Sting and Elvis Costello. A year removed from the Oscar-winning "Lose Yourself," none of these songs were commercial hits, but they still made a big impact for their movies.

Episode 70: We’re Not the Dying Swan (2002)

Mon, 29 Apr 2024 00:01:00 -0700

Eminem made history with his hit song "Lose Yourself," writing the first rap song to be nominated for the Oscar. The controversial rapper wasn't the first choice for producer Brian Grazer's film about a wannabe rapper, but Grazer couldn't take his eyes off the superstar, and 8 Mile gave Eminem the opportunity to act and give us one of his signature songs. His competition for the Oscar was stiff, with compositions by Paul Simon and U2 in the mix. With the Miramax machine behind them, U2 looked like they had the best chances of winning the 2002 Original Song Oscar. Find out who won on this episode!

Episode 69: You and Me Together (2001)

Mon, 22 Apr 2024 00:01:00 -0700

Randy Newman was still winless in the Original Song Oscar category after seven losses, and his song "If I Didn't Have You" for the Pixar movie Monsters, Inc. was going to put him in rare company if it didn't nab him the Oscar. The song didn't get much recognition before the Academy Awards, so Newman was looking like song nomination number eight was not going to turn into a win. Check out his competition on this episode, as well as the two songs with "dream" in the title that missed out on an Oscar nomination.

Episode 68: The World Is Not My Playground (2000)

Mon, 15 Apr 2024 00:01:00 -0700

Randy Newman was looking for his first Oscar win with his seventh songwriting nomination, this time for the comedic song "A Fool In Love." He had some competition from three great singer-songwriters, as Bob Dylan, Bjork, and Sting earned their first nominations for writing movie music. Find out which music superstar took home the 2000 Original Song Oscar on this episode, and learn more about the process of bringing these songs to the screen.

Episode 67: They Just Want to Fart and Curse (1999)

Mon, 08 Apr 2024 00:01:00 -0700

The five Oscar-nominated songs from 1999 were all worthy of winning the big award, including the latest song from a Disney animated movie, one from Pixar's sequel to Toy Story, a raunchy song about parental anger, and a song by *NSYNC praising a teacher's love. Host Jeff Commings talks about the songwriters responsible for these songs, and why Madonna missed out on yet another chance to get an Oscar nomination.

Episode 66: A Kind and Steady Heart (1998)

Mon, 01 Apr 2024 00:01:00 -0700

The year after the juggernaut Oscar-winning song "My Heart Will Go On," songwriters had a high standard to reach for the songs featured in films released in 1998. From Stephen Schwartz and Randy Newman to Diane Warren and Carole Bayer Sager, the nominated tunesmiths offered the Academy five nominees that gave us no frontrunner status for the big award.

Episode 65: Two Tickets Torn In Half (1997)

Mon, 25 Mar 2024 00:01:00 -0700

The juggernaut song "My Heart Will Go On" was crowned an Oscar winner the second that Titanic made its theatrical debut, but the other four songs nominated with it for the 1997 Original Song Oscar were no duds. Host Jeff Commings brings you the stories behind these songs, and the songwriters who created them.

Episode 64: We Had It All (1996)

Mon, 18 Mar 2024 00:01:00 -0700

Host Jeff Commings talks with songwriters Jud Friedman and Allan Rich about almost not having their song "For the First Time" appear in the movie One Fine Day (thanks to Rod Stewart), and learns from Tim Rice the process behind putting a new song into the iconic Evita score and getting an Oscar nomination for it. Space Jam featured many songs that made for a popular soundtrack, including the R. Kelly tune "I Believe I Can Fly," which was a big hit in 1996 when all the world knew about R. Kelly was that he was a great singer.

Episode 63: Sighs and Whispers (1995)

Mon, 11 Mar 2024 00:01:00 -0700

The members of the music branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences split the original score category in two in 1995, but the rules for original song stayed the same. Pop songs and traditional movie songs were still in the running for the biggest movie award, including a chance for Alan Menken to earn a record-tying fourth Original Song Oscar. His competition included Oscar winners John Williams, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, and Bruce Springsteen, all of whom wrote some compelling movie songs.

Episode 62: Kings and Vagabonds (1994)

Mon, 04 Mar 2024 00:01:00 -0700

Tim Rice returns to the show to offer a masterclass in songwriting as he talks about writing the lyrics for the three Oscar-nominated songs from the animated movie The Lion King. He details how the song "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" changed and why writing a song for a warthog shouldn't feel much different from writing for "the wife of an Argentinian dictator."

Episode 61: Don’t Turn Your Back On Me (1993)

Mon, 26 Feb 2024 00:01:00 -0700

The pop music world invaded the Academy Awards honoring films from 1993, with Janet Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, and James Ingram among the nominees for the Best Original Song Oscar. Host Jeff Commings has many stories to share about the creation of the five Oscar-nominated songs, and why Danny Elfman couldn't join the roster for his songs from The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Episode 60: Won’t You Hold Me In Your Arms?(1992)

Mon, 19 Feb 2024 00:01:00 -0700

Host Jeff Commings invited not one, not two, but THREE Oscar-nominated songwriters to this episode to share their behind-the-scenes tales of creating two of the five Oscar nominees for original song of 1992. Jud Friedman and Allan Rich talk about writing "Run to You" for Whitney Houston and creating a guerilla campaign for an Oscar nomination. Tim Rice discusses his detour into writing songs for Aladdin and how Alan Menken's melody for "A Whole New World" helped shape the lyrics.

Episode 59: The Stars Are All My Friends (1991)

Mon, 12 Feb 2024 00:01:00 -0700

History was made with the Original Song Oscar nominees from 1991, as three songs from one movie made the list. Those songs came from the Disney animated film Beauty and the Beast, which was a landmark film in more ways than its song nominations. Host Jeff Commings guides you through this major year for movie songs, highlighting a worldwide hit by Bryan Adams and one of the two songs to survive a major retooling of Steven Spielberg's movie about a grown-up Peter Pan.

Episode 58: I’m a Devil on the Run (1990)

Mon, 05 Feb 2024 00:01:00 -0700

Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim earned his first Oscar nomination for writing a song for the action film Dick Tracy, pitting himself for the industry's highest award against a number-one song by Jon Bon Jovi, and a rare song composition by John Williams. Host Jeff Commings also details the hit songs that missed out on a nomination, including others that Sondheim wrote for Dick Tracy, and an Alan Menken song performed by Elton John for Rocky V.

Episode 57: I Guess It Must Be Fate (1989)

Mon, 29 Jan 2024 00:01:00 -0700

Dean Pitchford returns to the show to talk about achieving his fourth Oscar nomination, this time for the love ballad "After All." He discusses writing a more "mature" song than he had written for previous films, why Cher and Peter Cetera didn't record their vocals at the same time, and why he felt his song had little chance to win the Original Song Oscar. After listening to all five nominated songs on this episode, you can decide for yourself which song deserved to win the Academy Award for 1989.

Episode 56: Riding on the Water (1988)

Mon, 22 Jan 2024 00:01:00 -0700

Only three songs were nominated for the Academy Award in 1988, the first time the list of nominees was that low since the 1930s. An Academy rule forced the list to be cut to three in that year, and the ones that made the final list gave Oscar voters a tough choice over which should be picked as the best of the year. Host Jeff Commings details those three songs, and mentions a comeback song from The Beach Boys that might have finished in fourth place in nominations voting.

Episode 55: Let ‘Em Say We’re Crazy (1987)

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 08:17:12 -0700

Only one of the Oscar-nominated songwriters for 1987 had previously been invited to the Academy Awards, giving us 10 men and women getting their first chances to win an Oscar. They all gave us a list of five nominated songs -- many of which have become classics -- that made the competition for the Academy Award very tight that year. The public loved many of the songs as well, with three of the five Oscar nominees earning a spot at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Host Jeff Commings introduces the songwriters of all five songs, and lists a few songs that just missed the cut.

Episode 54: If Love Can See Us Through (1986)

Mon, 08 Jan 2024 00:01:00 -0700

Academy voters increasingly became aware of the synergy between Hollywood and the music industry, voting for a Billboard #1 song for its Oscar for the past five years. Would that continue with the nominated songs from 1986? Two number-one songs were in contention, including a song performed by two mice and another for a sultry love scene for an action movie. Host Jeff Commings tells the stories behind the five nominated songs on this episode of The Best Song Podcast.

Episode 53: I Have Learned to Let You Go (1985)

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:01:00 -0700

After the historic list of Oscar-nominated songs of 1984, the five nominees for 1985 had a lot to live up to. On this episode of The Best Song Podcast, host Jeff Commings tells of Lionel Richie's double nomination in the same year as his successful "We Are the World" composition, and the popular movie songs that missed out on a nomination.

Episode 52: I Just Wanna Cheer (1984)

Mon, 25 Dec 2023 00:01:00 -0700

Dean Pitchford returns to The Best Song Podcast to talk about bringing the 1984 movie Footloose to the big screen, and finding the best collaborators to write the songs from the hit soundtrack. That includes working with Kenny Loggins, who wrote and recorded the title song under very interesting circumstances. Host Jeff Commings talks with Pitchford about that Oscar-nominated song as well as "Let's Hear It for the Boy" and working with Deniece Williams. The lives of many of the nominated songs after the Academy Awards were tainted by lawsuits, but others were boosted by new lives on the Broadway stage.

Episode 51: The Ice-Blue Line of Insanity (1983)

Mon, 18 Dec 2023 00:01:00 -0700

The 50th anniversary of the Original Song Academy Award featured two songs from the mega-popular movie Flashdance, which re-ignited the movie soundtrack craze, and two songs from Barbra Streisand's directorial debut Yentl. The other nominated song really did feel like a fifth wheel alongside these four songs, and we'll learn more about the journeys the songwriters took to get them out into the world on this episode.

Episode 50: All We Have Is Here and Now (1982)

Mon, 11 Dec 2023 00:01:00 -0700

Alan and Marilyn Bergman made history with their Oscar nominations for original song of 1982, becoming the first people to earn three song nominations in one year from three different films. One of those was Luciano Pavarotti's first (and last) movie role, and another was a love song for the biggest comedy of 1982. Learn more about these nominated songs, and the other two that offered some tight competition for the Academy Award.

Episode 49: Play For Me (1981)

Mon, 04 Dec 2023 00:01:00 -0700

The star power among the Oscar-nominated songwriters for 1981 was very high. Lionel Richie, Christopher Cross, Carole Bayer Sager, and Randy Newman were just a few of the top names looking to become Oscar winners for their work writing songs for the movies. Host Jeff Commings tells the stories behind creating these hit songs, including Lionel Richie's tale of trying to get Diana Ross into the studio to sing "Endless Love."

Episode 48: Baby, Hold Me Tight (1980)

Mon, 27 Nov 2023 00:01:00 -0700

Dean Pitchford joins the show to talk about writing the Oscar-nominated title song from the 1980 movie Fame. In addition to his recollections of the process he and composer Michael Gore took to arrive at the global hit song, Pitchford talks about the future recording star who helped add a "hook" to the song, and why Dolly Parton was his song's biggest competition.

Episode 47: Reaching Out to Touch You (1979)

Mon, 20 Nov 2023 00:01:00 -0700

Kermit the Frog's film debut brought Oscar winner Paul Williams his final Oscar nomination, writing the classic song "The Rainbow Connection" with Kenny Ascher. Host Jeff Commings shares Williams' thoughts about the meaning of the wistful lyrics and why Paul Williams was not able to continue his work in the 1980s. Other Oscar winners in contention for the 1979 Original Song Oscar were Henry Mancini and Marvin Hamlisch, both supplying sentimental love ballads that didn't hold a candle to another popular movie song that was ineligible for the award, thanks to the songwriter's honesty.

Episode 46: The World Goes Tumbling On (1978)

Mon, 13 Nov 2023 00:01:00 -0700

The pressure of creating a hit song after the success of "Evergreen" and "You Light Up My Life" was felt in 1978, though the Oscar-nominated songs did not really reach that bar. But not for lack of trying. The musical Grease became the highest-grossing musical of the time, cemented Olivia Newton-John as a movie star and gave her a great love song that was new to the musical and a requirement in her contract. Host Jeff Commings shares more stories about Grease, and the competition for the Oscar that included Donna Summer's first foray into movie songs and Debby Boone's attempt to capture lightning in a bottle two years in a row.

Episode 45: The Way That You Hold Me (1977)

Mon, 06 Nov 2023 00:01:00 -0700

One of the most popular songs of the 1970s found its way onto the list of Academy Award nominees for 1977, and the story of the song's rise to fame is just a small part of the legacy of "You Light Up My Life." Host Jeff Commings talks about the song's history and its post-Oscars aftermath, as well as the two songs nominated from Disney movies that year, a retelling of the Cinderella story, and the second Bond song to receive an Oscar nomination.

Episode 44: Girls in Sleeveless Jackets (1976)

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:01:00 -0700

Horror, comedy, romance, and action are all represented in the five songs nominated for the Academy Award from 1976. Host Jeff Commings tells the stories of the creation of Barbra Streisand's first songwriting effort, Bill Conti's on-the-cheap recording of the Rocky theme song, and how Peter Sellers made an earnest love song laugh-out-loud funny.

Episode 43: Take My Hand and Pull Me Down (1975)

Mon, 23 Oct 2023 00:01:00 -0700

The first guest of The Best Song Podcast is Keith Carradine, who talks with host Jeff Commings about writing the Oscar-nominated song "I'm Easy" for the 1975 Robert Altman film Nashville. Carradine tells of the origins of the film's concept, including having actors write and perform their own songs, and how he handled the sudden award attention for his song. You'll also learn about the other four songs nominated for the 1975 Academy Award and why Carradine thought "the Motown machine" made one song a likely Oscar winner.

Episode 42: Your Laugh Turned On the Sun (1974)

Mon, 16 Oct 2023 00:01:00 -0700

The list of five songs nominated for the 1974 Academy Award were about as diverse as you could get. Not only did Mel Brooks give us a comedy song about the fake sheriff at the center of his movie Blazing Saddles, but an unknown songwriting duo offered up a jaunty song about a loveable dog. There's also the conventional love ballad and a sweet tribute to a fictional child in a musical that marked the return of legendary songwriters Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe. Host Jeff Commings offers up a somber piece of history regarding the five nominated songs and how their unpopularity made this year seemingly forgettable in the list of Oscar-nominated tunes.

Episode 41: With Affection From a Sentimental Fool (1973)

Mon, 09 Oct 2023 00:01:00 -0700

After many years of trying, a theme song from a James Bond movie finally broke through and received an Oscar nomination! Paul and Linda McCartney made history with "Live and Let Die," not only ushering in a new chapter for James Bond songs, but showing that rock music can be a part of Academy history two years after "Theme From Shaft" won the Academy Award. Host Jeff Commings talks more about the story to bring "Live and Let Die" to the screen, and the extremely popular Barbra Streisand song that brought her back into global popularity and made her songwriters the talk of Hollywood.

Episode 40: Listen to the Distant Drums (1972)

Mon, 02 Oct 2023 00:01:00 -0700

The conversation surrounding the Oscar-nominated songs from 1972 might start with the songs that were not nominated, instead of the five that made the cut. Two original songs from the hit movie Cabaret, which remains one of the oddities of Academy Award history, especially knowing how loved the movie itself was by the Academy. Host Jeff Commings gives a history of the five nominated songs, including a love song for a killer rat and a love song in the midst of immense tragedy.

Episode 39: Let It Shine All Around Them (1971)

Mon, 25 Sep 2023 00:01:00 -0700

Johnny Mercer's 18th and final Oscar nomination for songwriting came for a conventional movie song that was competing for the big award alongside a song that was the equivalent of a 9.1 earthquake. Shaft featured a no-holds-barred black New York private investigator and a no-holds-barred theme song that shook up the list of five Oscar nominees from that year. Isaac Hayes, who was new to the Hollywood game, wrote a song that sounded new but also fit the formula of other title songs that came before it. At a time when the Academy was still hesitant to accept anything other than love ballads as Oscar winners, host Jeff Commings brings you the story of the race for the Original Song Oscar for 1970 on this episode of The Best Song Podcast.

Episode 38: We’ve Got a Lifetime to Share (1970)

Mon, 18 Sep 2023 00:01:00 -0700

Competition was tight for the Original Song Oscar for songs released in 1970, as six of the 11 Oscar nominees had already won at least one Oscar. The five songs weren't immensely popular with the public, but they did provide some intriguing storylines as two members of a moderately popular rock and roll band wrote a conventional love ballad and used pseudonyms in case the song was a flop. Henry Mancini found himself writing his first song for Julie Andrews, and Leslie Bricusse was gunning for another Oscar with another song from a British musical. Find out which one wins on The Best Song Podcast!

Episode 37: Fields of Gold and Forests of the Night (1969)

Mon, 11 Sep 2023 00:01:00 -0700

Songwriters tried very, very hard to bring rock 'n' roll music into the Oscar nominees for Original Song in 1969, but the old guard strongly resisted and left off some now-classic tunes from the final list of five. Burt Bacharach and Hal David tried very hard to fight against the old ways of Hollywood, and managed to get a nomination for a classic movie song with a pop flavor. As you learn more about the five nominees, think about whether they were more worthy of a nomination than the ones host Jeff Commings offers up on this episode.

Episode 36: I Keep Them In Stitches (1968)

Mon, 04 Sep 2023 00:01:00 -0700

Julie Andrews and Barbra Streisand originated two of the songs nominated for the Original Song Oscar in 1968: "Star" and "Funny Girl." The men who wrote those songs had some tough competition for the award that year, including a married couple who were making their big breakthrough with a seemingly nonsensical song that doesn't fit into any genre. Learn more on this episode with host Jeff Commings.

Episode 35: A Look That Time Can’t Erase (1967)

Mon, 28 Aug 2023 00:01:00 -0700

History was made in 1967, when Quincy Jones became the first Black man to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Jones was having a banner year, writing the nominated song "The Eyes of Love," the title song for the eventual Best Picture winner In the Heat of the Night, and the Oscar-nominated score for In Cold Blood. Though he would become a superstar producer in the next decade, Jones was still struggling to find popularity with the public. The other nominees for Original Song felt the same struggle, and we'll learn more about that on this episode of The Best Song Podcast.

Episode 34: You’re No Longer On the Shelf (1966)

Mon, 21 Aug 2023 00:01:00 -0700

Though the British Invasion of pop songs took place two years earlier, British cinema was becoming popular in the mid-1960s thanks to London taking the theme of the Swinging '60s very literally. Two of the Oscar-nominated songs from 1966 are title songs about two sexually-charged Brits, while one of its Oscar competitors is a very innocent (and brief) tune by the prim and proper British lady (at least onscreen) Julie Andrews. And then there's a surprise hit song by two newbies to the Oscar race about lion cubs raised in Africa. Want to know more about these songs and the songwriters who created them? Listen to host Jeff Commings on this episode of The Best Song Podcast!

Episode 33: She’s the Devil (1965)

Mon, 14 Aug 2023 00:01:00 -0700

One year after the Beatles gave us a rock 'n' roll movie musical, Frenchman Michel Legrand gave us the first fully sung-through original movie musical with The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. He and lyricist/director Jacques Demy set the world on fire with this candy-colored film that featured a moving Oscar-nominated song competing for the award with two comedy songs and a new tune from the popular duo of Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer. It's a very diverse group of songs that continued to highlight the changing tone of movie music in the 1960s. Learn more from host Jeff Commings on this exciting episode!

Episode 32: Wish You Were Here to Warm This Heart (1964)

Mon, 07 Aug 2023 00:01:00 -0700

Though 1964 was celebrated for the return of the original movie musical with the release of Mary Poppins, there was another movie release that set the world on fire with its revolutionary music. A Hard Day's Night was the film debut of the Beatles during their yearlong "invasion" in the United States. What is remarkable about 1964 as far as the Oscars is concerned is how none of the songs from the Beatles got an Original Song Oscar nomination. So, what was deemed better than the title song or "Can't Buy Me Love?" Host Jeff Commings will guide you through the list of five nominees on this episode.

Episode 31: Be a Happy Camper (1963)

Mon, 31 Jul 2023 00:01:00 -0700

Movie songs were on an upswing of popularity with the public after the success of "Moon River," but 1963 did not help that cause with a list of five Oscar-nominated songs that were not major hits. One of the songs came from a cringe-inducing Italian documentary, while another was from a Jackie Gleason movie that started as a musical but got many of the songs cut out as Hollywood continued to shy away from original movie musicals. Learn more about the nominated songs and their creators on this episode of The Best Song Podcast.

Episode 30: You Better Walk Humble (1962)

Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:01:00 -0700

Film composers were starting to take over the duties of writing the music for movie songs in the 1960s, and that was evident in the list of Oscar-nominated songs from 1962. Four of the five songs contain music by score composers instead of trained songwriters, which signaled the likely end of an era for the Hollywood songwriter. Sammy Fain was the only traditional song composer of the bunch, writing a song that competed with those written by Henry Mancini, Elmer Berstein, Bronislau Kaper, and Andre Previn. Who took home the Original Song Oscar statuette that year? Host Jeff Commings will tell you on this episode!

Episode 29: Bewildered By the World We See (1961)

Mon, 17 Jul 2023 00:01:00 -0700

Director Blake Edwards and composer Henry Mancini had been working in Hollywood in relative obscurity for a while, but in 1961, they blasted into superstardom with the release of the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's. The Oscar-nominated song "Moon River" became one of the most popular songs that year, though studio executives had briefly fought to cut it from the movie. The story of that song, and the four others competing with it for the 1961 Academy Award, are told by host Jeff Commings in this episode.

Episode 28: ’Twas So Good to Be Young Then (1960)

Mon, 10 Jul 2023 00:01:00 -0700

Rock and roll and Hollywood still fought with the public for their ears and money when it came to popular songs in 1960. Elvis was still the King of Rock 'n' Roll, but movie songs were failing to gain much respect and love from audiences. The five nominees for the Original Song Oscar in 1960 proved that, though they were not of extremely bad quality. Host Jeff Commings brings you the histories of those songs, including the final Oscar-nominated song that Bing Crosby will introduce in film.

Episode 27: I Wish That I Could Love Her Too (1959)

Mon, 03 Jul 2023 00:01:00 -0700

Sammy Cahn quickly became the king of the movie songs, earning Oscar nominations 15 and 16 for two title songs that he wrote in 1959 for Frank Sinatra and Johnny Mathis. Sammy Cahn's nemesis, Dimitri Tiomkin, was back in the Oscar songwriting game with Ned Washington, both of whom had started the trend of giving dramatic films a rousing title song. Who's going to emerge victorious for songs written for 1959? You'll have to listen to this episode of The Best Song Podcast to find out!

Episode 26: What Makes a Sad Heart Sing (1958)

Mon, 26 Jun 2023 00:01:00 -0700

The Academy's music branch made the nomination process for the Best Original Song Oscar a lot more interesting beginning in 1958. The new preliminary shortlist was started in this year, whittling down the many potential nominees down to 10 before another vote gave us the official five nominees. How will that affect the songs that make it through to the final five? Host Jeff Commings will let you know some of the songs that just missed the cut, and give his thoughts on why they didn't pass the first round. The hit musical Gigi had a chance to get two original songs nominated, but perhaps the preliminary ballot prevented history from being made that year.

Episode 25: Take My Hand With a Fervent Prayer (1957)

Mon, 19 Jun 2023 00:01:00 -0700

One would think that the movie musical was dying in 1957, given that only one of the Oscar-nominated original songs from that year came from a musical. Usually, three or four original songs are nominated from musicals. That doesn't mean that the movie musical is officially dying, but title songs from dramatic pictures are now becoming more successful. Learn more about the four title songs and one very dramatic tune nominated for 1957 that were vying for the big award on this episode of The Best Song Podcast.

Episode 24: The Future’s Not Ours to See (1956)

Mon, 12 Jun 2023 00:01:00 -0700

Six of the nine men nominated for the Best Original Song Oscar for 1956 had already won at least one Academy Award. Will this year's winner add another golden boy to their mantels? Or will it be first-timers Tom Adair and Leith Stevens for their song "Julie"? Will Cole Porter ride the popularity that Bing Crosby has in the Academy and win an Oscar for "True Love?" Find out with host Jeff Commings on this episode!

Episode 23: I Need Your Love (1955)

Mon, 05 Jun 2023 00:01:00 -0700

Rock and roll officially invaded the movie theaters in 1955 with the release of the drama Blackboard Jungle. That movie did not feature an original song, which probably made the eight men nominated for the Oscar that year a little relieved. But the competition was still tough that year, featuring a song that made very few ripples in 1955 but would become a megahit 35 years later. Find out more about this year in movie music on this episode of The Best Song Podcast!

Episode 22: Make It Mine (1954)

Mon, 29 May 2023 00:01:00 -0700

The battle for the Academy award for Best Original Song became a little more intense in 1954, as the film composer competed with the professional songwriter for control over who writes songs for the movies. Dimitri Tiomkin began the war after winning the Oscar for "The Ballad of High Noon" in 1952, with Sammy Cahn serving as his rival. Will it be Tiomkin's soaring title song from The High and the Mighty that wins in 1954, or Cahn's lush title song from Three Coins in the Fountain? Host Jeff Commings will tell you the stories behind these and the other nominees, and reveal the winner at the end of this episode of The Best Song Podcast.

Episode 21: Bells Will Ring (1953)

Mon, 22 May 2023 00:01:00 -0700

Nat King Cole, Doris Day, and Dean Martin introduced three of the five Oscar-nominated songs for 1953, and all three are serious contenders for the Academy Award. Two of the songs have become favorites many decades later, written by men that had great track records of creating memorable Oscar-winning songs. Find out more about these tunes and the people who wrote them with host Jeff Commings on this episode of The Best Song Podcast!

Episode 20: Don’t Be Glum (1952)

Mon, 15 May 2023 00:01:00 -0700

Sammy Cahn's fifth consecutive Oscar nomination for songwriting came for his second gig writing for opera star Mario Lanza. Cahn will have tough competition for the Academy Award for Original Song, as the new writing duo of Ned Washington and Dimitri Tiomkin came up with a new twist on the title song and Oscar winners Harry Warren and Leo Robin came up with a catchy tune for Bing Crosby and Joan Wyman. Find out who wins the award for 1952 on this episode of The Best Song Podcast!

Episode 19: Better Save a Chair (1951)

Mon, 08 May 2023 00:01:00 -0700

Alan Jay Lerner was very busy in 1951, writing the screenplay for An American In Paris, writing songs for the Broadway show Paint Your Wagon and working with Burton Lane for eight songs for the movie musical Royal Wedding. That Fred Astaire movie featured the Oscar-nominated song "Too Late Now," which marked Lerner's first songwriting Oscar nomination. Will he win on his first try, or will Oscar Hammerstein II earn his third for revising a song originally meant for a Marx Brothers movie?

Episode 18: A Kiss Is All I Need (1950)

Mon, 01 May 2023 00:01:00 -0700

One of the Oscar-nominated songs for the year 1950 is very well-known, but the version of "Mona Lisa" that Nat King Cole made famous is not the one heard in the movie Captain Carey USA. Learn more about the history behind the creation of this song on this episode of The Best Song Podcast, and how the songwriters fought to put it into the movie. Among the other four nominees is the story of how a song written in 1945 shaped one of Disney's most popular movie songs, and got it an Oscar nomination.

Episode 17: The World Is Such a Lovely Place (1949)

Mon, 24 Apr 2023 00:01:00 -0700

Two of the songs nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song of 1949 probably should not have been eligible for the award. One of them had been written many years earlier, while the other heavily borrowed from a folk song written about a century earlier.

As host Jeff Commings talks about the origins of these two songs, you can decide if they deserved Oscar nominations.

Episode 16: You Speak and I Hear Violins (1948)

Mon, 17 Apr 2023 00:01:00 -0700

Sammy Cahn earned the first of five consecutive Academy Award nominations in 1948, working with longtime collaborator Jule Styne for Doris Day's film debut Romance on the High Seas. Leo Robin, already an Academy Award winner, had two songs nominated that year, but the hot young songwriters Jay Livingston and Ray Evans were making a statement with a hit song for Bob Hope.

Host Jeff Commings is ready to tell all the stories about these songwriters and the nominated songs they wrote on this episode of The Best Song Podcast.

Episode 15: Everything Is Satis-factual (1947)

Mon, 10 Apr 2023 00:01:00 -0700

Not every Academy Award-nominated song has survived as beloved classics. Two of the nominees of 1947 illustrate that, and host Jeff Commings talks about one song that has plagued the Walt Disney Studio for generations because of its film's seemingly strong racist tone. There's another nominee that seemed innocent at the time, but also stands out for its insensitivity.

With that aside, this year's nominated songs might not seem like a great list, but that's for you to decide after listening to this episode.

Episode 14: As Happy As a Christmas Tree (1946)

Mon, 03 Apr 2023 00:01:00 -0700

After listing 14 nominees for the Academy Award for Best Song in 1945, the Academy fixed the rules and started limiting nominations to just five beginning in 1946. The number of nominated songs was down, but the quality of the songs seemed to be much higher.

Host Jeff Commings guides you through the nominees for 1946, and two songs that failed to earn the nomination but have lived on as classic love songs.

Episode 13: We’ll Settle Down in Dallas (1945)

Mon, 27 Mar 2023 00:01:00 -0700

The Academy's rule that every studio or production company could submit a song for automatic nomination reached its apex in 1945 with 14 songs vying for the top award. It could be argued that one of the songs should not have been nominated because it never appeared in the film. But, the competition for the 1945 Best Song Academy Award was tight, with Bing Crosby originating two of the songs and some of the industry's most successful songwriters contributing some of their best work that year.

Episode 12: Walking Around in a Wonderful Glow (1944)

Mon, 20 Mar 2023 00:01:00 -0700

The year 1944 saw an astounding 12 songs nominated for the Academy Award, including Bing Crosby's latest chart-topping hit and one of the many songs from Judy Garland's latest musical sensation.

Speaking of that musical, there was controversy over whether one of the men credited with the song actually helped to write it. That's just one of the many stories that host Jeff Commings shares on this episode.

Episode 11: The Gravy’s In the Navy (1943)

Mon, 13 Mar 2023 00:01:00 -0700

World War II officially invaded the Academy Awards in 1943, with four of the 10 nominees for Best Song dealing with the war. One of them was a comical take on the men left behind, while the other three were love songs or tributes to the men fighting in Europe.

In addition to giving more behind-the-scenes details of those four songs, host Jeff Commings talks about a musical featuring an all-black cast, Cole Porter's return to Hollywood, and one of the shortest animated feature films from the Walt Disney Studios.

Episode 10: I Like Banana Splits (1942)

Mon, 06 Mar 2023 00:01:00 -0700

The Gershwin brothers -- George and Ira -- were mentioned in one of the songs nominated for the Academy Award in 1942, but the brothers themselves did not earn a nomination. Respected songwriters such as Irving Berlin, Harry Warren, and Jerome Kern were on the docket, and a new talent named Sammy Cahn earned his first invitation to the Academy Awards ceremony. Lots of great music to hear in this episode with host Jeff Commings!

Episode 9: A Voice Like Music (1941)

Mon, 27 Feb 2023 00:01:00 -0700

Hollywood had reason to be worried in 1941, not the least of which was the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese that December. Commercial television made its debut in July, giving the public a reason to stay home for entertainment instead of going to a theater. But, the output in Hollywood still gave us some top movies, including Citizen Kane. That movie didn't have an original song in it, and the nine films that featured nominated songs didn't become instant classics. Take a listen to the nominees from 1941 with host Jeff Commings, and decide for yourself if the controversy that surrounded the winning song was warranted.

Episode 8: Fate Steps In (1940)

Mon, 20 Feb 2023 00:01:00 -0700

World War II was raging in Europe in 1940, but Americans were largely going about business as usual while Hitler was conquering the continent. Hollywood was not yet affected by the war, and the Academy Award-nominated songs in 1940 brought us more classic tunes sung by Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby. They are joined on this list of nine nominated songs by an animated cricket who helped raise the stakes in animated movies.

Episode 7: I’ll Hold You In My Heart (1939)

Mon, 13 Feb 2023 00:01:00 -0700

The year 1939 has been regarded as one of the most important years in film history, and you need to look no further than the Best Picture nominees from that year to prove that. Though one of the nominees for Best Song stands out tall among the others, the four songs that were nominated maintain the high quality that came from such a rich year in the movies. Host Jeff Commings talks about the weird circumstances that led to the creation of some of the songs, and how they helped raise the pedigree of their movies.

Episode 6: Everything I Do Is Depending on You (1938)

Mon, 06 Feb 2023 00:01:00 -0700

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences made a big change to the rules for submitting songs for award consideration in 1938, allowing studios to submit one song for an automatic nomination. That resulted in 10 song nominees in 1938, and host Jeff Commings will bring you the histories behind all of them, including two songwriters who competed against themselves.

Episode 5: The Way You Sing Off-Key (1937)

Mon, 30 Jan 2023 00:01:00 -0700

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers continued to light up the silver screen in 1937, and it was the Gershwin brothers -- Ira and George -- who were responsible for the nominated song that accompanied their song-and-dance routine. Not to be outdone, Bing Crosby makes a play for a hit song with a lullaby, written by an old friend who had no plans to work in Hollywood.

Episode 4: A Package of Sunshine and Flowers (1936)

Mon, 23 Jan 2023 00:01:00 -0700

The number of nominees for the Academy Award for Best Original Song increased from three to six in 1936, and host Jeff Commings presents all of them in this episode. We'll hear a song from Cole Porter, who brought his popular talents from Broadway to Hollywood for a musical starring Jimmy Stewart, and another hit from Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields, who finally met after creating their nominated song in 1935.

Episode 3: Delightful to Know and Heaven to Kiss (1935)

Mon, 16 Jan 2023 00:01:00 -0700

The second year of the Oscar for Best Song introduces us to the soon-to-be legendary songwriter Irving Berlin, who crafted one of Fred Astaire's signature songs that led to one of the most iconic film dance scenes from Astaire and Ginger Rogers. We'll hear the three nominated songs from 1935, when movie songs were starting to become more acceptable in Hollywood and with the public.

Episode 2: It’s Not a Foxtrot or a Polka (1934)

Mon, 09 Jan 2023 00:01:00 -0700

This episode of The Best Song Podcast officially begins the journey through the 90 years of the Academy Award for Best Original Song, detailing the three nominees in the inaugural year of the award. In 1934, the songs not only showed the impact of songs in the movies, but introduced us to three soon-to-be legendary performers: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, and Bing Crosby.

Episode 1 - Prologue

Mon, 02 Jan 2023 00:01:00 -0700

The first episode of The Best Song Podcast examines the early history of the movies, from the first words sung by Al Jolson in The Jazz Singer in 1927 to the songs that could have won an Oscar in the later 1920s and early 1930s, if the Academy Award for Best Original Song had been created at that time. Host Jeff Commings gives you some background on the creators of such songs as "Isn't It Romantic" and "42nd Street," and their brief flames that burned bright in the years before the Best Original Song Oscar was born.