Best Original Song Winners Take 2

Clockwise: Film posters for 'The Big Broadcast of 1938', 'The Wizard of Oz', 'Lady Be Good', and 'Pinocchio'.

A year ago, I celebrated the Academy Awards by bringing you the first four songs to win the award for 'Best Original Song'. If you missed it but are interested, you can find it here. Now that the awards are back, I thought it was time to revisit the winners, on this time, I will talk about the songs that won from 1938 to 1941. And I will start with a song that became a signature song for one of the performers. "Thanks for the Memory" had music by Ralph Rainer and lyrics by Leo Robin for the film, 'The Big Broadcast of 1938'. It was performed by Shep Fields and His Orchestra with vocals by Bob Hope and Shirley Ross. Hope continued to sing the song at the end of every television special and show he did for decades to come. This is Shirley Ross and Bob Hope singing "Thanks for the Memory", the 'Best Original Song' from 1938.

And if ever a song was identified with the star that first delivered it on film, it would certainly be the case with the 'Best Original Song' from 1939. With music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by Yip Harburg,

"Over The Rainbow" was one of the early songs from the film 'The Wizard of Oz'. It was sung by a 16-year-old Judy Garland at the beginning of her career. It would be a song she would continue singing for the next three decades, until she died. While it was taken on by so many other performers, to this day, the song belongs to Judy. This is a clip of Judy Garland, playing Dorothy Gale, in 'The Wizard of Oz'.

In 1940, the winning song had something no other winner had previously had. You see, it was sung by an animated character. "When You Wish Upon a Star" from the Disney film 'Pinocchio'. It had music by Leigh Harline and lyrics by Ned Washington, and was sung by Cliff Edwards, who played Jiminy Cricket. But the song was beautiful, and still remains an impressive song today. While it was the first Disney entry in the category, it would not be the last. But in 1940, wit was "When You Wish Upon a Star" from 'Pinocchio' that was 'Best Original Song'.

And finally, we have the second Oscar for composer Jerome Kern, and the first for lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II. Kern had won in 1936 for his song "The Way You Look Tonight" from the film 'Swing Time', then working with lyricist Dorothy Fields. Hammerstein had lost with his previous nomination in 1938, working with composer Ben Oakland. But when Kern and Hammerstein worded together on the score for 'Lady Be Good', there was magic in the air. The soundtrack included great songs like the Gershwin's "Oh! Lady Be Good" and "Fascinating Rhythm", "You'll Never Know" by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed, as well as the song that won the Academy Award, "The Last Time I Saw Paris". Although the song was not written for the film, instead picked up to be a part of the soundtrack after the fact, it was still nominated for the award. It was sung in the film by Ann Southern, who looked gorgeous in the number. This is the winner of 'Best Original Song' from 1941, "The Last Time I Saw Paris" from 'Lady Be Good'.

I hope you enjoy the Academy Awards tonight! Who will win 'Best Original Song' for 2013? The nominees are "Happy" with music and lyrics by Pharrell Williams for 'Despicable Me 2'; "Let It Go", written by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez for the Disney film 'Frozen'; "The Moon Song" with music by Karen O and lyrics by Karen O and Spike Jonze for the film 'Her'; and "Ordinary Love", by Paul Hewson, Dave Evans, Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton (members of the band U2) and lyrics by Paul Hewson (Bono) for the film 'Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom'. The latter is the favorite to win, as it already picked up the Golden Globe for 'Best Original Song'. However, "Let It Go" was named 'Best Original Song' at the Critics Choice Awards.

Bobby Jo Valentine • Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head

Above see the rain here on the farm, and the adorable Bobby Jo Valentine.

As the rain pours down in Delaware today, as you can see in the pictures above, I decided it would be the perfect opportunity to share with you all a wonderful cover song from the talented and adorable Booby Jo Valentine. The song was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the 1969 film, "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", starring the stunningly handsome Paul Newman and Robert Redford. The song was a huge hit for B.J. Thomas, making it to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks in January of 1970. It also won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. But here is Bobby Jo Valentine's version, worthy of an award, I think!

For more about Bobby Jo Valentine, visit his official website. You can also find him on Twitter and Facebook. His latest album, 'Home', can be purchased on iTunes and Amazon.

Music of the Oscars 2013

Left to right: Barbra Streisand; Adele Adkins; and Dame Shirley Bassey.

When I saw the picture above on Facebook (thanks, Casey Stratton!), I knew I wanted to do a post. But then there was the tricky issue of finding a YouTube link that wasn't either crappy or would stay up long enough. So I went to Daily Motion, and found what I needed. But first, I have a confession. I did not watch the Oscar telecast. I was watching hockey for a while, and then tuned in to watch 'The Walking Dead' on AMC. And then 'Talking Dead', with The Nerdist, aka Chris Hardwick. I did follow on Twitter, which told me who won, what worked, and what didn't. But I figured I could find the musical performances that interested me later. But as I documented earlier, it wasn't as easy as I thought. With all the build-up and the Twitter twaddlings, there were three performances that I craved to see, and that pictures said it all for me. The women whose music I love, and all three have been on this blog before. It is Adele, Dame Shirley Bassey, and Barbra Streisand. In those three ladies, there is such a wealth of talent, it is scarey. I shall begin with the newest of the three, the exquisite Adele, who came on to sing the theme song of the latest Bond movie, 'Skyfall'. It is a wonderful song, and she sings it beautifully. After listening to the video, I was slightly disappointed, but not really by Adele, but but the sound mixer for the show. Adele was on the the entire song, but the chorus was mostly lost, overpowered by the band. But still, I will take a badly mixed Adele over so many other artists, so here is Adele singing "Skyfall".

And the second singer from the United Kingdom to make me happy would be the always brilliant Dame Shirley Bassey. I am old enough to remember the original recording of her Bond themes on the radio, and knowing they were something special. And certainly aware that she was special as well. What I didn't realize until this week was that Dame Shirley was the only person in the Bond series to sing theme songs to three different movies. There is no doubt I remember the themes to 1971's Bond film 'Diamonds Are Forever, as well as the 1979 effort, 'Moonraker'. And while I was a bit young to remember the original release of the 1964 theme, I certainly heard it for years to come, as it was something amazing. And forty-nine years after the original release, Dame Shirley returned to sings the theme to 'Goldfinger', and made it special once again, at the age of seventy-six. Enjoy listening to, and watching, as Dame Shirley Bassey sings "Goldfinger".

And last but not least, there is the magnificent Barbra Streisand, a singer I have adored for as long as I can remember. Indeed, I remember being a teenager and buying her albums, including the early ones with some spectacular music from the Great American Songbook. I wasn't sure what she was going to sing, but if I gave it any thought, it was a no-brainer that she would be offering a tribute to the late Marvin Hamlisch. Once the 'In Memoriam' video rolled, Streisand came out singing one of the many amazing songs written by Hamlisch, sung by Streisand as the theme of the movie 'The Way We Were', starring Streisand and the stunning Robert Redford. The song was released in 1973, making this the 40th anniversary. Like Dame Shirley, Barbra was looking and sounding great. Please enjoy the clip of Barbra Streisand singing "The Way We Were", just a few months shy of her seventy-first birthday.

And The Winnner Was...

Clockwise: Posters from The Gay Divorcee; Gold Diggers of 1935; Swing Time; Waikiki Wedding; and The Big Broadcast of 1938.

To mark the occasion o the Academy Awards tonight, I thought I would take a look back at the first five winners of the Academy Award for Best Original Song. The Academy Awards began in 1929, a small brunch of industry bigwigs patting themselves on the back. There was no surprise that first year, as the winners were announced a few months prior. That was changed for the second ceremony, where the winners were announced from the podium. The early ceremonies mostly recognized the actors, directors and producers. Once again, things changed in 1934, the first year the music was recognized. In fact, two awards were given, for 'Best Original Song' and for 'Best Score'. For the purposes of this celebration, we will just be looking at the 'Best Original Song' winners. The very first winner of the Academy Award for Best Original Song was "The Continental" from 'The Gay Divorcee'. The movie featured Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, and several beautiful dance numbers. The biggest dance was for this song, with music by Con Conrad and lyrics by Herb Magidson, although it was heard as an instrumental on screen. "The Continental" was both a song and a swing dance, but more of an exhibition dance than a dance craze. Watch and enjoy "The Continental" from 'The Gay Divorcee'.

The next year, the Academy Award went to a song that was a classic in the making. Not only did it charm in this original version, it went on to be sung by many through the years, it also went on the have live afterwards on the Broadway stage. The 1935 Academy Award for Best Original Song went to "Lullaby of Broadway", the huge musical number from 'Gold Diggers of 1935'. With music by Harry Warren and lyrics by Al Dubin, the song was perfect for production values of Busby Berkeley, whose imaginative choreography and direction made magic. Forty-five years later, Gower Champion brought '42nd Street' to the Broadway stage, featuring the music of Warren and Dubin. One of the big numbers from the show was "Lullaby of Broadway", first sung by the late Jerry Orbach. But it was Wini Shaw who had the honors in the original film, so please enjoy "Lullaby of Broadway".

The next winner is another classic, sung by many, from Bing Crosby to Billie Holiday to The Jaguars to The Letterman to Tony Bennett and so many more. But the song, with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Dorothy Fields, began as a sweet love song in the movie 'Swing Time'. I would say it was a simple beginning, but anytime a song is introduced by Fred Astaire in a film with Ginger Rogers, simple doesn't seem to apply. Such is the case with "The Way You Look Tonight", a song even lyricist Fields said "The first time Jerry played that melody for me I went out and started to cry. The release absolutely killed me. I couldn't stop, it was so beautiful." Watch and listen as Astaire delivered "The Way You Look Tonight".

I have to say, this next winner owes a great deal to finding the perfect performer as it does anything else. 'Waikiki Wedding' was a tropical musical, set on beautiful Hawaii. It starred Bing Crosby and the dashing male lead, opposite Shirley Ross. The cast also included Martha Raye and Bob Burns as the second leads, and comic relief. It was Crosby who delivered the 1937 winner of the Academy Aware for Best Original Song, "Sweet Leilani". It was written by Harry Owens, a composer born in Nebraska. He was a bandleader, and in 1926 took up residence at the Lafayette Cafe in Los Angeles. It was there he auditioned and first started working with a young singer named Bing Crosby. A few years before the film, Owens had moved to Hawaii, and was named music director of The Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki. On vacation before shooting 'Waikiki Wedding', Crosby visited his friend, and heard the orchestra play a song Owens had written for his daughter, Leilani. Bing loved it, and wanted to use it in his upcoming film. And it went on to win the Oscar. Enjoy the scene from the movie 'Waikiki Wedding'.

The fifth winner of the award is another song that went on to become a classic. Although 'The Big Broadcast of 1938 starred W.C. Fields, Martha Raye and Dorothy Lamour, the song was not sung by one of these big stars. Instead, "Thanks for the Memory" was sung by one of the comics, a young Bob Hope. The song, with music by Ralph Rainger and lyrics by Leo Robin, went on to be the signature song for the comedian, which he performed at the end of his shows. I hear it, and I instantly think of Hope, whose television specials and work with the USO I remember so well. In fact, I am not sure I have ever seen the original movie, even though this song is such a strong memory. In the clip from the movie, see Hope sing the song with costar Shirley Ross in 'The Big Broadcast of 1938'.

Enjoy the 2013 Oscars!