Movie Monday: The Which Movie Songs are Your Favorites Edition

I didn't really intend on extending yesterday's Music Sunday discussion of music in movies into today's Movie Monday post. I really didn't. But last night, after I was finished writing yesterday's post and finished with dinner, but it was still just 8:30 p.m. and too early to go to bed (thanks, time change), I started looking at some lists over on the American Film Institute's website in preparation for today's post. And I found their list of America's Favorite Movie Music, "100 Years...100 Songs". It's an interesting list, with some entries that I wouldn't have expected.

The top ten, of course, is fairly predictable. For the most part. I was a little surprised that "Stayin' Alive", by the Bee Gees, from Saturday Night Fever (1977) ranked at number nine, above "The Sound of Music" from that 1965 film, which came in at number ten. Otherwise, there is nothing here that really surprises me. The full top ten list is as follows:

1. "Over the Rainbow", performed by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz (1939)
2. "As Time Goes By", performed by Dooley Wilson in Casablanca (1942)
3. "Singin' in the Rain", performed by Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain (1952)
4. "Moon River", performed by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
5. "White Christmas", performed by Bing Crosby in Holiday Inn (1942)
6. "Mrs. Robinson", performed by Simon and Garfunkel in The Graduate (1967)
7. "When You Wish Upon a Star", performed by Cliff Edwards in Pinocchio (1940)
8. "The Way We Were", performed by Barbra Streisand in The Way We Were (1973)
9. "Stayin' Alive", performed by the Bee Gees in Saturday Night Fever (1977)
10."The Sound of Music", performed by Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music (1965)

As far as I'm concerned, the AFI got most of this part of the list correct, starting with number one. "Over the Rainbow" is the perfect song for Judy Garland's voice and for the movie, which is what a good movie song should be:



But, getting past the top ten, I found some songs on the list that I really didn't expect, although many of them make perfect sense to me as choices. The thing is, stuff that makes perfect sense too me doesn't always make any sense at all to anyone else.

Barbra Streisand, singing "Evergreen" along with some help from Kris Kristofferson in A Star is Born (1976) shows up at number 16 on the list. It didn't surprise me that the song is on the list; it functions perfectly within the movie. What surprised me is that it is just three spots below Streisand's highest song on the list, "People" from Funny Girl (1968), at number 13.



I'm not really sure why it surprised me that "Born to be Wild", by Steppenwolf and appearing over the opening credits in Easy Rider (1969) appeared on the list, at number 29. It certainly sets the tone for the movie that follows. I suppose I just wasn't expecting much in the way of hard rock on the list, especially that high up on the list:



I was surprised to find "Aquarius", from the film version of Hair (1979) on the list, and especially surprised to find it as high as it was, at the number 33 spot on the list. My surprise is not necessarily because it doesn't fit its spot at the beginning of the movie well, but because of the movie's sort of counterculture vibe. But, it is a superior performance, with a solo by Ren Woods:



One song that surprised me, but only in that it wasn't higher on the list, was "The Windmills of Your Mind", performed by Noel Harrison in The Thomas Crown Affair (1968). It doesn't show up until number 57, even though it also serves the movie perfectly. There is an urgency in Harrison's performance of the song that fits the relationship between the characters played by Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway, but it contrasts in just the right way with the scenes of McQueen flying a glider that it plays over in the film:



Putting songs into movies can be a tricky thing. Sometimes the choices work, as I think they do in all the instances I've shared here, and sometimes they just don't. There are no lists for that, as far as I'm aware, but you know those songs when you come across them in a film. This list from the AFI which, along with other lists, is available on their website, is a good way to find the ones that work, and work well.

There are, by the way, other lists on the AFI site that are worth exploring if you are a movie fan. There is a link at the beginning of this post to the AFI site.

So, which movie songs are your favorites?

UPDATE: I had included a link to the list, "100 Years...100 Songs", but it didn't work, so I removed it. You can get to the list by clicking on "Links" at the general site and then navigating from there.

Music Sunday - Academy Award-winning Songs Edition...

I've been thinking about movie music this week, and about the songs that have won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

The songs in this category, which was not introduced until the 7th ceremony, for films released in 1934), must have been written specifically for the film in which they appear, and the award goes to the songwriters, not the singer/s of the song in the film, although there have been several instances of a songwriter also being the singer in the film.

Probably the best place to start is the winner in 1939, from The Wizard of Oz: "Over the Rainbow", written by Harold Arlen (Music) and Yip Harburg (Lyrics), and sung in the film by Judy Garland. This is a good place to start because the American Film Institute has named this the greatest movie song of all time. And it is one of my favorites. Here is how it appears in the movie:



My favorite Best Song winner, however, is this one, "The Windmills of Your Mind", written by Michel Legrand (music) and Alan and Marilyn Bergman (Lyrics), which appeared in the 1968 film, The Thomas Crown Affair, starring Steve McQueen. Sung by Noel Harrison (also an actor and the son of actor Rex Harrison), its use in the film is, I think, perfect:



The song, and the performance of the song fit perfectly, I think, the visuals that accompany it.

In the remake of the film, which starred Pierce Brosnan (and which I have not seen), the song is covered by Sting. I've heard that version, and while it is not bad, I don't like it nearly as much as the original.

Another interesting Best Original Song winner is, as unlikely as it seems, from the Alfred Hitchcock film The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), by Jay Livingston (music) and Ray Evans (Lyrics). "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" (the order of the song title was changed to "Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)" by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for purposes of the ceremony), which became Doris Day's signature song, usually gets a lighthearted reading in performance. Not so in the film, where it is also performed by Doris Day:



Also bearing mention, historically speaking, is "Evergreen", from the Barbra Streisand version of A Star is Born. When this song won Best Original Song, Streisand became the first woman to win in the category for composing the music, as opposed to writing the lyrics (which were written by Paul Williams). The song also won the Golden Globe that year for Best Original Song, and Streisand won a Grammy for it for Song of the Year. It is also a good song, used effectively in the film, where she sings it with Kris Kristofferson:



In the past couple of decades, more songwriters from the rock, pop, and other contemporary music world have won Academy Awards for Best Original Song. Perhaps most notable is Bruce Springsteen's win, in 1993, for "Streets of Philadelphia", from the Tom Hanks/Denzel Washington film Philadelphia, for writing both the music and the lyrics:



Apologies for the poor quality of the sound after the song itself, but I couldn't find a video of the use of the song in the film. This performance of the song, from the Academy Award ceremonies, is wonderful, but whoever posted the clip was not as careful at the end, when Springsteen made his acceptance speech, and there is some background noise.

Other winners from the rock/pop/rap world include, Phil Collins, who has been nominated three times and won for "You'll Be in My Heart", from Tarzan; Lionel Richie, who won for "Say You, Say Me", from White Nights; Elton John, who wrote the music of "Can You Feel The Love Tonight", from The Lion King; Bob Dylan, for "Things Have Changed", from Wonder Boys; Annie Lennox, who collaborated on the music and lyrics for "Into The West", from Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King; and, perhaps most surprisingly (for me, at least), Eminem won for writing the lyrics to "Lose Yourself", from 8 Mile. My surprise comes not so much from has having written winning lyrics, but from the Academy voting for the song. And, on another historical note, Melissa Etheridge won for writing "I Need to Wake Up", from An Inconvenient Truth, marking the first time a song from a documentary had won in the category.

For me, one of the most interesting things about the history of Best Original Song winners is that even though I'm both a music fan and a film fan, there are so many of the songs, both winners and nominees, that I don't know at all. While some were hits, others seem to have made no mark on he world outside of the film they appeared in, at least in any venue that I am aware of.