Episodes
Episodes
Monday Dec 18, 2023
Episode 51: The Ice-Blue Line of Insanity (1983)
Monday Dec 18, 2023
Monday Dec 18, 2023
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.
Monday Dec 11, 2023
Episode 50: All We Have Is Here and Now (1982)
Monday Dec 11, 2023
Monday Dec 11, 2023
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. Their work came in three different films, including Luciano Pavarotti's first (and last) movie role and 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.
Monday Dec 04, 2023
Episode 49: Play For Me (1981)
Monday Dec 04, 2023
Monday Dec 04, 2023
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."
Monday Nov 27, 2023
Episode 48: Baby, Hold Me Tight (1980)
Monday Nov 27, 2023
Monday Nov 27, 2023
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.
Monday Nov 20, 2023
Episode 47: Reaching Out to Touch You (1979)
Monday Nov 20, 2023
Monday Nov 20, 2023
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.
Monday Nov 13, 2023
Episode 46: The World Goes Tumbling On (1978)
Monday Nov 13, 2023
Monday Nov 13, 2023
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.
Monday Nov 06, 2023
Episode 45: The Way That You Hold Me (1977)
Monday Nov 06, 2023
Monday Nov 06, 2023
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.
Monday Oct 30, 2023
Episode 44: Girls in Sleeveless Jackets (1976)
Monday Oct 30, 2023
Monday Oct 30, 2023
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.
The Best Song Podcast
Bing Crosby. Frank Sinatra. Irene Cara. Celine Dion. These are some of the most famous singers who have introduced songs that have won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
But what about the songwriters who created the music and lyrics? You might know Irving Berlin, Stevie Wonder, and Alan Menken. This podcast will introduce you to other legendary songwriters such as Sammy Cahn, Johnny Mercer, Paul Francis Webster, Ray Evans, and Jay Livingston. The stories of creating their songs are just as interesting as the songs themselves.
Settle in for this limited podcast series as creator and host Jeff Commings takes you through 90 years of movie music!
Contact Jeff Commings at jeffswim@aol.com.