Wednesday, March 23, 2022

Oscar Songs 1937

 


I was thinking about all the songs (not Score) that have come from the movies and wondered which songs won, which songs that were nominated and which songs that were not even on the list. There are thousands so I decided to pick a year and I went with 1937 because...what the hell. I have chosen 3- the actual winner, one up for nomination and one that was eligible but not even nominated. I am going to do a little game and ask you which song do you think won the actual Oscar and which one is your favourite. This means you will have to listen to them and I hope you do...Here we go. I hope you don't google the answer either:))

1. THEY CAN'T TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME SUNG BY FRED ASTAIRE



This song is from the musical, "Shall We Dance" with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.  It was composed by George and Ira Gershwin and introduced by Astaire in the film. many of the big composers of the day actually loved Astaire's voice and would think of him when they created the song. Fred was a close friend of George Gershwin before Gershwin died at age 38 in 1937 from a brain tumour.

2. SWEET LEILANI SUNG BY BING CROSBY



This song is from the film, "Waikiki Wedding" which starred Bing Crosby becoming a big hit for Bing. It was written by Harry Owens the day after is daughter was born, named Leilani, in 1934. It is Hawaiian meaning "Heavenly garland of flowers." 

3. IN THE STILL OF THE NIGHT SUNG BY NELSON EDDY


 This song was introduced by Nelson Eddy in the film, "Rosalie" with Eleanor Powell as well. It was written by Cole Porter and has gained so much recognition over the years that it has been sung by many, many other artists. 

Which song won the Oscar that year? Which would you have chosen? I tried to stick close to the originals but are there any recordings of these that you would like to share?

23 comments:

  1. No idea who won, but I do like your first choice. Not a fan of Sweet Leilani. And while I like song #3, that version is awful, in my opinion. I'd choose Ella Fitzgerald singing it, or just about anyone else, lol.

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    1. OMG. I had to look up the answer.

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    2. Hahahaa...Yup. Sweet Leilani won and i never heard of it before. I actually love the Nelson Eddy version but there goes one's own personal taste. "They Can't Take It Away From Me was nominated and the last one is a beautiful song depending on whom you love to sing it but it was not even nominated!

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  2. Hi Birgit - I too have absolutely no idea ... nor other choices - I guess the 2022 one will come to the fore next weekend - enjoy. Cheers Hilary

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    1. It's wild to know all these great songs came out in '37 but of the famous ones that I know, they didn't win. "Sweet.." sung by Bing won and the Cole Porter song wasn't even nominated.

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  3. Hi, Birgit!

    Thanks for patiently waiting for me while I was a patient at the clinic this morning.

    Before I left home, I noticed that the title of your post is "Oscar Songs," but I needed to run and didn't look at the content. Imagine my surprise just now when I clicked to read and listen. All this time I was expecting to find a medley of Oscar Levant piano tunes. :)

    Regarding which of these three 1937 songs won an Oscar, I'm stumped, but I did not cheat and look them up. I am familiar with only one of the three, and that is "Sweet Leilani." It is a song that I remember hearing from time to time when I was young. My dad used to warble it. I need to ask if you know who the male vocalist is at the beginning of the song. It certainly doesn't sound like Bing Crosby whose familiar voice can be heard starting around the 1:20 mark. Of the three songs, I actually like "Sweet Leilani" best. It's just so pretty it brings tears. However, "In The Still of The Night" sounds to me more like the kind of song that would win the top honors at the Academy Awards, and that's the one I'm picking for that distinction. It should be noted that the song introduced by Nelson Eddy in Rosalie is an entirely different song from "In The Still Of The Nite," the major doo-wop hit written by the late by Fred Parris (whom I met circa 1980) and famously recorded by his vocal group The Five Satins.

    Thank you for the morning musical entertainment, dear friend BB. Enjoy the rest of your week and have a safe and happy weekend!

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    1. I hope all goes well when you have to attend these medical sessions. I don't believe that is Bing at the beginning and I have no idea who that could be. I like that memory of your dad humming this tune. Guess what? Sweet L won the Oscar!The Astaire song was nominated but the wonderful Cole Porter song sung by Eddy was not even nominated. I was shocked because so many great artists have recorded it.

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  4. Got to be Gershwin, by far the best. Don’t like the middle one!

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    1. The middle got the Oscar! Gershwin's was nominated while Porter's song wasn't even nominated.

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  5. I'm clueless, and besides that, don't know. Heh.
    I am so not a Bing Crosby fan just on gps.

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    1. Bing is on GPS?? Well, Bing's song won. Astaire's was nominated while the song sung by Eddy wasn't even in the running!

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  6. I'll always go with Fred Astaire, but I don't know who actually won.

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    1. Nope, it did not win. Leilani won and the last one wasn’t even nominated despite the number of people who has sang this song since.

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  7. These are classic songs. I can hear them in my head now. Glad you picked some good ones and not some that just become annoying earworms. Hope all is well. Hugs-Erika

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  8. I've heard the first one before, but not the other two. I would never have guessed the winner in 100 years! Thanks for opening my eyes to new songs.

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    1. I had never heard of the 2nd one but that’s the one that won! The Astaire song is very famous and so is the last one which has been done by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong etc... but it wasn’t even nominated.

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  9. Okay, I've listened to all three and I haven't read any of the comments before publishing my own. My favourite is Leilani but my guess is that's the one that wasn't nominated. Bing really helps bring that song home when he jumps in on the second verse and I really like the vocal harmonies behind him.

    I'm going to guess the Fred Astaire song won because it seems to capture the mood of that era. I didn't know he was a vocalist. I just know him as the most effing suave dancer on the planet at the time.

    The Nelson Eddy song is epic with all that orchestration behind him, almost ahead of its time. I'll suggest it was nominated but did not win.

    How did I do?

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    1. Well, the Leilani song won the Oscar! The Astaire song was nominated but didn’t win and the Cole Porter song was not even nominated. You did 0 for 3

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  10. I just listened to all of them. I enjoyed them all- but think that Fred Astaire was the winner, Bing was nominated and didn't win, and Eddy wasn't nominated.

    Now to find out how I did. lol. This was fun!

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    1. You are right, Eddy did not win nor was he even nominated. Astaire was nominated but didn’t win while Bing’s song won the Oscar.

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  11. My first thought was In the Still of the Night but it was too stiff to be liked. My second thought was Sweet Leilani because it hasn’t aged well as the other two songs. I can see how it won being it was the Depression and people wanted an escape.

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    1. You are right in that way of thinking but Still of the Night is a huge hit done by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong etc...

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