This was the year of Star Wars, which I did see in the theatre but was, sorry, not enthralled by it. I thought it was fun but that was it. What did I know?! It did win best score but this is about best song. It's freebie week at Monday Music Moves Me over at Curious as A Cathy and it's Oscar time for the year 1977. So let's see if you can figure out who won the Oscar, who was nominated and who came up empty-handed.
1. NOBODY DOES IT BETTER SUNG BY CARLY SIMON
I love this song, from the Bond film, "The Spy Who Loved Me", sung so well by Carly Simon. It was written by Marvin Hamlisch with lyrics by Carole Bayer and was a great Bond song.
2. YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE SUNG BY DEBBIE BOONE
This earworm came from the movie of the same name and made famous by Pat Boone's daughter. It was written by Joseph Brooks and was played to death. I still can't stand this song.
3. NEW YORK, NEW YORK SUNG BY LIZA MINNELLI
This very famous song is always associated with Frank Sinatra but it actually comes from the film, of the same name, starring Liza and Robert DeNiro. It was directed by Martin Scorsese and its a film I still want to see. This famous song was written by John Kander and Fred Ebb specifically for Liza Minnelli..did you know that?
So which song won, which was nominated and which got nadda?
Like you, I enjoyed Star Wars but didn't think it would get the acclaim it did. My guess is New York, New York won the Oscar for best song. Funny, I don't remember the Liza Minelli version. Frank Sinatra did it so well!
ReplyDeleteI don't know the answer without looking it up, but I feel like betting on a Bond song is a safe bet!
ReplyDeleteI was never interested in the "Star Wars" franchise and haven't seen any of them. I did like the satirical "SpaceBalls" send up, though, starring John Candy as a giant dog man. ☺ That was a ridiculous year for Oscar movie songs, as the sickly sweet "You Light Up My Life" won. Yuck! "New York, New York" wasn't even nominated and neither were the Bee Gees for their Saturday NIght Fever soundtrack. Crazy! At least the Bond song got a nomination and of those you highlighted, it would have been my choice.
ReplyDeleteI have not seen New York, New York, either. I think I wanted to see it, by my parents said it was dark? I have a vague memory of that. (I looked up the winner. Oh. That was the Annie Hall year. I've seen several of those movies since then.)
ReplyDeleteHi Birgit!
ReplyDeleteI also thought Star Wars was fine but nothing special. I've seen the core three in the series but none of the newer ones.
I know for certain that the syrupy "You Light Up My Life" won. Ugh I remember when Debby Boone's version was EVERYWHERE!! You just could not escape it.
I've heard "Nobody Does It Better" referred to as an Oscar nominee and it's a decent song, better than YLUML, but I don't think it's Oscar worthy either.
Which by process of elimination means "New York, New York" finished out of the money which seems crazy now. I can't imagine that there was anything of its quality competing. I did know it was written for Liza. I saw the film in the theatre during its original run (along with my mother, aunt and cousins) and liked it but it's a dark film, especially for a musical. I think that was Scorsese's intention to juxtapose the bright and shiny numbers with a starker reality but DeNiro's was such a boorish jackass it made him hard to sympathize with and Liza's devotion to him hard to fathom. It's worth seeing but it can be grim going at points. Scorsese drew inspiration for it from a couple of different sources. The first is the 1946 Ida Lupino film "The Man I Love" in which she gives my favorite performance of her career. The second is Doris Day's first marriage to whack job trombonist Al Jorden who beat her regularly including while she was pregnant and eventually committed suicide (DeNiro's character is based on him and Liza's on Doris).
I saw "New York, New York." You'll love it!
ReplyDeleteNominated and won: "You Light Up My Life"
Nominated, didn't win: "New York, New York"
Wasn't nominated: "Nobody Does It Better"
.333 - Not bad!
DeleteI rushed past all the comments and you will please excuse me for not listening to You Light Up My Life because it was so overplayed I hope I never have to listen to it again. Ever. But moving on, as usual, I have no idea. So my gut is screaming "Liza killed that song! Her New York New York won!" but I keep thinking that Carly Simon won the Oscar. I'll say Carly won with Liza placing and we won't mention the third song. Now I can go look at the comments.
ReplyDelete