A song can become just as iconic as the film in which it’s playing. Try to remember “Aladdin” without thinking of “A Whole New World,” or “Casablanca” without briefly humming “As Time Goes By.”
Many of these tunes are justly rewarded with an Academy Award for Best Original Song, but which ones are the all time best?
Burt Bacharach and Hal David teamed up to write “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” for the 1969 Western “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” Originally offered to Ray Stevens and Bob Dylan, the song was finally sung by B.J. Thomas and became, according to “Billboard” magazine, the No. 4 song of 1970 with over 2 million copies sold.
“Can You Feel the Love Tonight” earned Elton John and Tim Rice an Oscar and a Golden Globe, as well as a Grammy for John for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.
It was the fourth Best Song Oscar claimed by Disney in the last six years, a trend that would continue the next year with “Colors of the Wind” for “Pocahontas.”
The most iconic Bond theme since “Goldfinger,” Adele’s “Skyfall” foreshadowed the enormous success of the 2012 spy thriller, peaking at No. 1 in many countries and selling over 2 million copies in the U.S. The film would go on to earn over $1 billion worldwide.
Vote now for the best Oscar winners for Original Song.