THE OSCAR FINALISTS: BEST SONG, PART TWO

As discussed in Part One of this article, between 1958 and 1979, the Academy's Music Branch would whittle the list of eligible songs down to ten finalists before picking the five nominees.

Un-nominated finalists are in bold italics. Winners are underlined.

"CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG" - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - Music and Lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman
"DAKOTA" - The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band - Music and Lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman
"A FLEA IN HER EAR" - A Flea in Her Ear - Music by Bronislau Kaper, Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
"FOR THE LOVE OF IVY" - For Love of Ivy - Music by Quincy Jones, Lyrics by Bob Russell
"FUNNY GIRL" - Funny Girl - Music by Jule Styne, Lyrics by Bob Merrill
"I LOVE YOU, ALICE B. TOKLAS" - I Love You, Alice B. Toklas - Music by Elmer Bernstein, Lyrics by Paul Mazursky and Larry Tucker
"SPRINGTIME FOR HITLER" - The Producers - Music and Lyrics by Mel Brooks
"STAR!" - Star! - Music by James Van Heusen, Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
"THE WAY THAT I LIVE" - The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom - Music by Riz Ortolani, Lyrics by Norman Newell
"THE WINDMILLS OF YOUR MIND" - The Thomas Crown Affair - Music By Michel Legrand, Lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman

"BALLAD OF EASY RIDER" - Easy Rider - Music and Lyrics by Roger McGuinn
"COME SATURDAY MORNING" - The Sterile Cuckoo - Music by Fred Karlin, Lyrics by Dory Previn
"FILL THE WORLD WITH LOVE" - Goodbye Mr. Chips - Music and Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse
"JEAN" - The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - Music and Lyrics by Rod McKuen
"A LOVELY PLACE" - Heaven With a Gun - Music by Johnny Mandel, Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
"RAINDROPS KEEP FALLING ON MY HEAD" - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - Music by Burt Bacharach, Lyrics by Hal David
"THE SONG OF SANTA VITTORIA (STAY)" - The Secret of Santa Vittoria - Music by Ernest Gold, Lyrics by Norman Gimbel
"THERE'S ENOUGH TO GO AROUND" - Gaily, Gaily - Music by Henry Mancini, Lyrics by Alan & Marilyn Bergman
"TRUE GRIT" - True Grit - Music by Elmer Bernstein, Lyrics by Don Black
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING THE REST OF YOUR LIFE?" - The Happy Ending - Music by Michel Legrand, Lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman

"BURNING BRIDGES" - Kelly's Heroes - Music by Lalo Schifrin, Lyrics by Mike Curb
"DIRTY DINGUS MAGEE" - Dirty Dingus Magee - Music and Lyrics by Mike Curb and Mack David
"EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE A CAT" - The Aristocats - Music and Lyrics by Floyd Huddleston and Al Rinker
"FOR ALL WE KNOW" - Lovers and Other Strangers - Music by Fred Karlin, Lyrics by Robb Wilson and Arthur James
"LET IT BE" - Let It Be - Music and Lyrics by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
"PIECES OF DREAMS" - Pieces of Dreams - Music by Michel Legrand, Lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman
"SUICIDE IS PAINLESS" - M*A*S*H - Music by Johnny Mandel, Lyrics by Mike Altman
"THANK YOU VERY MUCH" - Scrooge - Music and Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse
"TILL LOVE TOUCHES YOUR LIFE" - Madron - Music by Riz Ortolani, Lyrics by Arthur Hamilton
"WHISTLING AWAY THE DARK" - Darling Lili - Music by Henry Mancini, Lyrics by Johnny Mercer

Oddly enough, the two most familiar of these ten didn't actually make the nominations cut -- "Let It Be" (about which there's nothing for me to add) and "Suicide is Painless," whose instrumental arrangement as the theme for the TV version of M*A*S*H is instantly familiar to a generation of TV viewers. The winning song, "For All We Know," was a big hit single for The Carpenters.

"THE AGE OF NOT BELIEVING" - Bedknobs and Broomsticks - Music and Lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman
"ALL HIS CHILDREN" - Sometimes a Great Notion - Music by Henry Mancini, Lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman
"BELIEVE IN ME" - Believe In Me - Music by Fred Karlin, Lyrics by Megan Karlin
"BLESS THE BEASTS AND CHILDREN" - Bless the Beasts and Children - Music and Lyrics by Barry De Vorzon and Perry Botkin Jr.
"CAN IT BE TRUE" - Marriage of a Young Stockbroker - Music by Fred Karlin, Lyrics by Megan Karlin
"CHILLY WINDS" - Pretty Maids All in a Row - Music by Lalo Schifrin, Lyrics by Mike Curb
"DO YOUR THING" - Shaft - Music and Lyrics by Isaac Hayes
"GIRL" - Star Spangled Girl - Music by Charles Fox, Lyrics by Norman Gimbel
"LIFE IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT" - Kotch - Music by Marvin Hamlisch, Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
"THEME FROM SHAFT" - Shaft - Music and Lyrics by Isaac Hayes

The Shaft song is one of the most controversial Best Song winners in Oscar history. Though it has ultimately become something of a classic, many feel that for a song to be truly great it should transcend the original recording, allowing for a variety of interpretations, and a huge part of the impact of Issac Hayes' "Theme From Shaft" is in its arrangement. (Similar accusations have been made against 2002's winner, Eminem's "Lose Yourself," since even the Oscar broadcast's producers didn't bother to find a replacement for Eminem to sing the song on the air when the rapper became unavailable, possibly fearing another Ann-Reinking-singing-"Against-All-Odds"-type embarrassment.)

One of the other nominees that year was the song from Kotch. Kotch is an oddity in movie history -- the only feature directed by Jack Lemmon, it starred Walter Matthau as an old man (decades before Lemmon and Matthau played Grumpy Old Men) and garnered four Oscar nominations, but the film has barely been seen since. Have any of our readers seen it? Is it any good?

And yes, of course, no nomination for "Diamonds Are Forever."

"BEN" - Ben - Music by Walter Scharf, Lyrics by Don Black
"COME FOLLOW, FOLLOW ME" - The Little Ark - Music by Fred Karlin, Lyrics by Megan Karlin
"FREDDIE'S DEAD" - Superfly - Music and Lyrics by Curtis Mayfield
"MARMALADE, MOLASSES & HONEY" - The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean - Music by Maurice Jarre, Lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman
"MOREOVER AND ME" - The Biscuit Eater - Music and Lyrics by Shane Tatum
"THE MORNING AFTER" - The Poseidon Adventure - Music and Lyrics by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn
"SERENADE OF LOVE" - Travels With My Aunt - Music by Tony Hatch, Lyrics by Jackie Trent
"SNOOPY COME HOME" - Snoopy Come Home - Music by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman
"STRANGE ARE THE WAYS OF LOVE" - The Stepmother - Music by Sammy Fain, Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
"THEME FROM THE HEARTBREAK KID" - The Heartbreak Kid - Music by Cy Coleman, Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick

One of the year's most popular movie-related songs, Superfly's "Freddie's Dead" was ultimately disqualified because the song version was never actually performed in the film, only the instrumental. In recent years, the Best Song rules have become even more stringent -- the song must actually be intelligible in the film, and if it's played during the end credits it has to be the very first song, not just one of countless songs excerpted in the inevitable end credits song montage.

"ALL THAT LOVE GONE TO WASTE" - A Touch of Class - Music by George Barrie, Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
"I GOT A NAME" - The Last American Hero - Music by Charles Fox, Lyrics by Norman Gimbel
"LIVE AND LET DIE" - Live and Let Die - Music and Lyrics by Paul and Linda McCartney
"LOVE" - Robin Hood - Music by George Bruns, Lyrics by Floyd Huddleston
"REMEMBERING" - England Made Me - Music by John Scott, Lyrics by Arthur Hamilton
"RIVER SONG" - Tom Sawyer - Music and Lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman
"SEND A LITTLE LOVE MY WAY" - Oklahoma Crude - Music by Henry Mancini, Lyrics by Hal David
"A TOUCH OF CLASS" - A Touch of Class - Music by George Barrie, Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
"THE WAY WE WERE" - The Way We Were - Music by Marvin Hamlisch, Lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman
"YOU'RE SO NICE TO BE AROUND" - Cinderella Liberty - Music by John Williams, Lyrics by Paul Williams

One memorable song which didn't make the cut was the John Williams/Johnny Mercer title song to Robert Altman's revisionist (to say the least) film of Raymond Chandler's The Long Goodbye. For those who've never seen the film, it features one of Williams' most offbeat scores, parodying movie song mania by basing every single source cue (and the score is virtually all source cues) on the title song, heard in a wide variety of arrangements and styles.

"BENJI'S THEME (I FEEL LOVE)" - Benji - Music by Euel Box, Lyrics by Betty Box
"BLAZING SADDLES" - Blazing Saddles - Music by John Morris, Lyrics by Mel Brooks
"FREEDOM" - Huckleberry Finn - Music and Lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman
"GOLD" - Gold - Music by Elmer Bernstein, Lyrics by Don Black
"HOW TO SEDUCE A WOMAN" - How to Seduce a Woman - Music by Stu Phillips, Lyrics by Arthur Hamilton
"I NEVER MET A ROSE" - The Little Prince - Music by Frederick Loewe, Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
"LITTLE PRINCE" - The Little Prince - Music by Frederick Loewe, Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
"THE NEXT TIME AROUND" - The Dion Brothers - Music by Fred Karlin, Lyrics by Megan Karlin
"WE MAY NEVER LOVE LIKE THIS AGAIN" - The Towering Inferno - Music and Lyrics by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn
"WHEREVER LOVE TAKES ME" - Gold - Music by Elmer Bernstein, Lyrics by Don Black

This is the only year where an Elmer Bernstein score had two songs among the ten Oscar finalists, but what's strange is that they were not for a musical but for a Roger Moore action drama about a South African gold mine. The finalist-but-not-nominated title song does not quite achieve a Guns of Navarone level of silliness but features the kind of subject matter one does not generally associate with movie songs:

If the falling rock don't get you
Then you can bet the black dust will

Eight years after the Lerner-Loewe film of The Little Prince, directed by the great Stanley Donen and featuring an impressive cast including Richard Kiley, Gene Wilder, Joss Ackland, Clive Revill and Bob Fosse himself, John Barry and Don Black wrote a stage musical of the classic novel called The Little Prince and the Aviator, with Michael York as the pilot. The show was cancelled the day before its planned Broadway opening, and Ken Mandelbaum's book Not Since Carrie (on the history of flop musicals) described the show as "grisly," "an all-out catastrophe," and "one of Broadway's most difficult-to-sit-through musicals ever."

No mention of any of Paul Williams' wonderful songs for Phantom of the Paradise in this category, though he did get a nomination for "Original Song Score and Adaptation," losing to Nelson Riddle's work on The Great Gatsby.

And, of course, no "The Man With the Golden Gun."

"HOW LUCKY CAN YOU GET" - Funny Lady - Music by John Kander, Lyrics by Fred Ebb
"I'M EASY" - Nashville - Music and Lyrics by Keith Carradine
"LADY OF THE WILDERNESS" - Gifts of an Eagle - Music by Clark Gassman, Lyrics by Randy Sparks, Paul Bergen
"LET'S DO IT AGAIN" - Let's Do It Again - Music and Lyrics by Curtis Mayfield
"NOW THAT WE'RE IN LOVE" - Whiffs - Music by George Barrie, Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
"ONCE IS NOT ENOUGH" - Jacqueline Susann's Once Is Not Enough - Music by Henry Mancini, Lyrics by Larry Kusik
"ONLY A DREAM AWAY" - Seven Alone - Music by Robert O. Ragland, Lyrics by Arthur Hamilton
"RICHARD'S WINDOW" - The Other Side of the Mountain - Music by Charles Fox, Lyrics by Norman Gimbel
"SOMEWHERE" - Mr. Quilp - Music and Lyrics by Anthony Newley
"THEME FROM MAHOGANY (DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING TO?)" - Mahogany - Music by Michael Masser, Lyrics by Gerry Goffin

In making Nashville, director Robert Altman had the actors write their own country songs, leading to Keith Carradine's Oscar win. Actual country musicians were not so impressed, feeling that film actors don't necessarily have the most authentic sense of what real country songs sound like.

According to Mason Wiley and Damien Bona's invaluable book Inside Oscar, "Theme From Mahogany" didn't make the original finalists cut, and after complaints from many in the industry, the branch made a new finalists list allowing the entire Music Branch to pick the ten, and "Mahogany" was now included, though Robert Altman was reportedly upset that only one Nashville song made the cut each time. (In my own research on the finalists, I did not uncover this information on the redone finalists' list, so the subject would seem to warrant more investigation.)

However, there was also some talk that the "Mahogany" song had actually been recorded and released even before the film was made, and thus shouldn't have been eligible in the first place.

A surprising omission was Henry Mancini and Hal David's "The Greatest Gift" from Return of the Pink Panther, exactly the kind of light ballad the Music Branch tended to favor.

"AVE SATANI" - The Omen - Music and Lyrics by Jerry Goldsmith
"COME TO ME" - The Pink Panther Strikes Again - Music by Henry Mancini, Lyrics by Don Black
"EVERGREEN (LOVE THEME FROM A STAR IS BORN)" - A Star is Born - Music by Barbra Streisand, Lyrics by Paul Williams
"GONNA FLY NOW" - Rocky - Music by Bill Conti, Lyrics by Carol Connors and Ayn Robbins
"I BELIEVE IN LOVE" - A Star is Born - Music by Kenny Loggins, Lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman
"I'D LIKE TO BE YOU FOR A DAY" - Freaky Friday - Music and Lyrics by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn
"LEMON DROPS, LOLLIPOPS AND SUNBEAMS" - The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox - Music by Charles Fox, Lyrics by Sammy Cahn and Melvin Frank
"THE TIME HAS COME" - Joe Panther - Music by Fred Karlin, Lyrics by Norman Gimbel
"WITH ONE MORE LOOK AT YOU" - A Star is Born - Music and Lyrics by Paul Williams and Kenny Ascher
"A WORLD THAT NEVER WAS" - Half a House - Music by Sammy Fain, Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster

"Ave Satani," Jerry Goldsmith's demonic chant for The Omen, was one of the most surprising nominations in the history of the "Best Song" category (one wonders if "Regis regum rectissimi" from The Lion in Winter might have had a shot back in '68), especially considering the high profile Star is Born remake and its three songs which made the finalists cut. (Along with co-writing the winning "Evergreen," Streisand gave herself a "Musical Concepts by" credit, which boggles the mind.)

The nominated "A World That Never Was," from Half a House, follows in the tradition of 1972's "Strange Are the Ways of Love" from the The Stepmother. They were both written by Music Branch favorites Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster, and were featured in movies no one has ever ever heard of.

"CANDLE ON THE WATER" - Pete's Dragon - Music and Lyrics by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschorn
"NOBODY DOES IT BETTER" - The Spy Who Loved Me - Music by Marvin Hamlisch, Lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager
"THE SLIPPER AND THE ROSE WALTZ (HE DANCED WITH ME/SHE DANCED WITH ME)" - The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella - Music and Lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman
"SOMEONE'S WAITING FOR YOU" - The Rescuers - Music by Sammy Fain, Lyrics by Carol Connors and Ayn Robbins
"THEME FROM NEW YORK NEW YORK" - New York New York - Music by John Kander, Lyrics by Fred Ebb
"WHAT WAS" - The Late Show - Music by Ken Wannberg, Lyrics by Stephen Lehner
"YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE" - You Light Up My Life - Music and Lyrics by Joseph Brooks

The makers of Saturday Night Fever were furious that none of their songs made the cut, especially notable since it was one of the year's biggest hits, the album was one of the most successful of all time, and the Music Branch ultimately found only seven songs worthy of being deemed finalists.

The other shocker, of course, is that "Theme From New York, New York" was one of the two finalists that didn't receive a nomination, especially since in the twenty-five years since then, that song has been performed a few more times than "Someone's Waiting For You" or "The Slipper and the Rose Waltz."

"BRIGHT EYES" - Watership Down - Music and Lyrics by Mike Batt
"CAN YOU READ MY MIND" - Superman - Music By John Williams, Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse
"CHILDREN OF SANCHEZ" - Children of Sanchez - Music and Lyrics by Chuck Mangione
"HOPELESSLY DEVOTED TO YOU" - Grease - Music and Lyrics by John Farrar
"LAST DANCE" - Thank God It's Friday - Music and Lyrics by Paul Jabara
"THE LAST TIME I FELT LIKE THIS" - Same Time Next Year - Music by Marvin Hamlisch, Lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman
"MOVE ëEM OUT" - Revenge of the Pink Panther - Music by Henry Mancini, Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse
"THE ONE AND ONLY" - The One and Only - Music by Patrick Williams, Lyrics by Alan & Marilyn Bergman
"READY TO TAKE A CHANCE AGAIN" - Foul Play - Music by Charles Fox, Lyrics by Norman Gimbel
"WHEN YOU'RE LOVED" - The Magic of Lassie - Music and Lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman

The song "The Love I Have For You," performed by Alberta Hunter in Alan Rudolph's little seen Remember My Name, was originally a finalist until the Music Branch learned that it was at least thirty years old. "Children of Sanchez" was substituted.

"Can You Read My Mind?" made the final ten, even though it is spoken, not sung, in the movie Superman.

"I'M ON YOUR SIDE" - Chapter Two - Music by Marvin Hamlisch, Lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager
"IT GOES LIKE IT GOES" - Norma Rae - Music by David Shire, Lyrics by Norman Gimbel
"MOVIN' RIGHT ALONG" - The Muppet Movie - Music and Lyrics by Paul Williams and Kenny Ascher
"NEVER BEFORE, NEVER AGAIN" - The Muppet Movie - Music and Lyrics by Paul Williams and Kenny Ascher
"THE RAINBOW CONNECTION" - The Muppet Movie - Music and Lyrics by Paul Williams and Kenny Ascher
"SOLD MY SOUL TO ROCK N ROLL" - The Rose - Music and Lyrics by Gene Pistilli
"SOMETHING BETTER" - The Muppet Movie - Music and Lyrics by Paul Williams and Kenny Ascher
"SONG FROM 10 (IT'S EASY TO SAY)" - 10 - Music by Henry Mancini, Lyrics by Robert Wells
"THEME FROM ICE CASTLES (THROUGH THE EYES OF LOVE)" - Ice Castles - Music by Marvin Hamlisch, Lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager
"THEME FROM THE PROMISE (I'LL NEVER SAY GOODBYE)" - The Promise - Music by David Shire, Lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman

The final year of the finalists system. The Muppet Movie had a whopping four songs in the final ten, though only one, the still popular "The Rainbow Connection," earned a nomination but surprisingly it lost to "It Goes Like It Goes," one of two nominated songs by David Shire. Alas, Shire hasn't received a single nomination since his 1979 win, perhaps another example of the alleged "Oscar curse."

I know, this is where I'm supposed to mention that "Moonraker" wasn't a finalist, but I've always thought this was one of the weakest of John Barry's Bond songs, so I'll have to side with the Academy on this one.

When I bought the soundtrack to THE GUNS OF NAVARONE way back in the 1970's, I heard the song for the first time. Not only did I dislike the song, I was stunned to hear the plot of the movie given away in the lyrics. When Sony & UCLA restored the film a few years back, articles about the film and restoration mentioned that the people at Sony & UCLA didn't include the song because it was originally the overture and it gave away the plot. I got the feeling they also didn't like the song. It's a truly funny song and I enjoy playing it for people who've seen the movie. The fact it was the overture explains why it was eligible for best song and subsequently never seen on television or video. I'm glad Sony exercised good taste and judgment and left the song off the restored prints.

The same thing was true for IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD. For years I wondered how the song for MAD WORLD could have been nominated, since all that appeared in the movie were a few words in the main title sequence. Then when the expanded laser disc edition came out many years ago, the song was returned to where it belonged, at the beginning of the movie. That song I like and it certainly belongs in the movie as the overture.

Regarding GOLDFINGER, I think the thing that has bothered me the most over the years is the fact that John Barry's Bond songs and scores never got an Academy Award nomination. I'm sorry, but how can any music branch not nominate the song and the score to GOLDFINGER? Barry has been short-changed many times over the years, but this is the most obvious.

FROM: "Dennis Cannon"

In your list of songs not nominated for an academy award you listed a song from EL CID "The Falcon and the Dove." I have never heard a song from that movie and I watched it many times.

P.S. I have the soundtrack and there never has been a song on it.

FROM: "John B. Archibald"

As I recall, the title song for "Bye Bye Birdie" was actually written as a solo for Ann-Margret for the movie. At the time, this was regarded as sort of shocking, because the character she was supposed to be portraying was a teenaged girl, which Ms. A-M was definitely not! It was taken as yet another example of Hollywood cheapening originally innocent material. (In the show, for example, when the girl sings "How Lovely to be a Woman," it's from a sense of naive wonder. In the hands of Ms. A-M, it became much more suggestive and knowing, which is a perfect illustration of how film versions of musicals can turn a feather into a sledgehammer.)
 
The most interesting element that occurred to me while perusing your list was an awareness of the great cultural schism that took place during the period you describe. Well into the 50's, American popular music pretty much originated from Broadway and Hollywood, until rock appeared, derived from essentially Afro-American sources, and took over popular culture. At that time, and well into the 60's, to listen to rock music was almost considered a political act of defiance against the Establishment. (See the song, "Kids," in the same "Bye Bye Birdie.")
 
Consequently, the more traditional forms of music began to be pressured out of their former influence, and I wouldn't be surprised if the Oscar nominations were a reflection of this cultural change. As rock music proliferated, heralding the political upheavals of the 60's, it's almost as if Hollywood and Broadway, by now bastions of the Establishment, were reacting in a sort of backlash, by virtually ignoring current musical trends. I don't see any of the Beatles' songs for either A HARD DAY'S NIGHT or HELP making any of the finalists' lists, and yet they were huge hits, selling millions of records. And they were just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
 
Hollywood kept encouraging writers who wrote songs more in the style of the 40's, all things considered, while the rest of the country forged ahead into uncharted rock territory.
 
It was a schism from which our culture has really never recovered. Virtually all popular music is now either the Broadway style, with melody and A-B-A lyrics, or it's rock-related, dependent on rhythm and electronic effects. Hollywood, with occasional exceptions, such as Eminem's recent win, still supports the old-style music, while much of the country's population spends millions on concerts of music that will never make it into films.
 
I lament this, because my tastes are, frankly, more on the side of the traditional. I like to be able to hear the lyrics of a song, and it's refreshing when they're not four-letter words. I also love the Golden Age film composers. But it would seem to me that the knell was tolled for Golden Age Scores the night Dimitri Tiomkin won the Oscar for writing "Do Not Forsake Me, O My Darlin," because main titles after that often precluded a musical introduction, to instead force-feed us some syrupy love song. Then, the end of the Golden Age occurred, in my opinion, when Henry Mancini won the Oscar for "Moon River." After that, orchestral composers were pretty much edged out of the business.
 
Lately, there seems to be some kind of amalgam of the Hollywood and rock styles, as evidenced by Mr. Shaiman's success on both screen and now stage. Hopefully, this may usher in a period of more interconnection. We shall see.
 
Thanks for the lists.
 
P.S.: Was there ever a complete recording of "My Wishing Doll?" Julie Andrews never finishes the song in HAWAII.

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