Oscar's Favorite Tunes Revisited: The 1980s
1980: “Fame” (Michael Gore, Dean Pitchford) from Fame. Accompanying scenes from the movie, this clip features Irene Cara’s smash-hit recording of the song.
1981: “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)” (Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager, Christopher Cross, Peter Allen) from Arthur. Bacharach received his second Oscar for this song; it’s not bad, but a little too whiny when Cross sings it. The clip has him and Dudley Moore appearing on Night of 100 Stars in 1982.
1982: “Up Where We Belong” (Jack Nitzsche, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Will Jennings) from An Officer and a Gentleman. One of the best Oscar winners of the decade, brilliantly used in the movie. In this clip, Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes sing it at the Grammys.
1983: “Flashdance… What a Feeling” (Giorgio Moroder, Keith Forsey, Irene Cara) from Flashdance. Irene Cara once again delivered a major hit in this category and this time she also picked up an Oscar for it. The clip is a compilation of scenes from the movie.
1984: “I Just Called to Say I Love You” (Stevie Wonder) from The Woman in Red. It’s ironic that Wonder’s only Oscar was for one of his worst songs. This clip offers a few scenes from the movie as well as a sample of the song. That’s quite enough.
1985: “Say You, Say Me” (Lionel Richie) from White Nights. Last year it was Stevie Wonder, this year it’s Lionel Richie. These are not their proudest moments, although the songs were hits. The clip shows Richie performing it during a 2007 concert.
1986: “Take My Breath Away” (Giorgio Moroder, Tom Whitlock) from Top Gun. Moroder’s second win was for this great pop tune, performed by Berlin. The clip is their video.
1987: “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” (Franke Previte, John DeNicola, Donald Markowitz) from Dirty Dancing. Jennifer Warnes returned for Oscar duty, singing a duet with Bill Medley. This was the best part of the movie. The clip shows the video.
1988: “Let the River Run” (Carly Simon) from Working Girl. Simon should have won an Oscar back in the 1970s for “Nobody Does It Better”, but this one is good too. In the clip, she sings an acoustic version, which is nice but not as powerful as the original.
1989: “Under the Sea” (Alan Menken, Howard Ashman) from The Little Mermaid. This was the song-writing duo that helped energize Disney again, bringing a touch of Broadway to their movies. The clip is from the film; Samuel E. Wright’s performing.
Published by Stefan Hedmark 2009-06-14 15:16
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