The Best Oscar-Winning Songs

The Best Oscar-Winning Songs

Since being introduced at the seventh Academy Awards in 1935. The category of Best Original Song has anointed a truly bizarre collection of songwriters with the honour of having composed the best individual piece of music for a movie. Let’s check to The Best Oscar-Winning Songs.

Split between old-school classics and surprising pop hits.It is perhaps the only list of musicians on the planet in which one will find Broadway-legend Stephen Sondheim and Three 6 Mafia-don Juicy J on equal footing.

Before you take a tour, here is just a taste of what is in store for you with our top five selections in the gallery:

1. “Over the Rainbow” from “The Wizard of Oz” (1939)

Music by Harold Arlen/Lyrics by Yip Harburg

The wistful and heartfelt tune became the signature song for the film’s star, Judy Garland, who performed the tune throughout her career until her death in 1969. It is also ranked as the best movie song of all time by the American Film Institute and has been selected for preservation by The Library of Congress. The song has found additional life thanks to a memorable cover by Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwoʻole, which has been featured in numerous film and television series.

2. “White Christmas” from “Holiday Inn” (1942)

Music & Lyrics by Irving Berlin

It wouldn’t be Christmas without what may be one of the signature tunes of the season, particularly in

its signature rendition by its originator Bing Crosby, who first performed the holiday classic in the 1942 film, “Holiday Inn.” The song’s popularity led to a now-classic 1954 feature film of the same name, which also starred Crosby, and is considered essential viewing during the holiday season.

3. “Moon River” from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (1961)

Music by Henry Mancini/Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
Blake Edward‘s adaptation of the story by Truman Capote is known as much for its music as for its iconic wardrobe. At the heart of the film is this glorious ballad, which composer Mancini wrote specifically for its star, Audrey Hepburn. The song won not only the Oscar but also a Grammy for Record of the Year.

4. “My Heart Will Go On” from “Titanic” (1997)

Music by James Horner/Lyrics by Will Jennings
One of cinema’s greatest love stories is accompanied by one of the great romantic ballads of all time.

Celine Dion‘s rendition of this iconic tune — which earned the film one of its record-tying eleven Oscars — debuted at Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and stayed there for ten weeks. The song also won four Grammy Awards the following year, including Record and Song of the Year.

5. ‘The Way We Were’ from “The Way We Were” (1973)

Music by Marvin Hamlisch/Lyrics by Alan & Marilyn Bergman
Despite acclaimed performances by stars Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand, the real star of this romantic drama was the film’s title song, which became one of Streisand’s signature numbers. It went on to be the number one song of 1974 and won a Grammy Award for Song of the Year.

6. 1942 – “White Christmas”

Not only is Bing Crosby’s Yuletide croon one of the most instantly-recognizable classics in the canon

of classic Christmas songs, but it is also – according to the Guinness Book of World Records – the best-selling single of all time, worldwide, with upwards of 50 million units sold. Not bad for coming from a film that is all-but-forgotten barring the occasional late-night re-run on Turner Classic Movies. Has anyone in your family seen Holiday Inn? Yeah, thought so.

7. 1949 – “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”

Not one but two staples of the holiday season have Oscars to back up their infinite replays. Just like “White Christmas,” you would be hard-pressed to find someone who has seen the film from which it originates (Neptune’s Daughter, anyone?), but “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” has far outgrown its humble beginnings in the years since. Despite some very questionable lyrics about consent, this duet has become synonymous with a winter romance

8. 1969 – “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head”

Crystallizing the late ’60s alternative-ballad is this breezy tune from the Paul Newman and Robert Redford classic Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It crushed the Billboard charts when first released. Clinging to number one for four weeks in a row before continuing to reside comfortably in the top ten for weeks to come. It’s a schmaltz-fest for sure. But it nails the effortless swing of the era; no small feat considering many bands spend their careers trying to sound half as effortless.

1983 – “Flashdance… What a Feeling”

Kicking off the run of iconic ’80s hits that nabbed an Oscar this decade is the titular jam from Flashdance. Which some may find accompanies memories of a sexual awakening spurred by visions of a very wet Jennifer Beals dancing for her life (Anyone else? Please?). Arguably the weaker of the two songs from the cult classic nominated for the prize – “Maniac” being the other – “Flashdance” nevertheless comes through with the near-orgasmic release of the chorus.