As 2022 draws to a close, year-end lists abound. Here’s a personally customized one that’s a little more determinedly retro. My all-time favorite original movie songs. These are tunes first introduced to the public in movies. No titles already familiar from stage musicals transposed to the screen (“West Side Story”, “The Sound of Music”, etc). No jukebox musicals or composer tributes full of songs that had already achieved some degree of fame or familiarity on the airwaves. Just songs that actually made their official debuts in movies.
As indicated, this is a completely personal list. I know “Over the Rainbow” “The Way You Look Tonight” and so many more are great songs. But they don’t speak to me on quite as direct or personal a level as the ones I’ve cited.
After the golden age of the movie musical petered out in the mid 50’s, my movie song favorites came largely courtesy of James Bond and Burt Bacharach. The newest entry on my list is from 1979. Still, even if the favoured musical styles onscreen no longer reflect my more Tin Pan Alley bred tastes, there’ve been lots of terrific movie songs in the years since. Songs I’ve liked a lot. Just none with quite enough me appeal to crack my own Top 40.
I could have easily swelled the list had I included songs from the German movie musicals of the 30’s and 40’s. Or from the Bollywood scores (40’s to the present) that I’ve loved for decades. But these received next to no exposure among mainstream North American audiences. So I’ll restrict myself to songs that reached the general public hereabouts – and did it first from movie screens.
40 FAVORITE ORIGINAL MOVIE SONGS (listed chronologically)
ISN’T IT ROMANTIC? (Richard Rodgers-Lorenz Hart)
from “Love Me Tonight” 1932
WHEN I GROW TOO OLD TO DREAM (Sigmund Romberg-Oscar Hammerstein II)
from “The Night is Young” 1935
ISN’T THIS A LOVELY DAY {TO BE CAUGHT IN THE RAIN?} (Irving Berlin)
from “Top Hat” 1935
LET’S FACE THE MUSIC AND DANCE (Irving Berlin)
from “Follow the Fleet” 1936
YOU TURNED THE TABLES ON ME (Louis Alter-Sidney D. Mitchell)
from “Sing Baby Sing” 1936
SHALL WE DANCE (George Gershwin-Ira Gershwin)
from “Shall We Dance” 1937
I'll TAKE ROMANCE (Ben Oakland-Oscar Hammerstein II)
from "I'll Take Romance" 1937
THERE’S A LULL IN MY LIFE (Harry Revel-Mack Gordon)
from “Wake Up and Live” 1937
THAT OLD FEELING (Sammy Fain-Lew Brown)
from “Vogues of 1938” 1937
LOVE WALKED IN (George Gershwin-Ira Gershwin)
from “Goldwyn Follies” 1938
WHILE MY LADY SLEEPS (Bronislau Kaper-Gus Kahn )
from “The Chocolate Soldier” 1941
AT LAST (Harry Warren-Mack Gordon)
from “Orchestra Wives” 1942
THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER YOU (Harry Warren-Mack Gordon)
from “Iceland” 1942
I’LL REMEMBER APRIL (Gene de Paul-Patricia Johnston-Don Raye)
from “Ride ‘em Cowboy” 1942
RIDING FOR A FALL (Arthur Schwartz-Frank Loesser)
from “Thank Your Lucky Stars 1943
CAN’T HELP SINGING (Jerome Kern-E.Y. Harburg)
from “Can’t Help Singing” 1944
SPRING WILL BE A LITTLE LATE THIS YEAR (Frank Loesser)
from “Christmas Holiday” 1944
IT’S A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING (Richard Rodgers-Oscar Hammerstein II)
from “State Fair” 1945
UP WITH THE LARK (Jerome Kern-Leo Robin)
from “Centennial Summer” 1946
IT’S A MOST UNUSUAL DAY (Jimmy McHugh-Harold Adamson)
from “A Date with Judy”` 1948
PARIS (Nicolas Brodszky-Sammy Cahn)
from “Rich, Young and Pretty” 1951
ANYWHERE I WANDER (Frank Loesser)
from “Hans Christian Andersen” 1952
INCHWORM (Frank Loesser)
from “Hans Christian Andersen” 1952
WONDERFUL COPENHAGEN (Frank Loesser)
from “Hans Christian Andersen” 1952
THE BLACK HILLS OF DAKOTA (Sammy Fain-Paul Francis Webster)
from “Calamity Jane” 1953
THE DEADWOOD STAGE (Sammy Fain-Paul Francis Webster)
from “Calamity Jane” 1953
THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT (Arthur Schwartz-Howard Dietz)
From “The Band Wagon” 1953
HAJJI BABA (Dimitri Tiomkin-Ned Washington)
from “The Adventures of Hajji Baba” 1954
LOVE CAN CHANGE THE STARS (Hugh Martin-Ralph Blane)
from “Athena” 1954
THE MAN THAT GOT AWAY (Harold Arlen-Ira Gershwin)
from “A Star is Born” 1954
RIVER OF NO RETURN (Lionel Newman-Ken Darby)
from “River of No Return” 1954
WONDERFUL WONDERFUL DAY (Gene de Paul-Johnny Mercer)
from "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" 1954
SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE (Johnny Mercer)
from “Daddy Long Legs” 1955
MOVE OVER DARLING (Joe Lubin-Hal Kanter-Terry Melcher)
from “Move Over Darling” 1963
THE LOOK OF LOVE (Burt Bacharach-Hal David)
from “Casino Royale” 1967
YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (John Barry-Leslie Bricusse)
from “You Only Live Twice” 1967
WE HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD (John Barry-Hal David)
from “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” 1969
SOMETHING BIG (Burt Bacharach-Hal David)
from “Something Big” 1971
NOBODY DOES IT BETTER (Marvin Hamlisch-Carole Bayer Sager)
from “The Spy Who Loved Me” 1977
IT GOES LIKE IT GOES (David Shire-Norman Gimbel)
from “Norma Rae” 1979
