"Sooner or Later" is a song recorded by American pop singer Madonna and written by American composer Stephen Sondheim for the 1990 film Dick Tracy. Released that same year on Madonna's album I'm Breathless, the song won Sondheim an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1991.
The song's title as listed in the film credits, and in the official Academy Award records, includes the subtitle "(I Always Get My Man)"; however, this subtitle is not shown on I'm Breathless.
In addition to performing the song live at the 1991 Academy Awards, Madonna also performed this song in a lounge setting on her 1990 Blond Ambition Tour.
Other versions
The song had previously been performed by Frances Langford and the Carmen Dragon Orchestra in the first radio episode of Drene Shampoo's Drene Time, September 8, 1946, aka the Bickersons.
"Sooner or Later" was also sung by Erich Kunzel & the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra[1], Rebecca Kyler Downs[2] and Karen Akers.[3]
Under the Sea
"Under the Sea" is an Academy Award-winning song from Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman and is heavily influenced by the Calypso style of the Caribbean. The song was performed in the film by Samuel E. Wright.
The song is a plea by the crab Sebastian imploring Ariel to remain sea-bound, and resist her desire to become a human in order to spend her life with the prince with whom she has fallen in love. Sebastian warns of the struggles of human life while at the same time expounding the benefits of a care-free life underwater.
In 2002, the song was featured in the Square Enix action RPG, Kingdom Hearts as the background music for the Atlantica world. In 2006, the song also appeared in Kingdom Hearts II as part of a minigame where it was rearranged to have parts for Sebastian, Ariel, and Sora. For both appearances, the music was arranged by Yoko Shimomura.
In 2007, the Broadway musical version uses this as the featured production number with the role of Sebastian played by Tituss Burgess. It should be noted that because Burgess is a tenor (unlike the baritone Wright), the key of the song was raised from B-flat to D. The placing of the song is also moved to after the scene in which King Triton destroys Ariel's collection of "human stuff."
The Song is heard around Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World Resort, Disney Cruise Line, Tokyo Disneyland, Tokyo DisneySea, Hong Kong Disneyland in Hong Kong and Disneyland Resort Paris in France.
Let the River Run
"Let the River Run" is a song first featured in the film Working Girl, with music and lyrics by Carly Simon. This song won the Academy Award for Best Song at the 61st Academy Awards in 1988.
The song was also moderately successful as a single on the Billboard magazine charts in early 1989, reaching a peak position of number 49 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 11 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
(I've Had) The Time of My Life
"(I've Had) The Time of My Life" is a song composed by Franke Previte, John DeNicola, and Donald Markowitz. It was recorded by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, after having been selected to be the finale song for the 1987 film Dirty Dancing by choreographer Kenny Ortega and his assistant Miranda Garrison (who also played Vivian in the film).
Take My Breath Away
"Take My Breath Away" is the name of a love song from the film Top Gun (1986). The song was written by Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock, performed by the band Berlin. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song in 1987.
Say You, Say Me
"Say You, Say Me" is a Golden Globe and Academy Award winning song written and recorded by Lionel Richie for the film White Nights starring Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gregory Hines. The single hit number one on the soul singles chart and on the Billboard Hot 100 [1] on December 21, 1985. The track is not available on the soundtrack album to the film because Motown Records did not want Richie's first single since the Can't Slow Down album to appear on another record label. It finally appeared on the Dancing on the Ceiling album released in 1986.
The song listed at #74 on Billboard's Greatest Songs of all time.[1]
I Just Called to Say I Love You
"I Just Called to Say I Love You" is a song written, produced, and performed by Stevie Wonder. The midtempo song expresses how simply telephoning someone to tell them you love them can make even a very unremarkable day rewarding. It is one of Wonder's most simplistic and sentimental songs, and, with its quintessentially mid-1980s synthesizers and drum machines, is very different from his more organic and experimental 1970s music. For those reasons it was deprecated by critics. However, it was one of Wonder's most commercially successful singles to date. On June 27th 2009, two days after the death of Wonder's friend Michael Jackson, he was at a public event, and changed the words to the song so that it said: 'Michael knows, I'm here, and I love you'. While singing, his voice cracked several times, and at the end of the song he pointed to the sky, and quietly said 'We love you Michael'.
The song scored number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks from October 13, 1984 and also became Wonder's first solo UK number-one success, staying at the top for six weeks. It also became his tenth number-one on the R&B chart and his fourth number-one on the adult contemporary chart. In addition, the song won both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
There is a dispute between Wonder and his former writing partner Lee Garrett over authorship rights. Garrett claims to have written the song years prior to its 1984 release. [1]
Song structure
The song has two verses and a chorus, with each of the verses divided further into two half-verses. Each half-verse and the chorus have sixteen measures. The protagonist of the song reinforces the message of the song's title (and chorus) by negating all major special times of the year. The song concludes with a triple-chord, or cha-cha-cha, ending.
Flashdance... What a Feeling
"Flashdance... What a Feeling" is an Academy Award winning song from the 1983 film Flashdance which was performed by Irene Cara.
Song information
In addition to topping the Billboard Hot 100 and earning a platinum record in 1983, "Flashdance... What a Feeling" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song in 1984. Despite the title, the word "Flashdance" is never used in the lyrics. The instrumental backing tracks of the song make extensive use of synthesizers.
The song has appeared on the original soundtrack album of Flashdance, and Irene Cara's second solo album, What a Feelin'. The song also won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female in 1984. It was also nominated for Record of the Year.
A variation of the song was used as the basis of an Apple corporate video in 1984. The music was slightly different, and the lyrics were changed from "What a Feeling" to "We are Apple". [1]
There are additional lyrics in the 12-inch single version of the song. The lines "If I only could take all the love that you give, and escape to a world crystal clear" precede the lines "Well I hear the music, close my eyes, feel the rhythm". There is also a second instrumental break with a guitar solo.
The song ranks at #26 on Billboard's All Time Top 100.[1]
In the UK, the song spent one week at #2 on the chart dated July 5th, 1983, being kept off the top position by the Rod Stewart's song "Baby Jane." The song was the 25th best-selling single of 1983 in the UK.
The song was the number 3 single of the year (1983) on Billboard's year-end chart. American Top 40 ranked it as the number two song of 1983.
The song's use in the film
The soundtrack album has the version that is usually played by radio stations. The song appears twice in the film, during the opening title sequence and as the backing for Alex's audition routine in the final sequence. Both of these versions were recorded specially for the film, and have different arrangements from the album version.
Up Where We Belong
"Up Where We Belong" is a song from the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman. Written by Jack Nitzsche and Buffy Sainte-Marie, with lyrics by Will Jennings, it was performed by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes.
Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)
"Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)", is a song performed by Christopher Cross, which was the theme to the 1981 film Arthur starring Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli. It reached #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and in Norway on the VG-lista chart.