A good song has the potential to make or break a movie. Some songs can salvage bad films and make good films even better. Then there are certain songs that are so memorable it's impossible to get them out of your head and out of your heart. The following is our list of The Best Ten Movie Songs of All Time. Many of these have won Academy Awards and some have won Grammy's, but we are sure that inclusion on our list will be their greatest accomplishment yet.
"Over the Rainbow" - Wizard of Oz (1939): Few movie songs of the past or present can reach "Over the Rainbow." Written by E.Y. Harburg and Harold Arlen, and performed by Judy Garland, this song caught us up in hopes and ideals, and made us forget all about the Wicked Witch of the West. A song that allowed Garland to hook her ladder to a star, "Over the Rainbow" is, plainly put, the mother of all movie songs, or at least the Auntie Em.
"When You Wish Upon A Star" - Pinocchio (1940): Is it just me, or is Jiminy Cricket so cute when he sings that you want to throw away every bottle of insect spray sitting under your kitchen sink. "When you wish Upon a Star" not only won an Academy Award - thanks to the talents of Ned Washington, Leigh Harline, and Cliff Edwards - but it has also become Disney's anthem over the past seven decades.
"High Hopes" - A Hole in the Head (1959): So apparently, Frank Sinatra can sing. Bellowing out the tune written by Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn, Sinatra found himself with "High Hopes"...high in the sky apple pie hopes. A song that was a hit, it turns out his hopes were high for a reason.
"Moon River" - Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961): A song that helped make Breakfast at Tiffany's one of the most memorable films of all time, "Moon River" was written by Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini. Legend states that an executive wanted to remove the song from the movie, but Audrey Hepburn fought to keep it in. Had the executive proven victorious, he might have just been up a moon river without a paddle. It is one of only a handful of songs to have received both an Academy Award for Best Song (in 1961) and a Grammy Award for Song of the Year (in 1962).
"Edelweiss"- The Sound of Music (1965): Written by a duo who just might have known a thing or two about music (Rodgers and Hammerstein), "Edelweiss" was The Sound of Music song that took a backseat to more popular tunes, such as "Do-Re-Mi" and "My Favorite Things." Nonetheless, the performance of the song, its metaphoric qualities, and the fact that it was the last Oscar Hammerstein II ever wrote, is one of the most memorable moments of the entire film.
"New York, New York" - New York, New York (1977): The song that made us all want to be a part of it, "New York New York" was first performed in its title movie by Liza Minelli. However, Frank Sinatra was the one who really made the tune famous, seemingly adopting it as one of his theme songs. Despite this, our favorite rendition of "New York, New York" is showcased in Gremlins 2, when it's passionately sung by a group of the mischievous little creatures.
"What A Feeling" - Flashdance (1983): A song and a movie that made us all want to get up and boogie, "What a Feeling" was a tune that many of us probably found ourselves working out to in the mid-eighties. Written by Giorgio Moroder, Keith Forsey and Irene Cara, who also provided vocals, "What a Feeling" helped Flashdance do for torn sweatshirts what Bill Clinton's administration did for Gap Dresses.
"Let The River Run" - Working Girl (1988): Working Girl is a movie about the little guy (in this case the little guy is Melanie Griffith) who finishes first. A movie that makes us wish a mean and deceiving Sigourney Weaver would have gotten eaten by aliens, one of the most memorable things about Working Girl is Carly Simon's rendition of "Let the River Run." It's inspiring, it's enlightening, and it's worthy of winning an Oscar.
"Under The Sea" - The Little Mermaid (1989): A song performed by Samuel Wright and written by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, "Under the Sea" is one of the best songs to ever come out of the movies hands, er....fins, down. It's fun, it's clever, it's detailed, and it makes us second guess ourselves whenever we go to Red Lobster.
"Seasons of Love" - Rent (2005): Okay, so it's not completely crazy that a Broadway musical turned movie would have a few good tunes. Rent, housing Jonathan Larsen's memorable songs, didn't disappoint. But, one song stood out from the rest: "Seasons of Love." We like it so much that we'd listen to it 525,600 times.
