The Songs that Oscar Liked Trivia Quiz

Answer: "9 to 5"

Dolly Parton's original composition, from the 1980 film of the same title, may have been equally deserving, but at least the award that year went to another uptempo song, the theme from "Fame". "Fame" was a big hit for the film's co-star, Irene Cara, but she hit even bigger three years later with "Flashdance", and took home an Oscar at age 25 for co-writing that song.

The disco anthem, "Last Dance", by the way, beat out "Hopelessly Devoted to You" from "Grease" in 1978. It was from a movie called "Thank God It's Friday."

Answer: "It Goes Like It Goes" (Norma Rae)

You could almost hear the audience gasping in disbelief when this song, from "Norma Rae", was announced. Does ANYONE but the movie's biggest fans (or Jennifer Warnes fans) even remember it? Paul Williams and Kenny Ascher wrote "The Rainbow Connection." Two years later, a song from "The Great Muppet Caper" would also lose, but at least this time to a more memorable song, "Endless Love".

Answer: Carly Simon

Simon won for "Let the River Run", featured in 1988's "Working Girl". For that year, there were only two other songs deemed worthy of a nomination: "Calling You" from "Bagdad Cafe" (EXCELLENTLY used in that film), and Phil Collins' "Two Hearts" from the movie he starred in, "Buster".

After Simon, fifteen years would go by before another woman--Annie Lennox--would win the award. (Though several female composers have won in the musical score categories.) Some observers felt Simon should have won for her outstanding "Coming Around Again" from the movie "Heartburn".

This made up for it.

Answer: "That'll Do" (Babe: Pig in the City)

Randy Newman's sweet song from 1998's "Babe: Pig in the City" scandalously lost to "When You Believe", the overblown power ballad sung by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey from Dreamworks' "The Prince of Egypt". Newman would later win a long overdue Oscar for a less memorable tune, "If I Didn't Have You" from Pixar's "Monsters, Inc." What would have been Randy's biggest competition that year, "Come What May" (from "Moulin Rouge!"), was not nominated, and most critics felt the winner that year should have been Enya's "May It Be" from "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring." Randy clearly learned the advantage of putting a song in a Disney animated movie.

Answer: Beethoven's 2nd

The song was written by Carole Bayer Sager, Cliff Magness, and James Ingram. It was performed on the Oscar telecast by Ingram and Dolly Parton. When the song was over, four Saint Bernard puppies (the stars of the film) appeared on the stage in "formal wear"--bows on their collars! In the movie, Beethoven's "love" gets dog-napped by Debi Mazar. Bruce Springsteen's "Streets of Philadelphia" won the award that year.

Answer: False

"White Christmas" did win an Oscar, but it was for the movie "Holiday Inn". The "White Christmas" movie follow-up came about as a result of the immensely popular song. It's the second best selling single of all time, after Elton John's "Something in the Way You Look Tonight" ("Candle in the Wind '97" was on the other side.) However, some people have a hard time watching Bing Crosby movies or listening to the song, knowing what we now know of his style of parenting. (Two of his sons committed suicide, although one was well into adulthood at the time.)

Answer: "Bless the Beasts and Children"

The movie was about a group of misfit boys who leave summer camp and attempt to set free a herd of bison in danger of being hunted for sport. Along the way, there are flashbacks which give insight into the boys' family backgrounds. Billy Mumy of "Lost in Space" fame was in this. Karen Carpenter's vocals enhance the tender tone of the film.

The song lost the Academy Award to the theme from "Shaft".

Answer: none of these

Hard to believe, but they were all passed over. "Moulin Rouge!" only had one original song, "Come What May", unjustly not nominated. Bjork's deserving "Dancer in the Dark" song ("I've Seen it All") lost to Bob Dylan's "Wonder Boys" song. He probably won more his body of work. (Bjork, who also composed the film's score and gave a great performance in it, should have won something just for performing on Oscar night in her infamous swan dress!) The music for "Chicago" was all written for the stage show, except for one song, "I Move On". Poor Barbra Streisand was probably expecting to announce that song as the winner, but when she opened the envelope, there was "Lose Yourself" from Eminem's "8 Mile". To make matters worse, the award was accepted by co-writer Luis Resto, wearing a baggy jacket over a basketball jersey. To be fair, the song was immensely popular, topping the pop charts for twelve weeks, but chart success had never influenced the Academy before, and this seemed a strange place to start. (Actually, they went with the popular choice one other time, for 1977, with "You Light Up My Life". "New York, New York", from the film of the same title, wasn't even nominated!)

Answer: Thoroughly Modern Millie

"Thoroughly Modern Millie" was nominated for an 1967 Oscar, but the winner for that year was "Talk to the Animals" by Leslie Bricusse (from "Doctor Dolittle"), the second consecutive song from an animal-themed movie to win, after "Born Free". "Born Free" was written for the movie, and based on the book about Elsa the lion. Joy Adamson, who wrote the book, raised Elsa from a cub, and helped her return to the wild. Sadly, Joy was murdered in 1980, either by poachers or a disgruntled former employee. "Born Free" (the song) is now being used in a commercial for Ragu pasta sauce. Maybe that will make people want to see the movie.

Answer: They all hit #1 on the pop charts.

This was the first time this had happened in the Academy's history, or at least since the Billboard charts began in the 1950s. Stevie Wonder's "I Just Called To Say I Love You" won, for "The Woman in Red". Years later, the song would be the butt of a joke in the John Cusack movie, "High Fidelity". Jack Black's character hates it.

Answer: Shirley Valentine

The title of the song sums up the theme of the 1989 movie. Actor Pauline Collins was also nominated for reprising her Tony-winning stage role as Shirley in this bittersweet comedy, about a woman who grew up as a rebel yet wound up as a typical wife and mother, longing to reignite her zest for life. (Joanna Lumley, of "Ab Fab" fame, also has a scene in it.) Patti Austin sang the song in the opening of the film, and during the ceremony. That year, the award went to "Under the Sea" from "The Little Mermaid".

Answer: True

It was a 1955 film starring William Holden and Jennifer Jones. They play a U.S. war correspondent and a Eurasian doctor (played by Jones, who is neither Asian nor European). They fall in love against the wishes of their families. The song won the Oscar that year. It can also be heard on the "Grease" soundtrack, playing as Danny and Sandy cavort on the beach in the film's opening.

Answer: Keith Carradine

Carradine appeared in Robert Altman's 1975 film, "Nashville", a behind-the-scenes look at the Country Music scene. He won the award for his song, "I'm Easy". Karen Black and Ronee Blakely also appeared in the film and wrote their own songs. Beverly D'Angelo is not as well known for her singing, but she is a talented songwriter who sang her own hilarious compositions as Lurleen Lumpkin on "The Simpsons" ("Bagged Me a Homer" and "Your Wife Don't Understand You (But I Do)").

Answer: The Sandpiper

"The Shadow of Your Smile", written by Johnny Mandel and Paul Francis Webster (also the lyricist for "Love is a Many Splendored Thing"), beat out "What's New Pussycat?" for Best Original Song of 1965. "The Sandpiper" was about a married, conservative minister who clashes with, then falls for, a liberal single mother and artist.

It was hardly a tour-de-force, like "Virginia Woolf", but it did have a nice song and some lush scenery. Considering some of Burton and Taylor's other flops together, this one is okay.

Answer: The Man Who Knew Too Much

Believe it or not, "Que Sera Sera", Doris Day's signature tune, was introduced in this Hitchcock film, although it's not sung in the film the way she later recorded it. In the film, her character sings it as loud and as desperately as she can, in the hope that her missing son will hear it. Thanks for playing!