Best Original Song Winners

Best Original Song

Every year the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences who are also composers or songwriters vote to choose the nominees of the Academy Award for Best Original Song. The entire Academy later votes on the winner. Some of these winners have been long-forgotten while others have gone on to become musical standards and classics. Some of the memorable winners include White Christmas, Over the Rainbow, Moon River, and I Just Called to Say I Love You. More recently winners have included Skyfall, Lose Yourself, and My Heart Will Go On.

1934 – “The Continental” – The Gay Divorcee

1935 – “Lullaby of Broadway” – Gold Diggers of 1935

1936 – “The Way You Look Tonight” – Swing Time

1937 – “Sweet Leilani” – Waikiki Wedding

1938 – “Thanks for the Memory” – The Big Broadcast of 1938

1939 – “Over the Rainbow” – The Wizard of Oz

1940 – “When You Wish Upon a Star” – Pinocchio

1941 – “The Last Time I Saw Paris” – Lady Be Good

1942 – “White Christmas” – Holiday Inn

1943 – “You’ll Never Know” – Hello, Frisco, Hello

1944 – “Swinging on a Star” – Going My Way

1945 – “It Might as Well Be Spring” – State Fair

1946 – “On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe” – The Harvey Girls

1947 – “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” – Song of the South

1948 – “Buttons and Bows” – The Paleface

1949 – “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” – Neptune’s Daughter

1950 – “Mona Lisa” – Captain Carey, U.S.A.

1951 – “In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening” – Here Comes the Groom

1952 – “High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin’)” – High Noon

1953 – “Secret Love” – Calamity Jane

1954 – “Three Coins in the Fountain” – Three Coins in the Fountain

1955 – “Love is a Many Splendored Thing” – Love is a Many Splendored Thing

1956 – “Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Qué Será, Será)” – The Man Who Knew Too Much

1957 – “All the Way” – The Joker is Wild

1958 – “Gigi” – Gigi

1959 – “High Hopes” – A Hole in the Head

1960 – “Never on Sunday” – Never on Sunday

1961 – “Moon River” – Breakfast at Tiffany’s

1962 – “Days of Wine and Roses” – Days of Wine and Roses

1963 – “Call Me Irresponsible” – Papa’s Delicate Condition

1964 – “Chim Chim Cher-ee” – Mary Poppins

1965 – “The Shadow of Your Smile” – The Sandpiper

1966 – “Born Free” – Born Free

1967 – “Talk to the Animals” – Doctor Dolittle

1968 – “The Windmills of Your Mind” – The Thomas Crown Affair

1969 – “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” – Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

1970 – “For All We Know” – Lovers and Other Strangers

1971 – “Theme from Shaft” – Shaft

1972 – “The Morning After” – The Poseidon Adventure

1973 – “The Way We Were” – The Way We Were

1974 – “We May Never Love Like This Again” – The Towering Inferno

1975 – “I’m Easy” – Nashville

1976 – “Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star is Born” – A Star is Born

1977 – “You Light Up My Life” – You Light Up My Life

1978 – “Last Dance” – Thank God It’s Friday

1979 – “It Goes Like It Goes” – Norma Rae

1980 – “Fame” – Fame

1981 – “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)” – Arthur

1982 – “Up Where We Belong” – An Officer and a Gentleman

1983 – “Flashdance… What a Feeling” – Flashdance

1984 – “I Just Called to Say I Love You” – The Lady in Red

1985 – “Say You, Say Me” – White Nights

1986 – “Take My Breath Away” – Top Gun

1987 – “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” – Dirty Dancing

1988 – “Let the River Run” – Working Girl

1989 – “Under the Sea” – The Little Mermaid

1990 – “Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man)” – Dick Tracy

1991 – “Beauty and the Beast” – Beauty and the Beast

1992 – “A Whole New World” – Aladdin

1993 – “Streets of Philadelphia” – Philadelphia

1994 – “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” – The Lion King

1995 – “Colors of the Wind” – Pocahontas

1996 – “You Must Love Me” – Evita

1997 – “My Heart Will Go On” – Titanic

1998 – “When You Believe” – The Prince of Egypt

1999 – “You’ll Be In My Heart” – Tarzan

2000 – “Things Have Changed” – Wonder Boys

2001 – “If I Didn’t Have You” – Monsters, Inc.

2002 – “Lose Yourself” – 8 Mile

2003 – “Into the West” – The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

2004 – “Al otro lado del río” – The Motorcycle Diaries

2005 – “It’s Hard out Here for a Pimp” – Hustle & Flow

2006 – “I Need to Wake Up” – An Inconvenient Truth

2007 – “Falling Slowly” – Once

2008 – “Jai Ho” – Slumdog Millionaire

2009 – “The Weary Kind” – Crazy Heart

2010 – “We Belong Together” – Toy Story 3

2011 – “Man or Muppet” – The Muppets

2012 – “Skyfall” – Skyfall

2013 – “Let It Go” – Frozen

2014 – “Glory” – Selma

2015 – “Writing’s On The Wall” – Spectre

2016 – “City of Stars” – La La Land