Up Where We Belong
| "Up Where We Belong" | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Single by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes | |
| from the album An Officer and a Gentleman soundtrack | |
| B-side | "Sweet Lil' Woman" (Joe Cocker) |
| Released | 1982 |
| Format | CD, Cassette |
| Recorded | 1982 |
| Genre | Ballad |
| Length | 3:58 |
| Label | Island |
| Writer(s) | Jack Nitzsche Buffy Sainte-Marie Will Jennings[1] |
"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.[1]
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[edit] Charts and awards
The single, released by Island Records in 1982,[2] became a number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 on November 6, 1982 and kept the position for three weeks, also reaching number 7 in the UK Singles Chart.[1]
"Up Where We Belong" won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1983.[1] It also won the BAFTA Film Awards for Best Original Song in 1984. Cocker and Warnes also won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1983 for their rendition of this song.
[edit] Use in the film
Richard Gere balked at shooting the ending of the film, in which Zack arrives at Paula's factory wearing his naval dress whites and carries her off the factory floor; he thought that wouldn't work because it was too sentimental. Director Taylor Hackford agreed with Gere until, during a rehearsal, the extras playing the workers began to cheer and cry. When Gere saw the scene later, with the music added ("Up Where We Belong"), he said it gave him chills. Gere is now convinced Hackford made the right decision.[3]
Producer Don Simpson unsuccessfully demanded "Up Where We Belong" be cut from An Officer and a Gentleman, saying, "The song is no good. It isn't a hit."[4]
[edit] Charts
| Chart (1982/83) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 3 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks | 2 |
| Spanish Singles Chart | 2 |
| South African Singles Chart | 1 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 3 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 3 |
| Australian Kent Music Report | 1 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 3 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 7 |
| U.K. Singles Chart | 7 |
| Austrian Top 40 | 14 |
[edit] Availability
The song was part of the An Officer and a Gentleman original soundtrack, and was later released as part of The Best of Joe Cocker (1993).
In 1991, it was re-released as a Jennifer Warnes CD-single alongside "First We Take Manhattan" and "(I've Had) The Time of My Life".[2] The song's co-composer, Buffy Sainte-Marie, did a cover of the song for her album Up Where We Belong[5] and the TV special of the same name.[6]
Cocker and Warnes' live performance of the song at the 1983 Grammy Awards was released on the 1994 album Grammy's Greatest Moments Volume III.[7]
[edit] In popular culture
The song also featured in the TV advertising campaign for Rover's 200 Series range on its launch in 1989. It is also used as a football chant for Arsenal F.C. for their defensive midfielder Alex Song, full name, Alex Dimitri Song Billong.
The song was covered by Alvin and the Chipmunks and The Chipettes in Alvin and the Chipmunks Season 3 episode 31B "The Chipmunks Go to Washington".
The song was featured in The Simpsons Season 1 episode 9 "Life on the Fast Lane".
A cover of the song was featured at the end of Gaki no Tsukai's "No-Laughing Police Station"
The song was featured in South Park's Season 9 episode "Erection Day".
The song was featured in The Cleveland Show 's Season 1 episode "Buried Pleasure".
The song was featured in Friends's Season 2 episode, "The One with the Chicken Pox".
It was also sung by Stewie Griffin in the Family Guy episode "Emission Impossible".
2Pac used the sample on his song "White Man'z World".
The song was also a part of a medley in the 2001 musical Moulin Rouge!.
The song was also performed by BeBe & CeCe Winans in 1984 on the Jim Bakker's show.[8]
The song was featured in Everybody Hates Chris Season 1 episode, "Everybody Hates Food Stamps".
An instrumental version of the song is playing over the tannoy when Michael goes to Staples to give Dwight his job back, in "The Office" Season 3 episode 13 "The Return".
[edit] See also
- List of RPM number-one singles of 1982
- List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1982 (U.S.)
- List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1980s
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 136. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ a b Jennifer Warnes, official home site
- ^ "Gere begged director not to shoot romantic scene". PR Inside. 2007-04-29. http://www.pr-inside.com/gere-begged-director-not-to-shoot-r108124.htm.
- ^ IMDB - Trivia for An Officer and a Gentleman
- ^ Buffy Sainte-Marie - Up Where We Belong
- ^ Buffy Sainte-Marie: Up Where We Belong at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ "Grammy's Greatest Moments, Volume III: Various Artists". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000002IY3/. Retrieved 2011-11-23.
- ^ BeBe & CeCe Winans - Up Where We Belong
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