Somewhere Out There (An American Tail song): Difference between revisions
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The ''[[Designing Women]]'' episode entitled "The First Day of the Last Decade of the Entire Twentieth Century" - broadcast 1 January 1990 - featured a version of "Somewhere Out There" sung by session singers; the episode's guest star [[Dolly Parton]] performed two lines of the song. |
The ''[[Designing Women]]'' episode entitled "The First Day of the Last Decade of the Entire Twentieth Century" - broadcast 1 January 1990 - featured a version of "Somewhere Out There" sung by session singers; the episode's guest star [[Dolly Parton]] performed two lines of the song. |
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"Somewhere Out There" was |
"Somewhere Out There" was performed by cast members of the NBC comedy ''[[Community (TV series)|Community]]'' during the episode "[[Environmental Science (Community)|Environmental Science]]". |
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"Somewhere Out There" had also been recorded by [[David Essex]] (''A Night at the Movies''/ 1997) and by [[Paige O'Hara]] (''Dream With Me''/ 1998). |
"Somewhere Out There" had also been recorded by [[David Essex]] (''A Night at the Movies''/ 1997) and by [[Paige O'Hara]] (''Dream With Me''/ 1998). |
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Revision as of 01:04, 1 January 2013
| "Somewhere Out There" | |
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| Song |
"Somewhere Out There" is a classic love song written by James Horner, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, that is a reminiscent but stylized adaptation using parts of the main melody of the second movement of Beethoven's Pathetique (8th) Sonata as a backdrop intermingled with a modern arrangement and incorporating new melody elements to create the modern song and not a direct copy of the Beethoven tune as has been simplistically suggested before.[1][2] Its single was released by American recording artists, pop rock icon Linda Ronstadt and R&B musician James Ingram. Originally, it appeared in the 1986 animated film An American Tail, recorded by actors Phillip Glasser and Betsy Cathcart in the role of their fictional characters as Fievel and Tanya Mousekewitz.
Background
Steven Spielberg, the producer of An American Tail, invited songwriters Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil to collaborate with James Horner on four songs for the film's soundtrack, to be completed in a four week timeframe. The composers "felt no pressure to come up with a radio-friendly hit" and were surprised when Spielberg felt "Somewhere Out There" had Top 40 hit potential and recruited world renowned recording artists, Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram, to record a pop version of the song for the film's closing credits..[3] In the main body of the film, "Somewhere Out There" was performed by Phillip Glasser and Betsy Cathcart in the characters of the anthropomorphic mice Fievel and Tanya Mousekewitz.
Produced by Ronstadt's regular producer Peter Asher, the single release of the Ronstadt/Ingram track debuted at #31 on the Adult Contemporary chart in Billboard dated 15 November 1986 crossing over to the Billboard Hot 100 dated 20 December 1986 with a #83 debut. In January 1987 "Somewhere Out There" returned Ronstadt to the Top 40 after a four year absence to eventually peak at #2 that March. The song was kept off the top spot by "Jacob's Ladder" by Huey Lewis and the News. One of the last commercially released 45 RPM singles to be certified Gold for US sales of one million units, "Somewhere Out There" was also a major UK hit (peaking at #8), marking Ronstadt's first of three appearances in the UK Top 10.
Music video
The music video for the song was directed, produced and edited by Jeffrey Abelson. It features Ronstadt and Ingram, in two separate rooms, sitting at their desks, painting animation cels of An American Tail. They both look at each out the windows, in the same manner as Fievel and Tanya in the film. Clips from the movie also appear throughout the video.
Theme
The lyrics of "Somewhere Out There" convey the love felt by two people separated by vast distances, but cheered by the belief that their love will eventually reunite them to be with each other once again. In the original theatrical production, the fictional characters singing "Somewhere Out There", Fievel and Tanya Mousekewitz, are brother and sister, and the love they share is described as general. However, in the more popular single version of the song, the love is described as more romantic.
Awards
At the 30th Grammy Awards, the song won two awards, one for Song of the Year and the other for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television. It also earned nominations for Best Original Song at the 44th Golden Globe Awards and the 59th Academy Awards, but lost both to Take My Breath Away from Top Gun. At the Academy Awards ceremony, Natalie Cole performed the song live with James Ingram.
Covers
In the 1991 sequel to An American Tail: An American Tail: Fievel Goes West a snippet of "Somewhere Out There" is sung by Cathy Cavadini in the character of Tanya Mousekewitz.
The Designing Women episode entitled "The First Day of the Last Decade of the Entire Twentieth Century" - broadcast 1 January 1990 - featured a version of "Somewhere Out There" sung by session singers; the episode's guest star Dolly Parton performed two lines of the song.
"Somewhere Out There" was performed by cast members of the NBC comedy Community during the episode "Environmental Science".
"Somewhere Out There" had also been recorded by David Essex (A Night at the Movies/ 1997) and by Paige O'Hara (Dream With Me/ 1998).
On 16 September 2011, talk show hosts and comedians Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon sang a rendition of the song to each other as a climax to their multi-episode arc of being "best friends for life" for six months.
References
- ^ "Beethoven Sonata No. 8 'Pathetique' Mov. 2 - Wilhelm Kempff" youtube.com. Retrieved: August 7, 2011.
- ^ "somewhere out there - Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram(with lyrics)" youtube.com. Retrieved: March 7, 2012.
- ^ Benarde, Scott R. (2003). Stars of David: rock'n'roll's Jewish stories. Lebanon NH: Brandeis University Press. p. 49. ISBN 1-58465-303-5.
