Popular Movie Songs Overlooked by the Academy Awards

When the calendar changed to a new decade in 1970 there was a changing of the guard underway in the world of films. A younger generation was taking over and audiences were responding to their celluloid messages of sex, drugs and rock n roll. The smashing success of Dennis Hopper's "Easy Rider" had opened a lot of eyes with its hippie lead characters smoking marijuana and selling drugs to make ends meet. From the opening credit shot of Hopper and Peter Fonda riding down the highway on their motorcycles to the tune of Steppenwolf's "Born to be Wild," movies and movie music were about to change forever.

Audiences were used to rock music on movie soundtracks by this time as "Blackboard Jungle" had premiered in 1955 with Bill Haley and the Comets warbling "Rock Around the Clock" over the opening credits. The times were indeed beginning to change as songs with lyrics outside of the grand musicals became more and more popular.

By the 60's James Bond fans made sure the opening song became as important an element to the film as the arch villain and the girls. "The Graduate" came to theaters in 1967 with wall-to-wall music by Simon and Garfunkle.

One thing that wasn't yet ready to change was the music branch of the Motion Picture Academy. It was evident well into the early 80's that the "old guard" still had some control which resulted in many songs that are still popular today being overlooked for Academy Award nominations in place of little known songs from little seen movies. This branch liked taking care of their own and many composers including Marvin Hamlisch, Henry Mancini, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, and the Sherman Brothers usually made the nomination list even if their songs weren't quite up to nomination standards. Back in the day if you wrote a song for a children's movie be it from Walt Disney or not, or for a romantic "the way they used to make them" movie you were almost certain to make the cut of five. If you had a popular song that played on the radio and teenagers loved it was brushed aside perhaps because the Academy believed the radio recognition was enough.