by Chris Feil
Happy 75th Birthday to Randy Newman!
Newman has had an extensive musical career, but in these parts we remember the musician as once one of the most Oscar nominated folks without a win - previously missing out on 14 bids in both Original Song and Original Score before finally winning for 2001's Monsters Inc. track "If I Didn't Have You". To date, he now has a total twenty nominations and two wins, and isn't slowing down anytime soon. Just last year he delivered some massively underrated work for The Meyerowitz Stories and will be returning to the Toy Story franchise for next year's fourth instalment.
Newman's impact on the movies is one of uplift and charm, and a current mainstay in the Mouse House. But Oscar history is the name of this week's Soundtracking game, so let's rank his Best Original Song nominations...
12. "Our Town" from Cars
The Cars franchise remains a "worst" golden rule for all involved, and Newman is no exception.Though it moves with trademark Randy Newman melancholy, its narrative overreach is kind of a drag.
11. "One More Hour" from Ragtime
You can't blame this one for time overshadowing it with the Broadway musical from the same source material. Or that it was sung by the same singer as a more noteworthy winning song, Norma Rae's "It Goes Like It Goes"' Jennifer Warnes. But he would provide more distinct tracks after this, his first song nomination, so we'll not linger.
10. "A Fool in Love" from Meet the Parents
An opening credits track that preps us for the goofy, classic farce ahead, this one is an odder nomination and one even Oscar hounds are likely to forget happened. But it does display the amiability of Newman's sound that so many filmmakers return to to sell their mainstream
9. "That'll Do" from Babe: Pig in the City
This one hews close to the Babe lore, like if Newman was adapting a familiar fairy tale into song. The blend of Randy Newman goodwill and Peter Gabriel silky uplift is like musical bacon and I am kind of into it.
8. "Make Up Your Mind" from The Paper
If "One More Hour" is like a Randy Newman song on downers, then this is on every upper in the cabinet. The Paper is such a hodgepodge that the song sells it as fun. Go off, Ran'!
7. "If I Didn't Have You" from Monsters Inc.
The song that would finally get Newman his Oscar is a sweet ditty in the spirit of the film's whimsy, and borrows largely from the feeling (and our memories) of his other odes to friendship - but we'll get to that. And against his competition, it was hard to argue about finally honoring the legend for this quintessential sweetness.
6. "We Belong Together" from Toy Story 3
Newman would get his second Oscar for the big band big feeling of this song, one that embodies the franchise's optimism and again puts the musician's signature sound center stage. This win may not be as remembered as his first win, but it's even better.
5. "Down in New Orleans" from The Princess and the Frog
The Princess and the Frog remains one of Disney's underrated treasures and Newman's work alongside that distinction. "Down in New Orleans" plays largely as tonal establishment in the film, and that's about it. But it's charming and expansive no matter how unimposing.
4. "When She Loved Me" from Toy Story 2
This one leans hard into the melancholy of the series, but also is Newman's most narratively specific songwriting nomination in the pack, the kind of story specific piece the music branch wishes for. But, I mean, *sniffle* why do you gotta make us feel so guilty, Randy?
3. "Almost There" from The Princess and the Frog
Speaking of how underrated the film and its music is, this song is such a showstopper, Newman's stylings finding an unexpectedly harmonious fit with Anika Noni Rose. We love when Newman gives us a production and this is the one.
2. "I Love to See You Smile" from Parenthood
One of the underappreciated aspects of original movie music is genuine cultural relevance. Even as an adult contemporary standard, this one has one of Newman's largest pop relevances. How many folks forget that this is even originally from a movie?
1. "You've Got a Friend in Me" from Toy Story
A true no-brainer pick, but Oscar instead opted for the (also genius) "Colors of the Wind" from Pocahontas. Disney vs. Disney here must have put the winner at an advantage being closer to an outright musical, but Newman's contriubtion here has arguably cemented itself deeper in movie history and our cinematic lexicon. Its opening bars are some of the most recognizable in the movies, elicitly a vocal appreciative sigh from any crowd. The song is also one of the most definitive elements of one of our most beloved franchises, gilded with a sentiment we also love outside of the narrative. It's the one that we'll remember him by.
All Soundtracking installments can be found here!