‘Rainbow’ voted No. 1 movie song
“Over the Rainbow,†Kansas farm girl Dorothy Gale’s wistful ballad in “The Wizard of Oz,†led the American Film Institute’s list of 100 best movie songs Tuesday, followed by “As Time Goes By†from “Casablanca†at No. 2 and the title tune from “Singin’ in the Rain†at No. 3.
“Over the Rainbow,†sung by Judy Garland in the 1939 musical fantasy, was picked as the top song in U.S. cinema in voting by about 1,500 actors, filmmakers, writers, critics and others in Hollywood.
“That deserves it. It’s one of the great, great songs. Judy Garland, the emotion in that song. It gives me chills whenever I hear it,†said Burt Bacharach, who was represented on the list for co-writing “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head†(No. 23) from “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid†and “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)†(No. 79) from “Arthur.â€
The rest of the AFI top 10, in order from fourth to 10th: “Moon River†from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,†“White Christmas†from “Holiday Inn,†“Mrs. Robinson†from “The Graduate,†“When You Wish Upon a Star†from “Pinocchio,†“The Way We Were†from “The Way We Were,†“Stayin’ Alive†from “Saturday Night Fever,†and “The Sound of Music†from “The Sound of Music.â€
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