From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1966 song
"
Born Free
" is a
popular song
with music by
John Barry
and lyrics by
Don Black
.
[1]
It was written for the
1966
film of the same name
and won an
Academy Award for Best Original Song
.
[1]
Original version
[
edit
]
The song's composers, John Barry and Don Black, asked British singer
Matt Monro
, who was managed by Black at the time, to record the song for the film's soundtrack. The producers of the film considered the song uncommercial, however, and deleted it from the print shown at its Royal Command premiere in
London
. When Monro, who attended the event, made Black aware of the edit, they successfully lobbied the producers to restore it. Monro's interpretation appeared over the closing credits in a shortened version recorded especially for the film, which enabled it to qualify for the Academy Award. Monro's complete commercial recording was released on the film's soundtrack album and became the singer's signature tune for the remainder of his career.
Charted versions
[
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]
Matt Monro's version never charted. However,
Roger Williams
recorded a cover which was noted for its use of a male chorus, heard in the second half of the song after the instrumental section. The song reached number seven on the
Billboard
Hot 100
and number one on the
Adult contemporary
chart for six non-consecutive weeks in September/October 1966
[2]
The R&B group
the Hesitations
recorded a cover that peaked at #38 on the US
Billboard
Hot 100
in 1968.
[3]
"Born Free" also appeared on the
Vic Reeves
album
I Will Cure You
. Released as a single, this version peaked at #6 in the
UK Singles Chart
in 1991.
[1]
Other versions
[
edit
]
Hans Zimmer
recorded an instrumental version of the song for the 2005
DreamWorks Animation
film
Madagascar
and
its sequels
.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
Roberts, David (2006).
British Hit Singles & Albums
(19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 135.
ISBN
1-904994-10-5
.
- ^
Whitburn, Joel
(2002).
Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001
. Record Research. p. 259.
- ^
Whitburn, Joel
(2009).
Top Pop Singles, 12th Edition
. Record Research.
External links
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]
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