Hundreds of songs have received Golden Globe nominations for best original song since the award was introduced at the 19th Golden Globe ceremony in March 1962. But just 10 of them have topped the Billboard Hot 100 for six or more weeks.
Two of them – Blondie’s “Call Me” from American Gigolo and Irene Cara’s “Flashdance…What a Feeling” from Flashdance – were co-written by Giorgio Moroder. “Flashdance” went on to win the Oscar for best original song, as did the Debby Boone smash “You Light Up My Life,” but the eight other Globe winners which topped the Hot 100 for six or more weeks did not, surprisingly.
The first Globe nominee for best original song to top the Hot 100 was “Strangers in the Night” from the 1966 James Garner film A Man Could Get Killed. The song appears in the film only as an instrumental titled “Beddy Bye.” Frank Sinatra’s producer, Jimmy Bowen, indicated that the singer might record the song if lyrics were added and the title was changed. Charles Singleton and Eddie Snyder wrote lyrics to accompany the melody by German composer Bert Kaempfert. Sinatra’s recording of “Strangers in the Night” reached No. 1 in July 1966.
The second Globe nominee for best original song to top the Hot 100 – and the first that was featured in the film with both music and lyrics – was “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” from the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. B.J. Thomas’ recording of the Burt Bacharach/Hal David song spent the first four weeks of January 1970 at No. 1.
Here’s a complete list of the 10 Golden Globe nominees for best original song that have logged six or more weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100. The year shown is the year of the Globes ceremony.
The Golden Globes are produced by Dick Clark Productions, which is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Eldridge Industries and Billboard parent company Penske Media.
