Professor of Rock

Alright, in the past we’ve tried our hand at soundtrack hits, movie scores, television themes, and even cartoon theme songs. But on this episode of POR, we’re trying something new and diving into the world of animated movie songs… tracks that were sung by popular artists and rockstars from the mid-80s to the present. And get ready for some nostalgia… Along the way, you’ll hear the story of Phil Collins, who has been accused of being too vanilla… and when his music beat out the South Park creators for an Oscar, they were so furious that they lampooned him and the song on South Park for a little payback. Plus, we’ve got a song from one of Pixar’s biggest movies Toy Story 2… and the movie almost went direct to home video, but the studio changed their mind when the completed film and it’s backup copy were accidentally erased from Pixar’s servers. Plus the cheeseball balladeer Michael Bolton that was tapped to sing a song for a Disney movie. He was so excited to have the opportunity he went into the studio and blew everyone away. And even I have to admit, though I can’t stand this guy’s music, I have to give him props. He slayed it. Let’s do it. Phil Collins - Strangers Like Me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkbjpZMFYCk&list=RDNkbjpZMFYCk&start_radio=1 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Executive Producer Brandon Fugal Honorary Producers Holly Hammet, Remnarc, Kevin riley, Paul Moore II, CharleyAnne ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to the Professor of Rock Podcast Apple: https://apple.co/445fVov Spotify: https://spoti.fi/42JpfvU Amazon: https://amzn.to/44b5D6m iHeartRadio: https://bit.ly/444h8MO ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Patreon: http://bit.ly/ProfessorofRockVIPFan Merch Store: https://professor-of-rock-lsn-shop.fourthwall.com/ Instagram: https://bit.ly/Instagram_Professor_of_Rock #classicrock #80smusic #vinylstory #onehitwonder Hey Music Junkies Okay, let’s get this thing going. We’re counting down the greatest animated movies songs by Iconic Singers or bands… Starting off the countdown in the #8 position, it’s a track from an 80s Don Bluth classic An American Tail. And if you grew up in the 80s, you already know the song… Somewhere Out There, performed by Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram. Before they ever stepped into a studio together, Linda and James were already giants in their own right. Throughout the 70s and early 80s, Ronstadt had earned the title "Queen of pop rock," racking up multiple Grammys and crossing effortlessly between country-rock and traditional pop. Ingram, meanwhile, had risen to the top of R&B and pop under the mentorship of Quincy Jones, known for his rich, soulful voice and a string of chart-topping hits. By 1986, both artists were exactly the kind of vocal heavyweights capable of turning a quiet animated lullaby into a full-blown pop hit. That lullaby started life under brutal time pressure. While working on the score for An American Tail, composer James Horner was given an almost impossible deadline. Steven Spielberg and the production team gave Horner and songwriting duo Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil just 4 weeks to write and record every major piece of music for the entire film. Working nonstop under that crunch, Horner wove the melody of "Somewhere Out There" directly into the film's orchestral score, making it the emotional backbone that ties the whole story together. Even with all that work going into it, Mann and Weil weren't convinced the song would actually connect with audiences. Animated films were struggling commercially in the mid-'80s, and they doubted mainstream moviegoers would turn out for a serious, emotionally heavy story about a Jewish immigrant mouse. Weil later described their overall approach to songwriting, saying a good song works like a small story, with a beginning, middle, and end. It lets listeners really feel what the singer is feeling. Spielberg didn't share their doubts. He was convinced the melody had real crossover potential and pushed for a separate, radio-ready version to play over the end credits… one built for pop radio. That's where Ronstadt and Ingram came in, brought on specifically to record that standalone single version. Spielberg's instincts were dead on. The Ronstadt and Ingram duet climbed to #2 on the Hot 100 and spent 7 weeks at #1 on the AC chart. It won 2 Grammys, including Song of the Year. The success of "Somewhere Out There" proved something the industry hadn't really seen before: an animated film could produce a pop hit capable of competing with everything else on radio. An American Tail itself became the highest-grossing non-Disney animated film of its time, helping bolster Don Bluth's reputation and kickstarting Amblin's