Fame (Irene Cara song)

"Fame"
Single by Irene Cara
from the album Fame soundtrack
Released June 1980 (US)
May 1982 (UK)
Format CD single, 7" single
Recorded 1980
Genre Pop
Length 5:14
Label RSO
Writer(s) Michael Gore, Dean Pitchford[1]
Producer(s) Michael Gore
Irene Cara singles chronology
"Making Love with Me"
(1979)		 "Fame"
(1980)		 "I love you"

"Fame" is a pop song, written by Michael Gore (music) and Dean Pitchford (lyrics) that was released in 1980, and achieved chart success as the theme song to the Fame film and TV series.[1] The song was performed by Irene Cara, who played the role of Coco Hernandez in the original movie. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1980,[1] and the Golden Globe Award for the same. In 2004 it finished at #51 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema.

The song was later used as the theme song for the Fame television series, which aired from 1982 to 1987. It was also used in other TV shows related to Fame.

"Fame" rose to number four on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1980. It also reached number one on the Billboard dance chart for one week. The song was rereleased in the United Kingdom in 1982 following the airing of the Fame television series. It hit number one in the UK Singles Chart for three weeks.[1] It has sold 1.05 million copies in the UK as of June 2013.[2] The song also reached number one in Flanders, Ireland, the Netherlands and New Zealand, and number three in Sweden.[3][4]

Chart performance

Weekly singles charts

Chart (1980–82) Peak
position
Canada ('RPM')[5] 42
France (SNEP)[6] 2
Ireland (IRMA) 1
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[7] 1
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[8] 1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[9] 3
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[10] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[11] 4
US Cash Box Top 100[12] 5

Year-end charts

Chart (1980-82) Rank
UK [13] 2
US Billboard Hot 100 [14] 66
US Cash Box [15] 40

In popular culture

Alvin and the Chipmunks covered the song for their 1982 album The Chipmunks Go Hollywood. British group Girls Aloud covered the song in their Chemistry Tour. Singer-songwriter Mree covered the song, which appeared on an episode of Grey's Anatomy.

See also

References

Preceded by
"Happy Talk" by Captain Sensible		 UK number-one single
17 July 1982
(for three weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Come On Eileen" by Dexys Midnight Runners