Somewhere Out There (James Horner song)

"Somewhere Out There"
Single by Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram
from the album An American Tail: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack
Released 1986
Genre Pop
Length 3:54
Label MCA Records
Songwriter(s) James Horner
Barry Mann
Cynthia Weil
Producer(s) Peter Asher
Steve Tyrell

"Somewhere Out There" is a 1986 song released by MCA Records and recorded by American singers Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram for the soundtrack of the 1986 animated film An American Tail, directed by Don Bluth. It was written by James Horner, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil with production done by Peter Asher and Steve Tyrell serving as the associate producer.

Background

Steven Spielberg, the producer of An American Tail, invited songwriters Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil to collaborate with James Horner on four songs for the film's soundtrack, to be completed in a four-week timeframe. The composers "felt no pressure to come up with a radio-friendly hit" and were surprised when Spielberg felt "Somewhere Out There" had Top 40 hit potential and recruited world-renowned recording artists, Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram, to record a pop version of the song for the film's closing credits.[1] In the main body of the film, "Somewhere Out There" was performed by Phillip Glasser and Betsy Cathcart in the characters of the anthropomorphic mice Fievel and Tanya Mousekewitz.

Produced by Ronstadt's regular producer Peter Asher, the single release of the Ronstadt/Ingram track made its debut at number 31 on the Adult Contemporary chart in Billboard dated 15 November 1986, crossing over to the Billboard Hot 100 dated 20 December 1986 with a number 83 debut. In January 1987 "Somewhere Out There" returned Ronstadt to the Top 40 after a four-year absence to eventually peak at number 2 that March. The number 1 song at the time was "Jacob's Ladder" by Huey Lewis and the News.

Music video

The music video for the song was directed, produced and edited by Jeffrey Abelson. It was filmed in New York City and features Ronstadt and Ingram, in two separate rooms, sitting at their desks, drawing and coloring scenes from the movie. They both look out the windows, in the same manner as Fievel and Tanya in the film. Clips from the movie appear throughout the video.

Theme

The lyrics of "Somewhere Out There" convey the love felt by two people separated by vast distances, but cheered by the belief that their love will eventually reunite them to be with each other once again. In the main body of the film, the fictional characters singing "Somewhere Out There", Fievel and Tanya Mousekewitz, are brother and sister, and the love they share is described as general. However, in the end title pop version of the song, the love is described as more romantic.

Awards

At the 30th Grammy Awards, the song won two awards, one for Song of the Year and the other for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television. It also garnered Ronstadt and Ingram a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

It earned nominations for Best Original Song at the 44th Golden Globe Awards and the 59th Academy Awards, but lost both to "Take My Breath Away" from Top Gun. At the Academy Awards ceremony, Natalie Cole performed the song live with James Ingram.

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1986) Peak
position
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[2] 51
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[3] 15
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[4] 8
US Billboard Hot 100[5] 2

Covers

In the spring of 1987, singer Liza Minnelli performed, in the words of music critic Stephen Holden of The New York Times, "a stunning rendition" of the song at Carnegie Hall for her three-week concert engagement at the historic music venue. The concert was recorded by Telarc Records and released in late 1987.

Barry Mann himself covered the song in his album Soul & Inspiration, released September 21, 1999, through Atlantic Record Corp.

Danny Pudi and Donald Glover sang the song during the first season of Community. Their cover appears on the official soundtrack release for the show.

References

  1. ↑ Benarde, Scott R. (2003). Stars of David: rock'n'roll's Jewish stories. Lebanon NH: Brandeis University Press. p. 49. ISBN 1-58465-303-5.
  2. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Linda Ronstadt & James Ingram – Somewhere Out There" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  3. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Linda Ronstadt & James Ingram – Somewhere Out There". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  4. ↑ "Linda Ronstadt: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  5. ↑ "Linda Ronstadt – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Linda Ronstadt. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
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