Here it is, the Final Round!
On one side, we have the recipient of the 1939 Academy Award, “Over the Rainbow.” Written by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg for The Wizard of Oz, and performed by Judy Garland in the film, the song is a ballad about a little girl who’s dreaming of “a place where there isn’t any trouble,” somewhere far away from her drab and dreary home on the plains of Kansas. The Wizard of Oz is full of memorable tunes, but “Over the Rainbow” is arguably the most memorable of them all, thanks in no small part to Garland’s vocal performance. In 1939, the song won the Oscar over tunes from Gulliver’s Travels, Love Affair, and Second Fiddle. In our bracket here, it stood up against “Never on Sunday” from the 1960 film of the same name; most recent Oscar winner “Naatu Naatu” from 2023’s RRR; a pair of Disney classics in “A Whole New World” and “Let It Go”; and finally the poignant romantic ballad “Moon River.” It’s fair to say victory was never in doubt in those matches, as the song outscored its opponents by a total of 215 votes to 38 over all rounds.
On the other side is Isaac Hayes’ 1971 winner, “Theme from Shaft.” Hayes became the first African American to win an Academy Award in a non-acting category, as well as the first person to win the Best Original Song award for a song he both wrote and performed. “Theme from Shaft” was also a popular hit, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 list in November of 1971. At the Oscars, the song won out over nominees from Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Bless the Beasts and Children, Kotch, and Sometimes a Great Notion. For us, it soundly defeated Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “It Might as Well Be Spring” from the musical State Fair; second-ever Oscar winner “Lullaby of Broadway” from 1935; the song that kicked off Disney’s Renaissance era, 1989’s “Under the Sea”; perennial holiday classic “White Christmas”; and finally knocked out Disney’s signature tune, “When You Wish Upon a Star.” Not quite as dominant as “Over the Rainbow,” it still outscored it’s opponents 183 to 70.
But only one can be the Avocado’s favorite, so let’s start voting!