"Thanks for the Memory." "Swinging on a Star." "The Way You Look Tonight." Three great and popular standards of the American songbook--and all three won Oscars for best song. But who wrote these songs? What movies were they written for? Which stars introduced them? In the 25 years covered by this book, 160 songs were nominated for Academy Awards. Some are well known, but many are nearly forgotten. They deserve more lasting recognition.

Best Songs of the Movies tells the stories behind all these songs, year by year. After announcing the nominated songs, the text describes the way each song was presented and performed, critiques the lyrics and melody, and provides appropriate historical and biographical insights.

One appendix presents brief biographies of all the lyricists and composers responsible for these songs; another lists the Oscar-nominated and winning songs from 1959 through 2003. A bibliography and index complete the volume.