The year 1978 stands out in Grammy history as being the only time that the Song of the Year award was shared. Barbra Streisand’s “Evergreen (Love Theme From A Star Is Born)” and Debby Boone’s “You Light Up My Life” each took home gold.
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Should one of them have won on its own? Or was another of the nominees more deserving? It’s time for us to make the call and award retrospective honors. First, the nominees:
“You Light Up My Life” by Debby Boone
The movie of the same name starred Didi Conn. And the first version, for the soundtrack, was sung by Kasey Cisyk, with Conn mouthing the words over Cisyk’s vocals in the film. Debby Boone made it a smash hit, singing Joe Brooks’ lyrics with extreme reverence. This song sat atop the pop charts for an incredible 10 weeks in 1977.
“Southern Nights” by Glen Campbell
The amazing Allen Toussaint wrote this song as the title track for a kind of concept album in 1975. When Campbell heard it, he felt the song was a good fit, having grown up in Arkansas himself. As with just about everything else Toussaint touched, the song offers rhythmic thrills and undeniable catchiness.
“Hotel California” by Eagles
Many people forget that Don Felder had the original, slightly Latin-tinged guitar piece from which the song was born. Don Henley and Glenn Frey, who penned the lyrics, heard something exotic and dangerous in that music. That in turn led them to create a last-stop inn that’s both hauntingly mystical and undeniably familiar.
“Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” by Crystal Gayle
Songwriter Richard Leigh had already penned several country hits for Crystal Gayle. He initially thought that he was going to pitch “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” to Shirley Bassey, known for her work singing James Bond themes. But Gayle’s producer heard it and claimed it. Thanks to Gayle’s wonderfully woebegone performance, it became her biggest pop hit.
“Nobody Does It Better” by Carly Simon
“Nobody Does It Better” broke a rule for James Bond themes in that it’s not named after the film. (The film’s name, The Spy Who Loved Me, does get a mention in the lyrics.) The duo of Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager wrote it. Bayer Sager, as lyricist, tapped into some of the same themes as Simon’s original hit “You’re So Vain”.
“Evergreen” by Barbra Streisand
We don’t often consider Streisand to be a songwriter. But she chipped in to write “Evergreen” with Paul Williams, who knew a thing or two about writing movie classics. The song moves along at a lugubrious pace, all the better to let Streisand luxuriate a bit with her vocals. Coming from a big hit movie, this one was a no-brainer smash as a single.
The Verdict
Honestly, the two songs that ended up sharing the award feel like the two weakest here, both by-the-numbers button-pushers. “Nobody Does It Better” works a little better as a movie song, although Simon’s sharp, lived-in performance lifts it higher than it might otherwise rise.
“Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” is expertly crafted but doesn’t cover much new territory. The slyly funky “Southern Nights” deserves a lot of love. But The Eagles went for broke with “Hotel California” and didn’t falter, which is why it should have taken this award back in 1978.
Photo by FilmPublicityArchive/United Archives via Getty Images
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