The trend in songwriting is toward ever-larger collectives of writers collaborating. But some writers do very well – and maybe even better – on their own. Diane Warren has been the sole scribe on 10 of her 14 Oscar-nominated songs – including “Applause” from Tell It Like a Woman, which is vying for the award at the 95th Oscars on March 12. Only one songwriter in Oscar history has been the sole writer of more than 10 Oscar-nominated songs.
Warren worked with a collaborator, Albert Hammond, on her first Oscar-nominated song, the propulsive “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” from Mannequin (1987). She later collaborated with Lady Gaga, Common and Laura Pausini on Oscar-nominated songs.
Warren’s roster of solo-written songs includes three of her signature hits – “Because You Loved Me” from Up Close and Personal (1996), “How Do I Live” from Con Air (1997) and “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” from Armageddon (1998), all of which also received Grammy nominations for song of the year.
Twelve songwriters in Oscar history have received two or more nominations for best original song for songs they wrote all by themselves. Six of these writers have only been nominated for solo-written songs. These include two of the foremost writers of the Great American Songbook, Irving Berlin and Cole Porter, and four top contemporary writers – Dolly Parton, Bruce Springsteen, Randy Newman and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Here are all songwriters who have received two or more Oscar nods for best original song for pieces they wrote entirely by themselves.
Miranda is the sole writer of both of his nominated songs to date – “How Far I’ll Go” from Moana (2016) and “Dos Oruguitas” from Encanto (2021). In the photo above, Miranda is joined by his mother, Dr. Luz Towns-Miranda, at the Oscars the first time he was nominated. Listen to Miranda talk about the songs from Encanto on the Pop Shop Podcast in early 2022.
The Boss is the sole writer of both of his nominated songs to date – “Streets of Philadelphia” from Jonathan Demme’s Philadelphia (which won, 1993) and “Dead Man Walkin’” from Tim Robbins’ Dead Man Walking (1995).
Parton is the sole writer of both of her nominated songs to date – “Nine to Five” from the hit comedy of the same name in which she co-starred with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin (1980) and “Travelin’ Through” from Transamerica (2005).
Collins is the sole writer of two of his three nominated songs to date – the striking torch ballad “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)” from Against All Odds (1984) and “You’ll Be in My Heart” from Tarzan (which won, 1999). Collins had a co-writer – Motown legend Lamont Dozier – on his other nominated song, “Two Hearts” from Buster (1988).
Richie is the sole writer of two of his three nominated songs to date – “Endless Love” from the movie of the same name (1981) and “Say You, Say Me” from White Nights (which won, 1985). Richie collaborated with Quincy Jones and Rod Temperton on his other nominated song – “Miss Celie’s Blues (Sister)” from The Color Purple, which lost to “Say You, Say Me.”
Bricusse was the sole writer of his first two nominated songs – “Talk to the Animals” from Doctor Dolittle (which won, 1967) and “Thank You Very Much” from Scrooge (1970). He worked with collaborators on his last three nominated songs. He teamed with Henry Mancini on “Life in a Looking Glass” from That’s Life (1986) and with John Williams on both “Somewhere in My Memory” from Home Alone (1990) and “When You’re Alone” from Hook (1991). Bricusse died in 2021 at age 90.
Mercer was the sole writer of two of his near-record 18 nominated songs. (Only Sammy Cahn amassed more nominations in the category – 26). Mercer was the sole writer of “Something’s Gotta Give” from the Fred Astaire/Leslie Caron film Daddy Long Legs (1955) and “The Facts of Life” from the Bob Hope/Lucille Ball movie of the same name (1960). He collaborated on his other nominated songs with Henry Mancini (five songs), Harold Arlen (four), Harry Warren (two) and Jimmy McHugh, Artie Shaw, Jerome Kern, Hoagy Carmichael and Marvin Hamlisch (one each). Mercer died in 1976 at age 66. Here’s more about the songwriter for whom the Songwriters Hall of Fame named their top award.
Loesser teamed with composers Lou Alter and Arthur Schwartz for his first two nominated songs, but was the sole writer of his last three – “I Wish I Didn’t Love You So” from The Perils of Pauline (1947), “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” from Neptune’s Daughter (1949) and “Thumbelina” from Hans Christian Andersen (1952). “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” is one of the most enduring songs from the 1940s, though the storyline of seduction, once viewed as charming, is now seen as problematic by some. Loesser died in 1969 at age 59.
Porter was the sole writer of all four of his nominated songs – “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” from Born to Dance (1936), “Since I Kissed My Baby Goodbye” from You’ll Never Get Rich (1941), “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To” from Something to Shout About (1943) and “True Love” from High Society (1956). “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” is one of Frank Sinatra’s signature hits. “True Love” was a smash collab in 1956 for Bing Crosby & Grace Kelly. Porter, pictured here at the piano in 1956 with his dog beside him, died in 1964 at age 73.
Berlin was the sole writer of all seven of his nominated songs – “Cheek to Cheek” from Top Hat (1935), “Change Partners” from Carefree (1938), “Now It Can Be Told” from Alexander’s Ragtime Band (also 1938), “I Poured My Heart Into a Song” from Second Fiddle (1939), “White Christmas” from Holiday Inn (which won, 1942), “You Keep Coming Back Like a Song” from Blue Skies (1946) and “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep” from White Christmas (1954). “Cheek to Cheek” came in second in the Oscar voting for 1935. The winner that year was “Lullaby of Broadway.” Both songs are famous to this day. And wouldn’t it be great if the Academy revealed the runner-up nowadays, as they did that year? Berlin died in 1989 at age 101.
Warren is the sole writer of 10 of her 14 nominated songs to date. Warren teamed with Albert Hammond, best known for his 1972 smash “It Never Rains in Southern California,” to write her first Oscar-nominated song, “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” from Mannequin (1987). She later teamed with Lady Gaga on “Til It Happens to You” from The Hunting Ground (2015), Common on “Stand Up for Something” from Marshall (2017) and Laura Pausini for “Io Sì (Seen)” from The Life Ahead (La Vita Davanti a Se).
She has been the sole writer of her other 10 nominated songs – “Because You Loved Me” from Up Close and Personal (1996), “How Do I Live” from Con Air (1997), “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing “ from Armageddon (1998), “Music of My Heart” from Music of the Heart (1999), “There You’ll Be” from Pearl Harbor (2001), “Grateful” from Beyond the Lights (2014), “I’ll Fight” from RBG (2018), “I’m Standing With You” from Breakthrough (2019), “Somehow You Do” from Four Good Days (2021) and “Applause” from Tell It Like a Woman (2022).
Here’s a closer look at Warren’s 14 Oscar-nominated songs.
Newman is the sole writer of all 13 of his nominated songs to date, including a song from each of the four Toy Story movies. He was nominated for “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” from Toy Story (1995) and “When She Loved Me” from Toy Story 2 (1999), won for “We Belong Together” from Toy Story 3 (2010) and was nominated for “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away” from Toy Story 4 (2019). In the photo above, Newman is performing the latter song on the Oscar telecast.
Newman’s first Oscar winner was “If I Didn’t Have You” from Monsters, Inc. (2001). Newman is the only writer in Oscar history to win twice for solo-written songs.
His other nominees are “One More Hour” from Ragtime (1981), “I Love to See You Smile” from Parenthood (1989), “Make Up Your Mind” from The Paper (1994), “That’ll Do” from Babe: Pig in the City (1998), “A Fool in Love” from Meet the Parents (2000), “Our Town” from Cars (2006), and “Almost There” and “Down in New Orleans” from The Princess and the Frog (2009).