And the winner is...Academy Awards in the sixties

The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are the western cinema industry's big night out (I know, some of you are fans of European film but, let's face it, the Oscars are bigger than the Palme D'Or, the Golden Bear, the BAFTAs and all the rest put together).

Surprisingly - perhaps less so now Les Miserables has staked its claim - four of the awards for Best Picture in the sixties went to musicals. In 1961, it was West Side Story:

A modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet, with music by Leonard Bernstein, words by Stephen Sondheim and fabulous, hormone-driven choreography by Jerome Robbins, the stars of the film were Richard Beymer and Natalie Wood:

The good looking actors had their singing voices dubbed (by Jimmy Bryant and Marni Nixon, respectively). Marni was also the mother of Andrew Gold, by the way.

Three years on and the award for Best Picture went to My Fair Lady. Another adaptation from a stage play (this time George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion), Marni Nixon was once more the off-screen (though not exactly unsung) heroine, this time dubbing a singing voice for Audrey Hepburn.

Rex Harrison playing the irascible Professor Higgins to Hepburn's Eliza Dolittle, carried off the Oscar for Best Actor.

The very next year, 1965, saw The Sound of Music (yep, that's right) sweep up the Best Picture award.

We could be boring and bring you an ever so familiar clip from the movie, but we thought you might prefer this instead. (If you can watch without smiling, let us know!):

The final musical to run off with the Best Picture Oscar in the sixties was Lionel Bart's adaptation of a classic Charles Dickens story:

Starring, among others, that little known musical heavyweight, Oliver Reed (no relation to the eponymous hero), the musical also won Best Director award for Sir Carol Reed (with a name like that, bet he didn't go to the local Secondary Modern!) Reed also directed The Agony and the Ecstasy and The Third Man.

So, which one will you be singing in the shower tomorrow morning?

Post below and let us know.

Whatever happened to The Beatles?

Naturally, not a single one of you reading this is old enough to remember but, in the sixties, when the Beatles were at the very height of their worldwide fame and success, you would often hear the old timers say:

        "They play some nice tunes but be honest, in fifty years time
          nobody will remember who the Beatles were, let alone still 
          be listening to their music."

Lo and behold, we have reached (this month) the fiftieth anniversary of the recording of the first album - all laid down in a single twelve hour session at Abbey Road studios.

In a programme hosted by the largely admirable Stuart Maconie, BBC4 (along with BBC Radio 2) decided to mark the event with a collection of live cover versions of the original tracks performed by a range of artists (Stereophonic, Squeeze, Joss Stone). 

For my money, only Gabrielle Aplin and Beverley Knight managed to pay genuine homage (and one or two of the covers would have struggled to raise applause in the local pub).

Nevertheless, the programme raised some interesting facts - such as the sound engineers being warned not to get too close to these musicians 'because they had long hair' (fear of head lice?!).

What struck those involved in the recording was the professionalism shown by John, Paul, George and Ringo. When George Martin and the rest headed off for the traditional music-makers lunch break (ie down the local pub), the Beatles stayed behind and kept playing; rehearsing up to the last minute to ensure the best recordings they could.

Despite not being among the best of the Beatles' albums (or LPs as we knew them back then), Please, Please Me featured three classic singles - "Love Me Do" and "I Saw Her Standing There" as well as the title track. Not forgetting a Beatles gig favourite, "Twist and Shout".

01. I Saw Her Standing There

02. Misery

03. Anna (Go To Him)

04. Chains

05. Boys

06. Ask Me Why

07. Please, Please Me

08. Love Me Do.

09. P.S. I Love You

10. Baby It's You

11. Do You Want To Know A Secret

12. A Taste Of Honey

13. There's A Place

14. Twist And Shout

(Courtesy of The Telegraph online)

Of course, the Beatles weren't the only long-haired lads making loud music in the sixties. At least they wore nice suits and ties.

Four lads from Liverpool who made "instantly forgettable" music...

There was an even rougher looking gang of louts called, I think, the Rolling Stones. I wonder what became of them...?