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Three Coins in the Fountain (song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Three Coins in the Fountain" is a popular song which received the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1955.[1] The song was first recorded by Frank Sinatra in 1954.

Background

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The melody was written by Jule Styne with lyrics by Sammy Cahn.[1] It was written for the romance film, Three Coins in the Fountain and refers to the act of throwing a coin into the Trevi Fountain in Rome while making a wish. Each of the film's three stars (Clifton Webb, Dorothy McGuire, and Jean Peters) performs this act.

Cahn and Styne were asked to write the song to fit the movie, but were unable to either see the film or read the script. They completed the song in an hour and had produced a demonstration record with Frank Sinatra by the following day. The song was subsequently used in the film soundtrack, but in the rush, 20th Century-Fox neglected to sign a contract with the composers, allowing them to claim complete rights over the royalties.[2] The Sinatra recording topped the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in September and October that year.[1]

Other recordings

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External audio
audio icon You may hear '"Three Coins in the Fountain" performed by Annunzio Mantovani and his orchestra in 1957
Here on Archive.org

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 14. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
  2. ^ Wilk, Max (1997). They're Playing Our Song: Conversations With America's Classic Songwriters (1st ed.). New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-306-80746-6.
  3. ^ "Four Aces Featuring Al Alberts - Three Coins In The Fountain". 45cat.com. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  4. ^ The Four Aces version was recorded on April 12, 1954, immediately after Bill Haley and His Comets recorded "Rock Around the Clock" in the same studio.
  5. ^ "Dinah Shore - Three Coins In The Fountain". 45cat.com. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  6. ^ "RCA Victor 20-5500 - 20-6000 78rpm numerical listing discography". 78discography.com. Retrieved 2014-04-03.
  7. ^ "Vince Guaraldi Trio - Vince Guaraldi Trio | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  8. ^ "Sergio Franchi". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2014-04-03.
  9. ^ "The Goon Show Site - Script - The Affair of the Lone Banana (Series 5, Episode 5)". Thegoonshow.net. 1954-10-26. Archived from the original on 2013-05-22. Retrieved 2014-04-03.