"Born Free" is a

popular song Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

with music by John Barry and lyrics by Don Black. It was written for the

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

film of the same name and won an

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the Film industry, motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who h ...

Original version

The song's composers, John Barry and Don Black, asked British singer

Matt Monro Matt Monro (born Terence Edward Parsons; 1 December 1930 – 7 February 1985) was an English singer. Known as "The Man with the Golden Voice", he performed internationally during his 30-year career and sold a reported 23 million records. AllMus ...

, who was managed by Black at the time, to record the song for the film's soundtrack. The producers of the film considered the song uncommercial, however, and deleted it from the print shown at its Royal Command premiere in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. When Monro, who attended the event, made Black aware of the edit, they successfully lobbied the producers to restore it. Monro's interpretation appeared over the closing credits in a shortened version recorded especially for the film, which enabled it to qualify for the Academy Award. Monro's complete commercial recording was released on the film's soundtrack album and became the singer's signature tune for the remainder of his career.

Charted versions

Matt Monro's version never charted. However,

Roger Williams Roger Williams (March 1683) was an English-born New England minister, theologian, author, and founder of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Pl ...

recorded a cover that was noted for its use of a male chorus, heard in the second half of the song after the instrumental section. The song reached number seven on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number one on the

Adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

chart for six non-consecutive weeks in September/October 1966. The R&B group the Hesitations recorded a cover that peaked at number 38 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1968. "Born Free" also appeared on the

Vic Reeves James Roderick Moir (born 24 January 1959), commonly known by his stage name Vic Reeves, is an English comedian and artist. He has a double act with Bob Mortimer as Reeves & Mortimer. He is known for his surreal sense of humour. In 2003, Ree ...

album ''

I Will Cure You ''I Will Cure You'' is the only album by English comedian Vic Reeves. It was released in 1991 by Island Records, produced by Steve Beresford, Andy Metcalfe and Philip Oakey and re-released in 1999 by Universal Music's Spectrum label. The album ...

''. Released as a single, this version peaked at number 6 in the UK Singles Chart in 1991.

References

External links

George Adamson information website with photos, letters and much information and featuring Elsa the Lioness.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Born Free (Song) 1966 songs 1966 singles 1973 singles 1991 singles Matt Monro songs Vic Reeves songs Film theme songs Songs with lyrics by Don Black (lyricist) Songs with music by John Barry (composer) Best Original Song Academy Award–winning songs Capitol Records singles United Artists Records singles

Original version

Charted versions

See also

References

External links