Cotton's Dream
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"Nadia's Theme", originally titled "Cotton's Dream", is a piece of music composed by
Barry De Vorzon Barry De Vorzon (born July 31, 1934) is an American composer, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He worked as a pop musician during the 1960s and co-founded Valiant Records, before being known as a composer of film and television scores ...
and Perry Botkin Jr. in 1971. It was originally part of the soundtrack music of the 1971 Stanley Kramer film '' Bless the Beasts and Children'', and became better known as the
theme music Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...
to the television
soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
''
The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in the fictional Genoa City (named after the real-life Genoa City, Wiscon ...
'' since the series premiered in 1973. Later, "Cotton's Dream" was given the informal name "Nadia's Theme" after it became associated with Olympic gymnast
Nadia Comăneci Nadia Elena Comăneci Conner (; born November 12, 1961) is a Romanian retired gymnast. She is a five-time Olympic gold medalist, all in individual events. In 1976, at the age of 14, Comăneci was the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score ...
during and after the
1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...
. The piece was first released on disc as part of the 1971 OST ''Bless the Beasts and Children'' soundtrack, then a 1974 cover version by easy listening group Sounds of Sunshine was produced. After it became associated with Comăneci during the 1976 Olympics, the piece was later released as a
single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...
in August of that year. Other versions of "Nadia's Theme" have since been recorded. The piece has also been sampled by other artists, and has been used regularly by other radio and television programs.


Origins

De Vorzon and Botkin Jr. composed this piece of music, originally titled "Cotton's Dream", as part of the soundtrack music for the 1971 feature film '' Bless the Beasts and Children''. The instrumental version was commercially released on that film's soundtrack album on
A&M Records A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...
. The movie's soundtrack music included the eponymous opening title song performed by The Carpenters; the OST album later in 1971 featured "Lost" (at 9:20), a song set to the same melody, performed by Renée Armand. The single release, under the new title, was electronically patched to extend the song by almost a minute for commercial airplay. In 1973 Botkin Jr. composed a rearranged version of the instrumental theme for the long-running television soap opera ''
The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in the fictional Genoa City (named after the real-life Genoa City, Wiscon ...
'', which premiered on March 26, 1973, on
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
. Although a soundtrack album for the television series was released by P.I.P. Records in 1974, the LP only contained a vocal cover version by
easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...
group Sounds of Sunshine, rather than the original recording by De Vorzon and Botkin.


Association with Nadia Comăneci

In late July or early August 1976,
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
's sports anthology program '' Wide World of Sports'' produced a montage of Romanian gymnast
Nadia Comăneci Nadia Elena Comăneci Conner (; born November 12, 1961) is a Romanian retired gymnast. She is a five-time Olympic gold medalist, all in individual events. In 1976, at the age of 14, Comăneci was the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score ...
's routines during the
1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...
and used "Cotton's Dream" as the background music. It was this national television montage that cemented the association of the tune with Comăneci in the public's mind, as Comăneci herself never performed her floor exercises using this piece of musicrather, she had used a piano arrangement of a medley of the songs " Yes Sir, That's My Baby" and " Jump in the Line". On November 23, 1976,
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
further entrenched the song's association with Comăneci by using the melody in its broadcast of ''Nadia—From Romania with Love'', a one-hour television special hosted by
Flip Wilson Clerow "Flip" Wilson Jr. (December 8, 1933 – November 25, 1998) was an American comedian and actor best known for his television appearances during the late 1960s and 1970s. From 1970 to 1974, Wilson hosted his own weekly variety series '' The ...
, co-produced by CBS and Televiziunea Romana. The De Vorzon & Botkin version of the song was not released on CD until Eric Records included it on the 2003 compilation ''Hard to Find Orchestral Instrumentals II''. An extract from the tune is used regularly as a jingle by
BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...
disc jockey Steve Wright on his ''Steve Wright's Sunday Love Songs''. On May 18, 1997, Nadia Comaneci and Bart Conner guest-starred in the Season 3 finale of ''
Touched by an Angel ''Touched by an Angel'' is an American drama television series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994, and ran for 211 episodes over nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and executive produced by Ma ...
'' (titled "A Delicate Balance"), during which they performed a brief floor exercise within a montage scene to "Nadia's Theme".


1976 releases

Viewer inquiries about the music from the ''Wide World of Sports'' montage prompted a commercial release of the 1971 version of the song as a
single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...
through A&M Records on August 28, 1976. This recording was identical to "Cotton's Dream," with a repeat from the bridge to the end edited in to lengthen the piece. The single was titled "Nadia's Theme" and was a commercial success, charting for 22 weeks and peaking at No. 8 in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on the week ending December 11, 1976. A&M Records failed to credit De Vorzon as the co-performer on the first pressings of the single. (He was credited as co-author and co-producer, but Botkin was the sole credited artist.) De Vorzon successfully sued the record label for $241,000. After only a few weeks in release, all miscredited early copies of "Nadia's Theme" were withdrawn, and all subsequent pressings of the single bore the artist credit "Barry De Vorzon And Perry Botkin Jr." In October 1976, as the De Vorzon–Botkin version released by A&M climbed the charts, P.I.P. Records re-released a 1974 single containing the Sounds of Sunshine's vocal and instrumental versions under the title "Nadia's Theme". The label also re-released the 1974 soundtrack LP, now stickered to say it contained "Nadia's Theme", although it still only contained the cover version. That same month, Barry De Vorzon capitalized on the success of the song by releasing it on his first album, ''Nadia's Theme''. Soon after, Sounds of Sunshine released their own ''Nadia's Theme'' album.


Chart history


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Alternate versions

Other versions of "Nadia's Theme" have been recorded, including easy listening renditions by such artists as
Ray Conniff Joseph Raymond Conniff (November 6, 1916 – October 12, 2002) was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s. Biography Conniff was born November 6, 1916, in Attleboro, Massachusetts, United S ...
in 1976, the orchestra of ''
The Lawrence Welk Show ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' is an American televised musical variety show hosted by big band leader Lawrence Welk. The series aired locally in Los Angeles for four years, from 1951 to 1955, then nationally for another 16 years on ABC from 1955 t ...
'' in 1976,
Ronnie Aldrich Ronald Frank Aldrich (15 February 1916 – 30 September 1993) was a British easy listening and jazz pianist, arranger, conductor and composer. Early life He was born Ronald Frank Aldrich on 15 February 1916 in Erith, England, the only son o ...
in 1977,
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 ...
in 1976, Richard Abel in 1992,
Ferrante & Teicher Ferrante & Teicher were a duo of American pianists known for their clever arrangements of familiar classical pieces, movie soundtracks, and show tunes, as well as their signature style of florid, intricate, and fast-paced piano playing performance ...
, and
James Galway Sir James Galway (born 8 December 1939) is an Irish virtuoso flute player from Belfast, nicknamed "The Man with the Golden Flute". After several years working as an orchestral musician, he established an international career as a solo flute pl ...
(original release year not yet determined). There is a semi-rock version recorded by
The Ventures The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson (musician), Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar acro ...
in 1976.
David Hasselhoff David Michael Hasselhoff (born July 17, 1952), nicknamed "The Hoff", is an American actor, singer, and television personality. He has set a Guinness World Record as the most watched man on TV. Hasselhoff first gained recognition on the soap ...
did a vocal rendition, which incorporated De Vorzon's and Botkin Jr.'s lyrics, performed on ''
The Merv Griffin Show ''The Merv Griffin Show'' is an American television talk show starring Merv Griffin. The series had runs on two different networks on NBC (1962–1963) and CBS (1969–1972) but is most known for its run on first-run syndication from 1965 to 1 ...
'' in 1977 and released on his 1987 album '' Lovin' Feelings''. The ''Young and the Restless'' began using a light remix of "Nadia's Theme" in 1988, then switched to a jazz arrangement from 1999 to 2003 before returning to the 1988 version in 2003. The song was sampled in a piece of music from the 1993
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
''
Aero the Acro-Bat ''Aero the Acro-Bat'' is a 1993 video game developed by Iguana Entertainment and published by Sunsoft. It was released for both the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis. Aero the Acro-Bat, a red anthropomorphic bat, was created by ...
''.
Cuban Link Felix Delgado (born December 18, 1974), better known by his stage name Cuban Link, is a Cuban-American rapper. Emerging from the underground hip hop scene in the Bronx, he came to prominence upon discovery by fellow Bronx rapper Fat Joe and m ...
samples "Nadia's Theme" in their song "Flowers for the Dead on their 2000 album ''24K''. R&B musician
Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and entrepreneur. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Qu ...
included the instrumental version as a backdrop in her 2001 single, "
No More Drama ''No More Drama'' is the fifth studio album by American singer Mary J. Blige, released on August 28, 2001, by MCA Records. Following the critical and commercial success of her fourth studio album, ''Mary'' (1999), ''No More Drama'' was similarl ...
". Botkin, who had never heard of Blige prior to this was delighted to get a writing credit, saying: "I woke up one morning and I'm on the cutting edge of R&B," says the composer, who now specializes in electronic music. "These days, I'm completely removed from pop music—except when oyaltychecks arrive."
Sonshine Media Network International Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI), also known by its legal name Swara Sug Media Corporation (SSMC), is a Tagalog broadcast media arm of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC) led by the Tagalog televangelist Apollo Quiboloy. Based in Dav ...
in the Philippines used the piece as background music following a series of montages for the Glory Mountain in Mt. Apo,
Davao City Davao City, officially the City of Davao, is a City of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of , making it the List of Philippine cities and municipalities ...
.


Awards

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
s: *
Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
, 1978
Grammy Awards of 1978 The 20th Annual Grammy Awards were held February 23, 1978, and were broadcast live on American television. They were hosted by John Denver and recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1977. Award winners *Record of the Year **Bi ...


References


External links

*
Barry de Vorzon & Perry Botkin, Jr. – Bless the Beasts and Children (soundtrack)
* *
Rings ‘n’ Things: 10 Best Facts About the Olympics in Pop Culture
. ''Time'', August 2, 2012 *

''Los Angeles Times'', July 23, 2012. {{Authority control 1970s instrumentals 1973 songs 1976 singles A&M Records singles Songs written by Barry De Vorzon Songs written by Perry Botkin Jr. Songs written for films Television drama theme songs The Young and the Restless