The Sammy Film Music Awards (SFMA) are the longest-running awards chosen exclusively for recordings of past and recent film music.

For the past twenty-five years, they have been chosen by Roger Hall, a film music critic, author of the popular book, A GUIDE TO FILM MUSIC, and Managing Editor of Film Music Review.

 

 

Click on these links:

 

Words by Sammy Cahn

A Guide To Film Music

Sammy Cahn Centennial Concert

25th Annual Sammy Film Music Awards

Previous Best Album Producers

Lifetime Achievement Awards

 

 

 

 

 

Words by Sammy Cahn

He certainly deserved the honor. Sammy received four Oscars for co-writing these songs:

  • "Three Coins in the Fountain" from
    THREE COINS IN THE FOUNTAIN (1954) -- music by Jule Styne
  • "All the Way" from
    THE JOKER IS WILD (1957) -- music by James Van Heusen
  • "High Hopes" from
    A HOLE IN THE HEAD (1959) -- music by James Van Heusen
  • "Call Me Irresponsible" from
    PAPA'S DELICATE CONDITION (1963) -- music by James Van Heusen

Sammy also received an Emmy for his lyrics to "Love and Marriage" from the television production of OUR TOWN in 1955.

All five songs were recorded by Frank Sinatra, who was a longtime friend and an admirer of Sammy's lyrics.

-- Roger Hall



I Should Care: The Sammy Cahn Story

I Should Care: The Sammy Cahn Story

Help Support The Sammy Film Music Awards!


To read how you can help -- click here

 

Also available is this popular book:




A GUIDE TO FILM MUSIC: Songs and Scores

 




 

Read the special --

Sammy Cahn Centennial Tribute

 

 

 



The Sammy Film Music Awards

25th Anniversary!

"What really makes the Sammy Awards worth checking out is the irregular addition
of irreverent and praiseworthy categories."

-- Timothy Sexton (Yahoo Network
)

10 February 2013

By Roger Hall

You probably know about the Oscars but have you heard of the Sammys?

These awards have no connection to the Oscars, BAFTA, Golden Globes, or any other awards and are given in only one category -- film music.

They are based on the quality of film scores and songs recorded on CDs.

These awards are named in honor of Sammy Cahn, who was Oscar-nominated more than any other songwriter – 26 times in all between 1942 and 1973.  

The first Sammy Awards were chosen for best score and song of 1988 – the year of Sammy Cahn’s 75th birthday.  When notified, Sammy said he was “flattered and honored" to have these awards named after him.

For many years, I was a guest on the popular radio program, "Music America," in Boston, hosted by Ron Della Chiesa. Some of these radio shows are included on the special CD: Oscar Meets Sammy - Film Music Awards On Radio.

The awards are based on CDs released or reviewed in 2012. This year, there is a return of Best Film Song category since it was discontinued five years ago. For the past few years film songs have been mostly forgettable.

This year there is a new category reflecting the increasing popularity of video games and interactive media.

Categories for the 25th Annual Sammy Film Music Awards:

As Sammy Cahn would say with words from one of his Oscar-winning songs, they are the CD nominees...

Now, here are my choices of new and vintage film scores for the...

 

25th Annual Sammy Film Music Awards

 

 

Best New Film Score

RISE OF THE GUARDIANS
(Varese Sarabande CD)

Following in the tradition of memorable fantasy scores by John Williams, this is a fast-paced and highly inventive score by the prolific Alexandre Desplat, now among the first rank of film composers.

Honorable Mention: LINCOLN - music by John Williams

 

Best New Film Score
for Video Game or Interactive Media

JOURNEY
music by Austin Wintory
(Sumthing CD)

A powerful and highly memorable score
by this most promising young film composer.



 

Best New Film Song

 

"Still Dream"
music by Alexandre Deplat/lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire
featured in RISE OF THE GUARDIANS
(Varese Sarabande CD)

A stunningly beautiful song with music by Alexandre Desplat and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire, superbly sung by Renee Fleming. It has the best elements (beautiful melody and lyrics) to make it a classic movie song.

 

Most Overrated New Film Score CD

 

 

Skyfall

 

Thomas Newman is a good film composer who has composed some fine scores in the past but I don't think this is one of them. To my ears this soundtrack is mostly a bunch of repetitive themes which don't make a worthwhile soundtrack and there are none of the memorable themes like the John Barry scores for Bond films. SKYFALL is also much too LOUD. Often when the volume is turned up, it sounds like an overblown music video which is also how the film itself frequently looks.



Best Golden Age CD Release
(1930s - 1950s)

ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN and ARSENIC AND OLD LACE
music by Max Steiner
(Tribute Film Classics 2 CD box set)


 

 

 

Best Silver Age CD Release
(1960s - 1970s)

 

 

Best Bronze Age CD Release
(1980s - 1990s)

 


Best Newly Recorded
Vintage Film Score CD Release

 

 

 

 

Special Preservation Award:
Best Album Producers

This year's recipients are a husband and wife teaM

David Schecter and Kathleen Mayne
(Monstrous Movie Music)

who have been producing high quality CDs
of vintage music for may years,
mostly for popular and less familiar 1950s sci-fi films, like

 


As well as other mainstream films, such as

 

 

 

 

Lifetime Achievement Award
For A Past Film Composer

 

Since 1988, there have been 19 past film composers/ arrangers and 6 songwriters and lyric writers named for this Lifetime Achievement Award, each of them have made significant accomplishments in film music.

The composers and arrangers are (in the order of their listing):

Bernard Herrmann, Henry Mancini, Alfred Newman, Max Steiner, Miklos Rozsa, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Dimitri Tiomkin, Franz Waxman, Victor Young, Hugo Friedhofer, Johnny Green, Bronislau Kaper, Alex North, Elmer Bernstein, Jerry Goldsmith, Ken Darby, Aaron Copland, John Barry, and David Raksin.

The songwriters and lyricists are (in order of their listing):

Sammy Cahn, Johnny Mercer, James Van Heusen, Harry Warren,
Jay Livingston and Ray Evans.

This year the Lifetime Achievement Award for a past film composer, is chosen on the 100th anniversary of his birth. His name is...

Jerome Moross (1913-1983)

The Sammy Lifetime Achievement Award was given to his daughter, Susan Moross Tarjan...

 

 


 

 


Previous Special Preservation Sammys
For Best Album Producers

Nick Redman (2012)

 

 

 

Robert Townson (2011)

 

 

 

 

 



John Morgan, William Stromberg, Anna Bonn (2010)

 

 

James Fitzpatrick (2009)

 

 

 

Douglass Fake (2008)

 

 

Lukas Kendall (2007)

 

 

 

Sammy Lifetime Achievement Awards
For Past Composers and Songwriters

 

David Raksin, 1912-2004

 

John Barry (1933-2011)

 

 

Aaron Copland (1900-1990)

 

 

Ken Darby (1909-1992)

 

 


Jerry Goldsmith (1929-2004)

 

 

Jay Livingston (1915-2001)
and Ray Evans (1915-2007)

 

 

Elmer Bernstein (1922-2004)

 


Sammy Cahn, 1913-1993

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

If you have comments or questions, write to

The Sammy Awards

 

Best Film Music Releases of 2012

 

 

 


 

 

Film Music Review (Home Page)

 

 


 

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