About the song
If you are a fan of romantic movies and songs, you might be familiar with the 1970 film Love Story and its theme song, “(Where Do I Begin) Love Story”. The song was performed by the legendary crooner Andy Williams, who had a string of hits in the 1960s and 1970s. In this blog post, I will provide some detailed information about this song, without presenting or adding any lyrics to the article.
The song was composed by Francis Lai, a French musician who also wrote the score for the film. The film’s director, Arthur Hiller, initially wanted to use a classical piece by Mozart as the theme, but he changed his mind after hearing Lai’s melody. The melody was first introduced as an instrumental theme in the film, which starred Ryan O’Neal and Ali MacGraw as a young couple who fall in love despite their different backgrounds and face a tragic fate.
The song’s lyrics were written by Carl Sigman, an American songwriter who had previously collaborated with Lai on another hit song, “A Man and a Woman”. Sigman was inspired by the film’s tagline, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry”, and wrote the lyrics from the perspective of O’Neal’s character, who reminisces about his love story with MacGraw’s character. The lyrics begin with the question “Where do I begin?” and end with the answer “And she’ll be there”.
The song was recorded by Andy Williams in 1971, and it became one of his signature songs. Williams had a smooth and warm voice that suited the romantic mood of the song. He also had a personal connection to the song, as he was friends with O’Neal and MacGraw, and had attended their wedding in 1969. Williams performed the song at their reception, and later at MacGraw’s request when she was hospitalized with cancer in 1978.
The song was a huge success, reaching number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number one on the Easy Listening chart in the US. It also topped the charts in the UK, Australia, Canada, Ireland, and South Africa. It won an Academy Award for Best Original Score and a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. It was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Song of the Year, but lost to Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend”.
The song has been covered by many artists over the years, including Shirley Bassey, Glen Campbell, Johnny Mathis, Perry Como, Nana Mouskouri, Richard Clayderman, and Il Divo. It has also been featured in many TV shows and movies, such as The Simpsons, Family Guy, Glee, The Office, Bridget Jones’s Diary, and Shrek 2.
Oldies Music