B-side Minstrel Gigolo Format LP; Cassette Genre Soft rock | Released August 14, 1981 Recorded 1981 | |
A-side "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" | ||
"Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" is a song performed and co-written by American singer-songwriter Christopher Cross, which was the main theme for the 1981 film Arthur starring Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli. The song won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1981. In the US, it reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and on the Hot Adult Contemporary charts during October 1981, remaining at the top on the Hot 100 for three consecutive weeks. Overseas, it also went to number one on the VG-lista chart in Norway, and was a top ten hit in several other countries. The song became the second and last American number one hit by Christopher Cross. It was included as a bonus track only on the CD & Cassette versions of his second album Another Page, released in 1983.
Contents
Indie pop band Fitz and the Tantrums recorded a cover of this song for the soundtrack to the 2011 remake of the film.
Background
The song was written in collaboration between Cross, pop music composer Burt Bacharach, and Bacharach's frequent writing partner Carole Bayer Sager. A fourth writing credit went to Minnelli's ex-husband and Australian songwriter Peter Allen, also a frequent collaborator with Bayer Sager: the line "When you get caught between the moon and New York City" from the chorus was taken from an unreleased song Allen and Bayer Sager had previously written together.
The song won the 1981 Academy Award for Best Original Song, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. In 2004 it finished at #79 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of the top tunes in American cinema.In 2008 Barry Manilow released a cover version.
Music video
The music video consisted of two acts, which are edited together in fade outs. Christopher Cross in one offers the song with some studio musicians in a recording studio and the other is the story the song illustrates.