Hypothetical "Best Song" Tony

Its an interesting category... but that might even have to have subcategories for types of songs. Ragtime's open is fantastic.. but is that really a best song? Elton John produced Aida music before it hit the stage, would "Written in the Stars" qualify? Maybe it should be “best stand-alone song.”

For last season, I would probably say "Once Upon A Time" sung by Eden Espinosa in Brooklyn.

I will qualify this list that I only chose what I believe would have actually won, not what I want to win, songs written only for the stage, and I awarded songs when a Best Score award was not given.

1971 - Being Alive (Company)
1972 - Broadway Baby (Follies)
1973 - Send in the Clowns (A Little Night Music)
1974 - Lion Tamer (The Magic Show)
1975 - Ease on Down the Road (The Wiz)
1976 - What I Did For Love (A Chorus Line)
1977 - Tomorrow (Annie)
1978 - The Legacy (On the Twentieth Century)
1979 - A Little Priest (Sweeney Todd)
1980 - Don't Cry For Me, Argentina (Evita)
1981 - The Grass is Always Greener (Woman of the Year)
1982 - And I am Telling You I'm Not Going (Dreamgirls)
1983 - Memory (Cats)
1984 - I am What I am (La Cage aux Folles)
1985 - Muddy Water (Big River)
1986 - Unexpected Song (Song and Dance)
1987 - I Dreamed a Dream (Les Miserables)
1988 - Music of the Night (Phantom of the Opera)
1989 - When I Get My Name in Lights (Legs Diamond)
1990 - You Can Always Count on Me (City of Angels)
1991 - Lily's Eyes (The Secret Garden)
1992 - I'm Breaking Down (Falsettos)
1993 - The Day After That (Kiss of the Spider Woman)
1994 - I Wish I Could Forget You (Passion)
1995 - As If We Never Said Goodbye (Sunset Boulevard)
1996 - Seasons of Love (Rent)
1997 - The Oldest Profession (The Life)
1998 - Ragtime (Ragtime)
1999 - The Old Red Hills of Home (Parade)
2000 - The Gods Love Nubia (Aida)
2001 - Betrayed (The Producers)
2002 - Run, Freedom, Run (Urinetown)
2003 - You Can't Stop the Beat (Hairspray)
2004 - There's a Fine, Fine Line (Avenue Q)
2005 - Fable (The Light in the Piazza)
2006 - Hell No (The Color Purple)


Edit: I realized I put Follies in the season it opened, rather than by Tony deadline, which erased my previous 1972 selection of I Don't Know How to Love Him. I believe the Tony voters would choose Broadway Baby.

I stand by the rest as most likely choices by Tony voters in their respective years. This is based on strength of the season, popular opinion (critics, audiences and Tony distribution), strength of the composer, and voting trends.

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Updated On: 5/9/06 at 02:11 PM

One would have to assume rules would work similarly to those for the Oscars...only songs written specifically for the stage production would be in consideration as well as revivals that recieve new material...

I've long wondered and debated why there isn't a 'best song' category - even now Tony Awards being given to replacement actors recreating roles...There are so many shows out there that didn't have the greatest score and could never win best score but had that one power house song that could have made it a Tony Winner...

Some that jump to mind are...

My New Philosphy - You're A Good Man Charlie Brown
I Will Never Leave You - Side Show
Astonishing - Little Women
Freedom's Child - The Civil War
Second Chance - Steel Pier
If I Can't Love Her - Beauty and the Beast

and of course there are those tried and true favorites that would have come from the tony winner that season anyway

Wheels of a Dream - Ragtime
Ship of Dreams - Titanic
Seasons of Love - Rent

Bway.com has Best Song in their awards thing.

I would give it to a song in TCP.

The title song (Reprise)...or "What About Love?"...or "Push Da Button"

Updated On: 5/9/06 at 02:34 PM

what about "all for Laura" or "Evermore without you" from WIW.

if not that, my vote goes to "What about Love" from TCP.

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Maybe that's because it's a pretty Lifetime story.

Maybe Lifetime X...but still.

Well, in 2004, there's no way in hell that the best song would have come from WICKED.

For me, the best score was CAROLINE, OR CHANGE - and the best song that year would have been a toss up between "Lot's Wife" and "There's a Fine, Fine Line."

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LOL Munk! So true about "What about Love"

I feel that this category would've been used, like was suggested by slimandslam, to produce a "hit" song from a popular show whenever possible, hence several of my suggestions--see 2004--I cant stand a damn song from Wicked but come on--the award would SURELY have gone to Defying Gravity over I Hate the Bus (which would've been my pick--the list of my preferences would look wildly different).

Nice, MisterMatt, on the I Dont Know How to Love Him selection. JCS somehow slipped my mind.

"For The First Time" from Tarzan. Mmm.

You guys are sort of analyzing it as Best Hit Song, which isn’t necessarily the case, though the voters would probably pick it that way, for example, Wicked. Personally, I don’t even like Defying Gravity (I perfer Wonderful, or No Good Deed), though that would be the one that got a nod. I agree with munkustrap178, and the best from 2004 would probably come from Carolina or Change, at least in my opinion.

I think it would be picked from a score in Best Scores.