The High and the Mighty

About The High and the Mighty

"The High and the Mighty" is a song by Ned Washington and Dimitri Tiomkin from the film of the same name. At the start of the film's production late in 1953, veteran film composer and musician Dimitri Tiomkin was commissioned to write the film's score. The studio also urged Tiomkin to come up with a theme song for the film, to be released to radio and as a vinyl record. Tiomkin formed the basic melody to the song and enlisted songwriter Ned Washington to write the song's lyrics. What resulted was a gentle ballad. Warner Bros. presented the song to Les Baxter and his orchestra, who recorded and released the song to coincide with the release of the film. When released in 1954, "The High and the Mighty" peaked at #4 on the Billboard Pop chart. Both the film score and the song were nominated for Academy Awards in 1955. The song, which ultimately did not win an award, was sung by Johnny Desmond, accompanied by Muzzy Marcellino at the Awards Television show. Dimitri Tiomkin's score won the Academy Award that year. more »