Bless the Beasts and Children (song)

"Bless the Beasts and Children" is the theme song to the 1971 eponymous film and was performed by The Carpenters. It was featured on the B-side to their hit, "Superstar". The B-side charted on the Billboard Hot 100, eventually topping out at #67.^[1] In order to promote it, The Carpenters performed it on their television series, Make Your Own Kind of Music as "F" for "Film Music".^[2] It was nominated for a 1972 Academy Award for Best Song, but it lost to Isaac Hayes' "Theme from Shaft".

The original soundtrack included two different versions of "Bless the Beasts and Children", the other being an orchestral instrumental arrangement by composers Barry DeVorzon and Perry Botkin, Jr., and the original "Nadia's Theme", which was listed as "Cotton's Dream". "Cotton's Dream" was also used as the theme song to the 1973 soap opera, The Young and the Restless, and later "Bless the Beasts and Children" was used when David Hasselhoff's character, Dr. "Snapper" Foster, had to say goodbye to his son in a powerful 1982 episode of the series.^[3]^[4]^[5]

The song was originally released on the original soundtrack, and a slightly different version was released on the Carpenters' 1972 LP, A Song for You on June 13, 1972.^[6] The original soundtrack had a vibraphone playing the melody in the introduction, while the A Song for You version, released on the single, contained an oboe stating the melody. The two versions (soundtrack and album versions) faded out toward the end, but in 1985, Richard Carpenter re-mixed the song so it does not fade out in the end. He also added a harder bass-line.

Chart	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	67
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary	28
Oricon (Japanese) Singles Chart	85

Personnel

Karen Carpenter - lead and backing vocals
Richard Carpenter - backing vocals, piano, Wurlitzer electric piano, Hammond organ, orchestration
Joe Osborn - bass
Hal Blaine - drums
Earle Dumler - oboe, English horn
Uncredited - vibraphone, tambourine, temple blocks

References

↑ The Carpenters Summary
↑ "Not Found シフトウェブへようこそ". Thecarpenters.tv. Retrieved 2012-01-09.
↑ The Young and the Restless theme lyrics
↑ Bless the Beasts & Children (1971) - Soundtracks
↑ The Young and the Restless
↑ Comparison between original soundtrack and the A Song for You LP

The Carpenters singles

1960s	1966 "Looking for Love" 1969 "Ticket to Ride"

1970s	1970 "(They Long to Be) Close to You" "We've Only Just Begun" "Merry Christmas, Darling" 1971 "For All We Know" "Rainy Days and Mondays" "Superstar" "Bless the Beasts and Children" 1972 "Hurting Each Other" "It's Going to Take Some Time" "Goodbye to Love" 1973 "Sing" "Yesterday Once More" "Top of the World" 1974 "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" "I Won't Last a Day Without You" "Please Mr. Postman" "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" 1975 "Only Yesterday" "Solitaire" 1976 "There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World)" "I Need to Be in Love" "Goofus" "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" 1977 "All You Get from Love Is a Love Song" "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" 1978 "Sweet, Sweet Smile" "I Believe You"

1980s	1981 "Touch Me When We're Dancing" "(Want You) Back in My Life Again" "Those Good Old Dreams" 1982 "Beechwood 4-5789" 1983 "Make Believe It's Your First Time" 1984 "Your Baby Doesn't Love You Anymore" "Now" "Little Altar Boy" 1986 "Honolulu City Lights" 1987 "Something in Your Eyes" 1989 "If I Had You"

1990s	1991 "Let Me Be the One" 1994 "Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again" 1996 "Ave Maria"

2000s	2001 "The Rainbow Connection"

Book Category

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