"Fame" is a song written by Michael Gore (music) and Dean Pitchford (lyrics) The song was performed by Irene Cara, who played the role of Coco Hernandez in the original film. It was also her debut single as a recording artist. The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1980, The movie became an "overnight sensation". The song won an Oscar for best film theme song in 1981. In July 1982, it was re-released on the back of the successful TV series and topped the charts in several countries, including the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
Fame theme song
The song was later used as the theme song for the Fame television series, which aired from 1982 to 1987. For seasons 1–4, the song was performed by Erica Gimpel who played Cara's character, Coco, on the show. For seasons 5–6, it was performed by Loretta Chandler. The song was also used in other TV shows related to Fame.
Personnel
- Irene Cara – lead vocals, backing vocals
- Rob Mounsey – keyboards, piano
- Leon Pendarvis – keyboards, arrangements
- Kenneth Bichel – synthesizer
- Neil Jason – bass guitar
- Elliott Randall – guitar solo
- David Spinozza, Jeff Mironov – guitar
- Yogi Horton – drums
- Jimmy Maelen, Crusher Bennet – percussion
- Louise Bethune, Peggie Blue, Ivonne Lewis, Ullanda McCullough, Deborah McDuffie, Vicki Sue Robinson, Ann E. Sutton, Luther Vandross – backing vocals
Music video
The original promotional music video was the scene from the film. Cara only has a very short part in that scene.
To promote the re-release of the single Cara appeared in a new video shot in mid-June 1982 in New York City, mainly on and around Broadway. It includes Cara sitting on one of New York's Yellow Cabs and dancing at the entrance to the School Of Performing Arts.
Charts
"Fame" rose to number four on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 1980. It also reached number one on the Billboard dance chart for one week. The song was re-released in the United Kingdom in July 1982, where it peaked at the top of the UK Singles Chart for three weeks following the debut of the Fame TV series on the British television network BBC One the previous month, becoming Britain's third best-selling song of 1982 behind "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor and "Come On Eileen" by Dexys Midnight Runners and the Emerald Express, the latter of which dethroned "Fame" from the top of the UK Singles Chart.
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| Canada (RPM)
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|Luxembourg (Radio Luxembourg)
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|South Africa (Springbok Radio)
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| US Cash Box Top 100 Pop Singles
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|Finland (Suomen virallinen singlelista)
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Year-end charts
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! align="left" |Chart (1980)
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| Australia (Kent Music Report)
| style="text-align:center;"|66
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| US Cash Box Top 100 Pop Singles
| style="text-align:center;"|40
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! align="left" |Chart (1982)
! style="text-align:center;"|Rank
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| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)
| style="text-align:center;"|11
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| UK (British Market Research Bureau)
| style="text-align:center;"|3
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! align="left" |Chart (1983)
! style="text-align:center;"|Rank
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| Netherlands (Nationale Hitparade)
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Certifications
See also
- "Remember (Fame)" - the Japanese-language cover by pop duo Pink Lady
- List of Dutch Top 40 number-one singles of 1983
- List of million-selling singles in the United Kingdom
- List of number-one dance singles of 1980 (U.S.)
- List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 1980s
- List of number-one singles in 1982 (New Zealand)