Song:The Morning After
Album:Greatest Hits
Maureen McGovern topped the charts in 1973 with The Morning After from the film The Poseidon Adventure. She became known for singing film themes and then in the 80s she turned to cabaret music and occasional Broadway appearances. She was born July 27, 1949 in Youngstown, OH. Her father led a vocal quartet that rehearsed in their home. Apparently Maureen wanted to be a singer at a very young age. After graduating high school, she worked as a secretary while leading the folk music group Sweet Rain. The Morning After was written by film composer Joel Hirschorn and frequent songwriting partner and lyricist Al Kasha. They wrote a couple of hits for Ronnie Dove in the mid-60s and then Hirschorn got into composing music for films. In The Towering Inferno, The Morning After is performed briefly by actress Carol Lynley dubbed by Renee Armand. 20th Century Fox asked 20th Century Records president Russ Regan to turn it into a hit record. Regan had just heard Maureen's demo and he signed her and went to Cleveland to have Maureen record it. The Morning After topped the charts in 1973 and it won the Best Song Oscar. Maureen also recorded Nice To Be Around from the 1974 film Cinderella Liberty. It was Oscar nominated but was not a hit. Then she recorded We May Never Love Like This Again from the 1974 film The Towering Inferno which won an Oscar but was not a hit. Maureen recorded three albums for 20th Century but Regan spent all the money. She was broke so she moved to Los Angeles and signed with Curb Records. She recorded Can You Read My Mind which was supposed to be in the 1978 film Superman but wasn't used. Then she recorded Different Worlds, the theme of the sitcom Angie. That record reached #18 on the Billboard Hot 100. You can get all of Maureen's 70s hits on this comp. Maureen made her Broadway debut in Pirates of Penzance in 1981 and by the late 80s she established herself in nightclubs. She also records occasionally, most recently in 2008. She also does fundraising for Muscular Dystrophy and has appeared on the Jerry Lewis Telethon for many years. I think this kind of thing is what she really wanted to do all along. Pop music stardom isn't for everybody. Here's Maureen McGovern performing The Morning After on the 1988 Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon.
Maureen's song 'The Morning After" is one I like listening to every now and then. I listen to that song as a child growing up my parents would play it. Old favorite of mine.
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