"Everybody Needs a Best Friend" | |
---|---|
Song by Norah Jones | |
from the album Ted: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
Language | English |
Released | June 26, 2012 |
Genre | Jazz |
Length | 2:28 |
Label | Universal Republic Records |
Composer(s) | Walter Murphy |
Lyricist(s) | Seth MacFarlane |
Music video | |
"Everybody Needs a Best Friend" on YouTube |
"Everybody Needs a Best Friend" is a song from the 2012 feature film Ted , with music composed by Walter Murphy and lyrics by Seth MacFarlane. Performed by Norah Jones during the film's opening credits, the song was used as the film's main theme song. It was released by Universal Republic Records on June 26, 2012. [1]
In January 2013, the song was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 85th Academy Awards. [2] MacFarlane was also the host of the Oscars while also being nominated. [3] [4]
The song’s opening verse was repurposed as the title theme in the Ted prequel series, which premiered in 2024.
Seth MacFarlane had sent Walter Murphy the script of Ted and said, "first of all, he wanted an old-fashioned score that would have themes for the individual characters. That idea intrigued me because in most summer films the score goes in and out of pop songs and isn't usually constructed that way. He also wanted a main title song that I could quote throughout the film."
MacFarlane had sent Murphy a set of lyrics, a different set of lyrics than the ones they used in "Everybody Needs a Best Friend," and Murphy would then write the theme. When MacFarlane had started filming of Ted, Murphy thought it would be funnier if the song were sung from the standpoint of Ted, so he rewrote the lyrics. Murphy then did a Nelson Riddle–type arrangement, and when they started recording, he got the idea of taking it to Norah Jones. Murphy flew to New York City with the Pro Tools files of the work they did on the scoring stage at Fox with a big band and string orchestra. [5]
Norah Jones performed the song live for the first time on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno . [6] Jones performed the song at the 85th Academy Awards ceremony on February 24, 2013. [7] Seth MacFarlane performed the song in August 2014 at the Hollywood Bowl during a John Williams concert. [8] 2024 Barbershop Harmony Society quartet champions Three and a Half Men performed a barbershop arrangement of the song during the 2024 International Quartet Finals. [9]
Norah Jones is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She has won several awards for her music and, as of 2023, had sold more than 53 million records worldwide. Billboard named her the top jazz artist of the 2000s decade. She has won nine Grammy Awards and was ranked 60th on Billboard magazine's artists of the '00s decade chart.
Seth Woodbury MacFarlane is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director, comedian, and singer. He is best known as the creator and star of the television series Family Guy and The Orville (2017–2022), and co-creator of the television series American Dad! and The Cleveland Show (2009–2013). He also co-wrote, co-produced, directed, and starred in the films Ted (2012) and its sequel Ted 2 (2015), and A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014).
Walter Anthony Murphy Jr. is an American composer, keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for the instrumental "A Fifth of Beethoven", a disco adaptation of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony which topped the charts in 1976 and was featured on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack in 1977. Further classical-disco fusions followed, such as "Flight '76", "Toccata and Funk in 'D' Minor" "Bolero", and "Mostly Mozart", but were not as successful.
"(You're the Flower of My Heart,) Sweet Adeline" is a ballad best known as a barbershop standard. It was first published in 1903, with lyrics by Richard Husch Gerard to music by Harry Armstrong, from a tune he had written in 1896 at the age of 18. According to a 1928 newspaper story, the lyrics were inspired "by a girl who worked at the music counter of a New York department store." After failing to find a publisher with the initial title, "You're the Flower of My Heart, Sweet Rosalie", according to a story the two decided a new title was in order and were inspired by a poster advertising the farewell tour of opera singer Adelina Patti. It did not become a hit until it was performed in 1904 by the group The Haydn Quartet. The Haydn Quartet's version was #1 for 10 weeks in 1904, and the Peerless Quartet also hit #1 with their version in 1904, for three weeks, according to Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories.
"High Hopes" is a popular song first popularized by Frank Sinatra, with music written by James Van Heusen and lyrics by Sammy Cahn. It was introduced by Sinatra and child actor Eddie Hodges in the 1959 film A Hole in the Head, was nominated for a Grammy, and won an Oscar for Best Original Song at the 32nd Academy Awards.
"Pennies from Heaven" is a 1936 American popular song with music by Arthur Johnston and lyrics by Johnny Burke. It was introduced by Bing Crosby with Georgie Stoll and his Orchestra in the 1936 film of the same name.
"Two Sleepy People" is a song written on September 10, 1938 by Hoagy Carmichael with lyrics by Frank Loesser.
"I Dream of Jesus" is the second episode in the seventh season of the American animated television series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on October 5, 2008. The episode makes prominent use of the song "Surfin' Bird" by the Trashmen and features Peter finding Jesus Christ, voiced by Alec Sulkin, working at a record shop and convincing him to make his second coming. Directed by Mike Kim and written by Brian Scully, the title of the episode refers to the television series I Dream of Jeannie. The episode guest starred Chris Cox, Ike Barinholtz, Amanda MacDonald, Niecy Nash, Sulkin and Paris and Perez Hilton.
The 85th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2012 and took place on February 24, 2013, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Pacific Time Zone (PST) / 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time Zone (EST). The ceremony was the first in the Academy's 85-year history to adopt the phrase "The Oscars" as the ceremony's official name during the broadcast and marketing. During the ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented Academy Awards in 24 categories. The ceremony was televised in the United States by ABC, and produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron and directed by Don Mischer. Actor Seth MacFarlane hosted the show for the first time.
Ted is a 2012 American fantasy comedy film co-produced and directed by Seth MacFarlane and written by MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin, and Wellesley Wild based on a story written by MacFarlane. The film stars Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis, with Joel McHale and Giovanni Ribisi in supporting roles, and MacFarlane providing the voice and motion capture of the title character. The film tells the story of John Bennett, a Boston native whose childhood wish brings his teddy bear friend Ted to life. However, in adulthood, Ted and John's friendship begins to interfere with the progression of John's relationship with his girlfriend, Lori Collins.
Music Is Better Than Words is the debut studio album by American actor and singer Seth MacFarlane. The album contains songs from the Great American Songbook, and features standards by Rodgers and Hammerstein and Lerner and Loewe, among other 1940s and ’50s-era show tunes. The album features duets with Norah Jones and Sara Bareilles. The album was produced and conducted by film and television composer Joel McNeely, who is also one of the composers of American Dad!, an animated TV series co-created by MacFarlane.
John Viener is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known as a director and voice actor for various characters on Family Guy as well as Norm on Phineas & Ferb.
Ted 2 is a 2015 American fantasy comedy film that serves as the sequel to Ted (2012). The film was co-produced and directed again by Seth MacFarlane, who co-wrote the script with returning writers Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild. The film follows the talking teddy bear Ted as he fights for his civil rights in order to be recognized as a person and not as property so he can adopt a child. In addition to MacFarlane, Mark Wahlberg, Giovanni Ribisi, and Jessica Barth also reprise their roles from the first film, with Amanda Seyfried, John Slattery, and Morgan Freeman joining the cast.
Seth MacFarlane is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director, comedian, and singer. MacFarlane began his career as an animator and writer for Hanna-Barbera for several television series, including Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken, Dexter's Laboratory, and created a sequel to his college thesis film Larry & Steve.
Holiday for Swing is the second studio album and first Christmas album by American actor and singer Seth MacFarlane, released by Republic Records on September 30, 2014. It is available on CD, vinyl and as a digital download. The album is a collection of Christmas songs and contains collaborations with artists including Norah Jones and Sara Bareilles. It also features Frank Sinatra's bassist Chuck Berghofer as well as a 65-piece orchestra. The album is the follow-up to MacFarlane's Grammy-nominated 2011 debut album Music Is Better Than Words. Like Music Is Better Than Words, Holiday for Swing was produced and conducted by film and television composer Joel McNeely.
In Full Swing is the fourth studio album by American actor and singer Seth MacFarlane. It was released on September 15, 2017, through Republic Records and Verve Records. The record was primarily produced by Joel McNeely and MacFarlane himself, who also serves as the executive producer. Featured artists included on the album are American singer-songwriter Norah Jones and American actress and singer Elizabeth Gillies.
Ted is an American fantasy comedy series created and directed by Seth MacFarlane for Peacock. The third installment in the Ted franchise, it serves as a prequel to the 2012 feature film and its 2015 sequel. It stars MacFarlane reprising his role as the voice of the titular character, alongside Max Burkholder, Alanna Ubach, Scott Grimes, and Giorgia Whigham.
The Ted franchise consists of American comedy installments, based on characters created by Seth MacFarlane. The plot centers around the titular teddy bear that magically comes to life, after the child he was gifted to wishes for it on a shooting star. Together, the pair form a friendship that lasts into their adulthood. The films star Seth MacFarlane and Mark Wahlberg as the two best friends, Ted and John Bennett, respectively, while the television series stars MacFarlane with Max Burkholder as a younger John, alongside an ensemble cast of the wider Bennett family.
Ted (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 2012 film Ted directed by Seth MacFarlane. The soundtrack featured musical score composed by Walter Murphy and songs from Queen, Hootie & The Blowfish, Rita Coolidge, Tiffany amongst others; an original song "Everybody Needs a Best Friend" written by MacFarlane and Murphy and performed by Norah Jones, which was later nominated for Academy Award for Best Original Song. The soundtrack was released through Universal Republic Records on June 26, 2012, three days ahead of the film's release.