Born Free (Matt Monro)

24 JUNE 1966

The movie ‘Born Free' premiered during this week. The song from the movie, written by John Barry and Don Black and sung by Matt Monro, won that year's Academy Award for Best Original Song. However, the film producers had thought the song was so uncommercial that they cut it from the version of the movie shown at its premiere. Monro and Black lobbied for the song to be restored, and a new shortened version was recorded especially for the film.

Despite 'Born Free' becoming Monro's signature song, it had a very mixed chart history. The pianist Roger Williams released a version which peaked at #7 on the US Billboard Hot 100 charts in 1966, but Monro only reached #126 there. It does not seem to have been released in the UK, but did reach #1 on some Australian charts. A strange fate for an easy listening classic sung by one of the greatest British crooners and taken from an immensely successful movie.