Diane Warren has entered rarified Oscar territory. On Jan. 23, she was nominated for best original song for the seventh year in a row, for her song “The Fire Inside” from Flamin’ Hot. That’s the longest continuous streak of nominations in this category since Sammy Cahn was nominated eight years in a row from 1954-61.
Warren is one of just eight songwriters or composers to be nominated for an Oscar seven years running. By adding in composers, we are broadening the discussion to include nominations in scoring categories.
Some of the names on this list, like the legendary John Williams, you will immediately recognize. You probably also know Alfred Newman, the patriarch of the Newman family scoring dynasty, and Max Steiner, one of the great composers of Hollywood’s golden age. Other names most likely won’t ring a bell, but we listed some of their most famous credits from their nominations streak, which you are more likely to recognize.
Famously, Warren has yet to win a competitive Oscar, and this wouldn’t appear to be her year to finally bring one home. “What Was I Made For?” from Barbie seems to be headed for a win. The other nominees in the category are “I’m Just Ken,” also from Barbie; “It Never Went Away,” from American Symphony; and “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People),” from Killers of the Flower Moon. The 96th Oscars will be presented on March 10.
Here are all songwriters or composers who received Oscar nominations in seven or more consecutive years. The years shown are the year of the film’s release.
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Diane Warren
7 consecutive years (2017-23)
Warren worked with a collaborator – something she does relatively rarely – on two of these seven nominated songs. She teamed with Common on “Stand Up for Something” from Marshall, and with Laura Pausini on “”Io sì (Seen) from (The Life Ahead (La Vita Davanti a Se).
Warren is one of just six individuals in Oscar history to receive 15 or more best original song nods. She is one of just two women to achieve that feat, along with the late Marilyn Bergman. Warren has yet to win a competitive Oscar, but in 2022 she received a Governors Award from the Academy “for her genius, generosity and passionate commitment to the power of song in film.”
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Robert Emmett Dolan
7 consecutive years (1941-47)
Dolan was nominated for scoring Holiday Inn, Blue Skies, The Bells of St. Mary’s and Road to Rio, among others. He died in 1972.
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John Williams
8 consecutive years (1995-2002)
Williams’ nominations during this streak include best original musical or comedy score for Sydney Pollack’s remake of Sabrina, and best original song for “Moonlight” from that film. (Williams has received just five song nominations during his storied career. His other 49 nods are in scoring categories). His other nods during this streak were for scoring Nixon, Amistad, Saving Private Ryan and Catch Me If You Can, among others.
Williams is 91. His best original score nomination this year for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny makes him the oldest Oscar nominee ever in a competitive category.
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Sammy Cahn
8 consecutive nods (1954-61)
Cahn won three of his four best original song Oscars during this streak – for “Three Coins in the Fountain” from the film of the same name, “All the Way” from The Joker Is Wild and “High Hopes” from A Hole in the Head. He co-wrote that first song with Jule Styne, and the next two with James Van Heusen. On winning his first Oscar, the witty Cahn said, “I counted 27 steps from my seat to the podium. It took us 14 years to get here. Thank you very much.”
Cahn landed 26 nominations for best original song during his career, more than anyone else in Oscar history. (Diane Warren needs 11 more nods to tie, 12 to set a new record – and I wouldn’t put it past her.) Cahn won four best original song Oscars, which puts him in a tie for the lead with Alan Menken, Johnny Mercer and Van Heusen. Cahn died in 1993.
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Herbert Stothart
8 consecutive nods (1938-45)
Stothart won for scoring the immortal The Wizard of Oz. He was also nominated for scoring Marie Antoinette and Madame Curie, among others. He died in 1949.
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Ray Heindorf
9 consecutive years (1942-50)
Heindorf won back-to-back scoring Oscars for Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) and This Is the Army (1943). He was also nominated during this streak for scoring Night and Day and Romance on the High Seas, among others. He received one best original song nod for “Some Sunday Morning” from San Antonio. He died in 1980.
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Max Steiner
13 consecutive years (1938-50)
Steiner won during this streak for scoring Since You Went Away and the Bette Davis classic Now, Voyager. He was also nominated for scoring two of the most famous and beloved movies ever made – Gone With the Wind and Casablanca.
Steiner received 20 career nods, a total topped only by John Williams and Alfred Newman. He died in 1971.
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Alfred Newman
19 consecutive years (1938-56)
Newman won eight of his record nine scoring Oscars during this streak – for Alexander’s Ragtime Band, Tin Pan Alley, The Song of Bernadette, Mother Wore Tights, With a Song in My Heart, Call Me Madam, Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing and The King and I. Newman received 41 scoring nods, second only to John Williams. Newman was the brother of Emil Newman and Lionel Newman, the uncle of Randy Newman. He died in 1970.
This story originally appeared on Billboard
