Moon River (Breakfast at Tiffany's)

Mancini wrote Moon River for Breakfast at Tiffany's in 1961 knowing exactly who would sing it: Audrey Hepburn, whose range was narrow, sitting on a fire escape with a guitar. Johnny Mercer supplied the lyric, in which the river is a promise rather than a place. A studio executive at the preview wanted the number cut from the film, and Hepburn is said to have refused outright. The song took the Academy Award for Best Original Song and Mancini's score took a second, and within a year the melody had been recorded by dozens of other singers.