1988 Oscar-Winning Hit Track Made Awards Season History 37 Years Ago
AmongMelanie Griffith's well-known Hollywood films, there's one romantic comedy that led to not only an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, but a win for Best Original Song. In 1988, Carly Simon wrote and sang an original theme song for a film that would make awards-season history that same year.
Directed by Mike Nicholas and written by Kevin Wade, Working Girl became a hit of the late '80s and a box office success, having made $108 million. Griffith was joined in the leading cast by Harrison Fordand Sigourney Weaver in a story about ambition and making it in the big city. Working Girl centered on working-class Staten Islander Tess McGill (Griffith) as she hopes to climb the corporate ladder after receiving her business degree in night school.
Despite her intelligence, Tess is dismissed as a bimbo and fired. She lands a new job assisting Katharine Parker, who encourages her ideas-until Tess discovers her boss plans to steal her proposal. When Katharine breaks her leg, Tess seizes the chance to step into her role and prove herself.
Like any good film, there needs to be a central theme song. The opening scene of Working Girl follows Manhattan-bound commuters on the Staten Island Ferry while Simon's "Let the River Run" plays. Simon developed the track exclusively for the film and would end up earning her an Oscar for Best Original Song at the 1989 Academy Awards.
That's not all, Simon also made awards season history when she won in the same category for both a Golden Globe and a Grammy. She won the Grammy Award for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television. Simon would become one of the two artists to ever win this trio of awards for a song composed, written, and performed by a single artist.
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The gospel-pop-rock track only peaked at No. 49 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, but became one of Simon's most beloved hits among fans. "Let the River Run" took on a new meaning among listeners following the events of September 11, 2001. Part of the song's lyrics, "Silver cities rise", were interpreted as a reference to the Twin Towers, which were included in the official music video.
It was later used as a Christmastime advertisement for the United States Postal Service following 9/11 and the 2001 anthrax attacks. Simon would also perform the track alongside her children at Ground Zero during the memorial service in 2009.
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This story was originally published April 24, 2026 at 3:29 PM.