Carol Bayer Sager

The Prayer

The Prayer was co-written by veteran songwriters Carol Bayer Sager (b.1947) and David Foster (b.1949) for the animated feature film, Quest for Camelot (1998), and although the film didn’t do too well with either critics or audiences this Oscar-nominated song fared much better, earning the 1999 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song used in a motion picture. The movie’s soundtrack included solo versions by both Céline Dion (in English) and Andrea Bocelli (in Italian—a surprising choice for a tale of medieval English knights), and the singers soon after collaborated on a Grammy-nominated bilingual duet that made it onto the Contemporary Adult music charts in the U.S. and Canada. After the birth of her daughter Céline re-recorded it as A Mother’s Prayer, and among other duet versions is a pairing of Charlotte Church and Josh Groban. In any language, The Prayer is a moving plea for guidance and safe passage, and for a nonviolent world of peace and brotherhood.

--October 21, 2007 (Cromley and Friends: Voices & Violin, Bach to Broadway)