Song of the Day 2/13: Maureen McGovern, “The Morning After”

Apparently I missed an exciting football game that ended badly for the Eagles on a questionable call by an official. At times like this it pays to remember the immortal words of former Cowboys running back Duane Thomas. Asked how it felt to be playing in the ultimate game, he responded, “If it’s the ultimate game, how come they’re playing it again next year?”

Maureen McGovern was unknown when she was tapped, sight unseen, to sing this theme to the 1972 disaster movie “The Poseidon Adventure” on the basis of a demo tape. The record hit No. 1 in 1973 and won an Oscar for Best Original Song.

The chart success kick-started McGovern’s singing career, which petered out a few years later. At that point she turnd to acting and spent most of the ’80s on Broadway. Before she got there, she scored a small role in the cult hit “Airplane!,” where she portrayed a singing nun, a spoof of Helen Reddy’s role in “Airport 1975.”