Editing Charlie Chaplin (section)

===Composing===
[[File:Charlie Chaplin playing the cello 1915.jpg|thumb|upright|Chaplin playing the cello in 1915]]

Chaplin developed a passion for music as a child and taught himself to play the piano, violin, and cello.{{sfnm|1a1=Robinson|1p=411|2a1=Louvish|2pp=17–18}} He considered the musical accompaniment of a film to be important,{{sfn|Robinson|pp=382}} and from ''A Woman of Paris'' onwards he took an increasing interest in this area.{{sfn|Robinson|p=411}} With the advent of sound technology, Chaplin began using a synchronised orchestral soundtrack{{snd}}composed by himself{{snd}}for ''City Lights'' (1931). He thereafter composed the scores for all of his films, and from the late 1950s to his death, he scored all of his silent features and some of his short films.{{sfn|Vance|2000|p=xiii}}

As Chaplin was not a trained musician, he could not read sheet music and needed the help of professional composers, such as [[David Raksin]], [[Raymond Rasch]] and Eric James, when creating his scores. Musical directors were employed to oversee the recording process, such as [[Alfred Newman (composer)|Alfred Newman]] for ''City Lights''.{{sfn|Slowik|p=133}} Although some critics have claimed that credit for his film music should be given to the composers who worked with him, Raksin{{snd}}who worked with Chaplin on ''Modern Times''{{snd}}stressed Chaplin's creative position and active participation in the composing process.{{sfn|Raksin and Berg|pp=47–50}} This process, which could take months, would start with Chaplin describing to the composer(s) exactly what he wanted and singing or playing tunes he had improvised on the piano.{{sfn|Raksin and Berg|pp=47–50}} These tunes were then developed further in a close collaboration among the composer(s) and Chaplin.{{sfn|Raksin and Berg|pp=47–50}} According to film historian [[Jeffrey Vance]], "although he relied upon associates to arrange varied and complex instrumentation, the musical imperative is his, and not a note in a Chaplin musical score was placed there without his assent."<ref name="VarietyVance">Vance, Jeffrey (4 August 2003). "Chaplin the Composer: An Excerpt from Chaplin: Genius of the Cinema". ''Variety'' Special Advertising Supplement, pp. 20–21.</ref>

Chaplin's compositions produced three popular songs. "[[Smile (Charlie Chaplin song)|Smile]]", composed originally for ''Modern Times'' (1936) and later set to lyrics by [[John Turner (lyricist)|John Turner]] and [[Geoffrey Parsons (lyricist)|Geoffrey Parsons]], was a hit for [[Nat King Cole]] in 1954.<ref name="VarietyVance"/> For ''Limelight'', Chaplin composed "Terry's Theme", which was popularised by [[Jimmy Young (broadcaster)|Jimmy Young]] as "[[Eternally (Charlie Chaplin song)|Eternally]]" (1952).{{sfn|Kamin|p=198}} Finally, "[[This Is My Song (1967 song)|This Is My Song]]", performed by [[Petula Clark]] for ''A Countess from Hong Kong'' (1967), reached number one on the UK and other European charts.<ref>Hennessy, Mike (22 April 1967). "[https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/60s/1967/Billboard%201967-04-22.pdf#page=56 Chaplin's 'Song' Catches Fire in Europe]". ''Billboard'', p. 60.</ref> Chaplin also received his only competitive Oscar for his composition work, as the ''Limelight'' theme won an [[Academy Award for Best Original Score]] in 1973 following the film's re-release.<ref name="VarietyVance"/>{{efn|Although the film had originally been released in 1952, it did not play for one week in Los Angeles because of its boycott, and thus did not meet the criterion for nomination until it was re-released in 1972.<ref>{{cite news|last=Weston |first=Jay |title=Charlie Chaplin's Limelight at the Academy After 60 Years |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/jay-weston/charlie-chaplin-limelight_b_1938236.html |work=HuffPost |date=10 April 2012 |access-date=2 February 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513093513/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jay-weston/charlie-chaplin-limelight_b_1938236.html |archive-date=13 May 2013 }}</ref>}}