# Oliver & Company (soundtrack)
**Oliver & Company (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)** is the soundtrack album to the 1988 [Walt Disney Animation Studios](https://www.edgepedia.org/walt-disney-animation-studios) film *Oliver & Company*, released on [Walt Disney Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/walt-disney-records) on records, cassettes, and compact discs. It pairs six pop-style vocal songs performed by well-known 1980s recording artists with an instrumental score by J.A.C. Redford, and it is remembered as the recording on which lyricist [Howard Ashman](https://www.edgepedia.org/howard-ashman) began his work for Disney.[1](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Archive-RandR/1980s/1988/RR-1988-11-11.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Lead single song | "Why Should I Worry?", written by Dan Hartman and Charlie Midnight, produced by Phil Ramone, performed by Billy Joel[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095776/soundtrack/) |
| Opening song | "Once Upon a Time in New York City", music by Barry Mann, lyrics by Howard Ashman, performed by Huey Lewis[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095776/soundtrack/) |
| Other performers | Ruth Pointer ("Streets of Gold"), Bette Midler ("Perfect Isn't Easy"), Myhanh Tran ("Good Company"), Rubén Blades ("Buscando Guayaba")[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095776/soundtrack/) |
| Score | Instrumental cues composed by J.A.C. Redford, orchestrated by Thomas Pasatieri[3](https://www.fast-rewind.com/music_olivercompany.htm) |
| CD edition | Disney catalog 60406-2, eleven tracks, total duration 35:29[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/oliver-company-original-motion-picture-soundtrack--mr0001128070) • [5](https://www.soundtrackcollector.com/title/2215/Oliver%2B%26%2BCompany) |
| Vinyl milestone | The last soundtrack album of a Walt Disney Animation Studios feature released on vinyl until *Frozen* in 2014[6](https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Oliver_%26_Company_%28soundtrack%29) |
## Songs and performers
The album's six vocal songs were each written and produced by different teams, and each is sung by a performer associated with 1980s pop radio rather than with Broadway musical theater.[3](https://www.fast-rewind.com/music_olivercompany.htm)- **"Once Upon a Time in New York City"** opens the film and the album. The music is by [Barry Mann](https://www.edgepedia.org/barry-mann) and the lyrics by Howard Ashman, and it was produced by Stewart Levine and performed by [Huey Lewis](https://www.edgepedia.org/huey-lewis).[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095776/soundtrack/) The song runs 3:55 on the CD.[5](https://www.soundtrackcollector.com/title/2215/Oliver%2B%26%2BCompany)
- **"Why Should I Worry?"** was written by [Dan Hartman](https://www.edgepedia.org/dan-hartman) and Charlie Midnight, produced by Phil Ramone, and performed by Billy Joel, who also voices the character Dodger in the film. A reprise credited to Joel, Ruth Pointer, Roscoe Lee Browne, Cheech Marin, and Richard Mulligan appears in the film's credits.[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095776/soundtrack/) The album version runs 3:32.[5](https://www.soundtrackcollector.com/title/2215/Oliver%2B%26%2BCompany)
- **"Streets of Gold"** has music by Tom Snow, lyrics by Dean Pitchford, production by Snow, and is performed by Ruth Pointer of the Pointer Sisters.[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095776/soundtrack/)
- **"Perfect Isn't Easy"** has music by Barry Manilow, lyrics by Jack Feldman and Bruce Sussman, and was produced by Manilow and performed by Bette Midler as the pampered poodle Georgette.[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095776/soundtrack/)
- **"Good Company"** was written by Ron Rocha and Rob Minkoff, produced by J.A.C. Redford, and performed by Myhanh Tran.[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095776/soundtrack/)
- **"Buscando Guayaba"** was written by Rubén Blades, produced by Willie Colón, and performed by Blades, used courtesy of Fania Records.[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095776/soundtrack/)
Several additional, uncredited songs appear in the film itself, including [Cheech Marin](https://www.edgepedia.org/cheech-marin)'s performances of "I Could Have Danced All Night" (Frederick Loewe and [Alan Jay Lerner](https://www.edgepedia.org/alan-jay-lerner)) and "Heigh-Ho" (Frank Churchill and Larry Morey).[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095776/soundtrack/)
## Instrumental score
The film's underscore consists of five principal cues, all composed by J.A.C. Redford: "Sykes", "Bedtime Story", "The Rescue", "Pursuit Through the Subway", and "End Title".[3](https://www.fast-rewind.com/music_olivercompany.htm) The orchestration was by Thomas Pasatieri.[3](https://www.fast-rewind.com/music_olivercompany.htm) On the 1995 [Walt Disney](https://www.edgepedia.org/walt-disney) 60890-2 CD these cues are sequenced among the songs, with "Sykes" at 2:15, "Bedtime Story" at 4:35, "The Rescue" at 3:22, "Pursuit through the Subway" at 3:43, and "End Title" at 1:15, for a total duration of 35:29.[5](https://www.soundtrackcollector.com/title/2215/Oliver%2B%26%2BCompany)
## Production background
*Oliver & Company*, a loose adaptation of [Charles Dickens](https://www.edgepedia.org/charles-dickens)' *Oliver Twist*, was approved for production in 1985, and, following the studio's established outside-contractor model for music talent, was planned to feature songs by five different songwriting teams.[7](https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/ws/send_file/send%3Faccession%3Dcase1670604856603896%26disposition%3Dinline) At the suggestion of [David Geffen](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-geffen), who was then working on the film adaptation of *Little Shop of Horrors*, Jeffrey Katzenberg hired Howard Ashman, by then a celebrated playwright and lyricist, to write the opening song's lyrics.[7](https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/ws/send_file/send%3Faccession%3Dcase1670604856603896%26disposition%3Dinline) Ashman co-wrote "Once Upon a Time in New York City" with Barry Mann, and he and composer [Alan Menken](https://www.edgepedia.org/alan-menken) went on to write the songs for the next three Disney animated features.[6](https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Oliver_%26_Company_%28soundtrack%29)
## Releases
The original 1988 release placed the instrumental cues between the songs in the order in which they appeared in the film.[6](https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Oliver_%26_Company_%28soundtrack%29) The album appeared on LP, cassette, and CD from Walt Disney Records; the CD carries catalog number 60406-2 with a listed duration of 35:29.[1](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Archive-RandR/1980s/1988/RR-1988-11-11.pdf) • [4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/oliver-company-original-motion-picture-soundtrack--mr0001128070) It was the last soundtrack album to a Walt Disney Animation Studios feature released on vinyl record until the *Frozen* soundtrack returned to the format in 2014.[6](https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Oliver_%26_Company_%28soundtrack%29)
International editions followed the film's theatrical rollout. In the United Kingdom, Pickwick Music issued an 11-track vinyl LP on its own label in 1988, timed to the film's British release.[8](https://eil.com/shop/moreinfo.asp?catalogid=447367) • [9](https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1989/MW-1989-12-02.pdf) Later CD editions include a Walt Disney 60890-2 release from 1995, a Disney 60722 CD from 2001, a German Polydor CD from 1997, and a French Walt Disney Records CD from 1995; SoundtrackCollector lists ten labels for the title overall.[5](https://www.soundtrackcollector.com/title/2215/Oliver%2B%26%2BCompany) A Brazilian promotional 45 RPM single on CBS Records paired a Portuguese adaptation of "Why Should I Worry?" ("Eu Não Vou Esquentar"), adapted by Telmo Perle Münch and performed by Leo Jaime.[5](https://www.soundtrackcollector.com/title/2215/Oliver%2B%26%2BCompany)
## Reception and legacy
"Why Should I Worry?" has remained the album's best-known song; *Time* included it in the honorable mentions of its 2024 ranking of the fifty best Disney songs.[10](https://time.com/7178930/best-disney-songs/) Commentators have noted that the song works as a standalone 1980s [Billy Joel](https://www.edgepedia.org/billy-joel) pop recording rather than a typical Disney musical number, and that the album's radio-pop orientation distinguishes it from the Broadway-style scores of the [Disney Renaissance](https://www.edgepedia.org/disney-renaissance) films that followed.[3](https://www.fast-rewind.com/music_olivercompany.htm) The soundtrack is also frequently cited as a precursor to the Disney Renaissance: Ashman's work on the opening song led directly to his collaboration with Alan Menken on *The Little Mermaid*, *Beauty and the Beast*, and *Aladdin*.[6](https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Oliver_%26_Company_%28soundtrack%29) • [7](https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/ws/send_file/send%3Faccession%3Dcase1670604856603896%26disposition%3Dinline)
## References
1. [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack advertisement, Radio & Records, November 11, 1988](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Archive-RandR/1980s/1988/RR-1988-11-11.pdf)
2. [Oliver & Company (1988) - Soundtracks, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095776/soundtrack/)
3. [Oliver & Company (1988) Soundtrack and Movie Music, The 80s Movies Rewind](https://www.fast-rewind.com/music_olivercompany.htm)
4. [Oliver & Company [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack], AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/oliver-company-original-motion-picture-soundtrack--mr0001128070)
5. [Oliver & Company - Soundtrack details, SoundtrackCollector](https://www.soundtrackcollector.com/title/2215/Oliver%2B%26%2BCompany)
6. [Oliver & Company (soundtrack), Disney Wiki](https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Oliver_%26_Company_%28soundtrack%29)
7. [Dissertation on Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, OhioLINK ETD](https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/ws/send_file/send%3Faccession%3Dcase1670604856603896%26disposition%3Dinline)
8. [Walt Disney Pictures Presents Oliver And Company UK vinyl LP, eil.com](https://eil.com/shop/moreinfo.asp?catalogid=447367)
9. [Music Week, December 2, 1989, worldradiohistory.com](https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1989/MW-1989-12-02.pdf)
10. [The 50 Best Disney Songs, Ranked, Time](https://time.com/7178930/best-disney-songs/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Soundtrack albums (film, TV, games, and screen media) › Live-action film soundtracks › Song and compilation soundtracks*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license