Nadia’s Theme by Barry De Vorzon and Perry Botkin Jr. – Improvised by pianist Charles Manning

“Nadia’s Theme” was composed by Barry De Vorzon and Perry Botkin, Jr. in 1971. Originally titled “Cotton’s Dream,” the piece was written as incidental music for the 1971 film “Bless the Beasts and Children,” and subsequently released on the film’s soundtrack album. Since the 1973 debut of the television soap opera “The Young and the Restless,” the song has been used as the theme music for the series. During the 1976 Summer Olympics, the ABC program “Wide World of Sports” used “Cotton’s Dream” as background music for a montage of routines by Romanian gymnast Nadia Comăneci. The song was further associated with Comăneci in the broadcast of “Nadia-From Romania with Love,” a TV special co-produced by CBS and Romanian television. Other versions of “Nadia’s Theme” have been recorded by Ray Conniff, James Galway, Ferrante & Teicher, the Lawrence Welk Show, and Roger Williams. In this version, pianist Charles Manning improvises the award-winning song, “Nadia’s Theme.” Award: Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement (1978), Harry Betts, Perry Botkin, Jr., and Barry De Vorzon, Recipients, performed by Barry De Vorzon