Memory (song)

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Memory is the showstopper song from the musical Cats sung by the character Grizabella, a one-time glamour cat who is now a shell of her former self. The song is a nostalgic remembrance of her glorious past and a declaration of her wishes to start a new life. Sung near the end of the show, Memory is the climax of the musical, and by far the musical's most popular and well-known song.

The song was composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The lyrics were written by Trevor Nunn, and based on TS Eliot's poem, "Rhapsody on a Windy Night".

Lloyd Webber, fearing that the tune sounded too similar to a work of Puccini, asked his father's opinion. According to Lloyd Webber, his father responded, "It sounds like a million dollars!"

It is arguably Lloyd Webber's biggest hit, inspiring thousands of renditions. Notable artists who have made the song popular include Elaine Paige (the original Grizabella), Barbra Streisand, Betty Buckley, and Barry Manilow.

The song's climax is in the key of D-flat major, the composer's favorite.

It is often referred to as "Memories", which is incorrect (although Barbra Streisand's rendition did appear on her 1981 semi-greatest-hits album titled Memories). The correct title is the singular "Memory".

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