Composer Dimitri Tiomkin scored the film and composed the theme song "The High and the Mighty". The theme song was also called "The Whistling Song" because John Wayne whistled the tune during production. Tiomkin's music for the film topped hit parade charts and remained there for weeks, increasing the profile of the film itself. A 1955 national survey of disc jockeys labeled the song as the "most whistleable tune". Hollywood producers learned that a publicized title song could have value in attracting audiences to theaters. The song's "haunting strains" were played on the radio and on recordings in the years after the film's release. It was nominated for the Best Song at the 27th Academy Awards in 1955, but lost to "Three Coins in the Fountain" from the film of the same name.