A song has the unique ability to make you feel a moment in a way that a speech or a photo cannot. When it comes to emotional resonance, the power of music reigns.

While Paramount Pictures was making Selma, President of Motion Picture Music Randy Spendlove was huddling with director Ava DuVernay and producers Oprah Winfrey, Dede Gardener and Jeremy Kleiner to figure out how to conjure a song with that power.

“There were a lot of conversations,” explains Spendlove.

John Legend, director Ava DuVernay, Paramount's Randy Spendlove, Atom Factory's Ty Stiklorius (Legend's manager) and Common

The Oscar- and Golden Globe-winning “Glory” was the brainchild of Common, who recruited pal John Legend for the chorus and later arranged the 60-piece orchestra recording with Spendlove to finish the record.

“When Ava put it on the end of the film and we got a chance to watch the movie and see it play over these amazing stills that the set photographer had taken, we just looked at each other and said, 'WOW,'” the exec recalls.

Since the Oscar broadcast, “Glory” has been in the Top 10 singles at iTunes, moving some172k tracks overall—with 70,000 of that happening within 24 hours of their powerful performance on the show.

A charity component, meanwhile, has raised $75k for Selma High School.

Legend, Common and their respective labels, Columbia Records and G.O.O.D./Def Jam, donated the first $25k in single-sales royalties to the school, and Viacom and Paramount each matched the gift.

“What is amazing is that it won the Golden Globe, became the finale on the Grammys (despite not being a nominated song, which they usually don't do), and became the most impactful moment of the Oscars," Spendlove points out. "I don't believe that has ever happened before."

“Forty-seven years ago the Oscars telecast was postponed for the first time in history…out of respect for Dr. Martin Luther King who was gunned down four days before the ceremony,” Oscar winner Octavia Spencer addressed the crowd before introducing the two artists’ performance. “Tonight, 50 years after Dr. King's march through Selma, Alabama, two artists have joined forces to create a song that speaks to the struggles that continue to this day.“