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This British compilation differs from other Ethel Merman retrospectives in that it focuses on a little-remembered aspect of the singer's recording career, her non-cast studio recordings of the early 1950s that appeared only on a series of singles. Like other Broadway stars, Merman didn't do much recording outside of cast albums, although she did cut some tracks for RCA Victor and Brunswick in the 1930s and early '40s before the era of the "Original Broadway Cast" album. Following the success of her show Annie Get Your Gun and its Decca Records cast album in 1946, however, Merman signed an exclusive term contract with Decca. The disadvantage of such a contract became apparent in 1950, when she starred in the musical Call Me Madam but was unable to appear on the cast album, which had been assigned to RCA, and had to record her own solo album of the show's songs instead, while Dinah Shore substituted on the RCA LP with the rest of the original cast. In addition to her Call Me Madam collection, Merman also recorded a bunch of singles that included her versions of songs from contemporary musicals such as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and Flahooley; covers of the current pop hits "I Said My Pajamas (And Put on My Pray'rs)" and "If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake," both performed as duets with fellow Broadway star Ray Bolger; and novelty tunes, some of them done with Bolger, others with Jimmy Durante. The material did not measure up to the Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, and Cole Porter songs she was accustomed to singing on-stage, but Merman threw herself into the sessions enthusiastically, and the performances showed off a light, playful side of her not always apparent on her cast albums. This collection, the first attempt to gather these rarely heard tracks together, should be welcomed by show music fans.
© William Ruhlmann /TiVo
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Jay Blackton, Conductor, Artist - Jule Styne, ComposerLyricist - Leo Robin, ComposerLyricist - Ethel Merman, MainArtist
℗ 1987 Universal Classics Group, a Division of UMG Recordings Inc.
Jay Blackton, Conductor, Artist - Jule Styne, ComposerLyricist - Leo Robin, ComposerLyricist - Ethel Merman, MainArtist
℗ 1987 Universal Classics Group, a Division of UMG Recordings Inc.
Bob Hilliard, ComposerLyricist - Sy Oliver, Conductor - Ray Bolger, FeaturedArtist - Ethel Merman, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Dave Martin, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1987 Universal Classics Group, a Division of UMG Recordings Inc.
Sy Oliver, Conductor, Artist - Ray Bolger, FeaturedArtist - Ethel Merman, MainArtist - George Wyle, ComposerLyricist - Edward Eddie Pola, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1987 Universal Classics Group, a Division of UMG Recordings Inc.
Sy Oliver, Conductor, Artist - Jack Elliott, Author - Harold Spina, Composer - Ray Bolger, FeaturedArtist - Ethel Merman, MainArtist
℗ 1987 Universal Classics Group, a Division of UMG Recordings Inc.
Clem Watts, ComposerLyricist - Al Hoffman, ComposerLyricist - Sy Oliver, Conductor - Bob Merrill, ComposerLyricist - Ray Bolger, MainArtist - Ethel Merman, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1950 Universal Classics Group, a Division of UMG Recordings Inc.
Allan Roberts, ComposerLyricist - Irving Gordon, ComposerLyricist - Ethel Merman, MainArtist - Frankie Froba and His Gang, Ensemble, Artist - The Melodeans Quartet, Ensemble, Artist
℗ 1987 Universal Classics Group, a Division of UMG Recordings Inc.
Joe Greene, ComposerLyricist - Ethel Merman, MainArtist - Betsy Ellis, ComposerLyricist - Frankie Froba and His Gang, Ensemble, Artist - The Melodeans Quartet, Ensemble, Artist
℗ 1987 Universal Classics Group, a Division of UMG Recordings Inc.
Sol Meyer, ComposerLyricist - Jule Styne, ComposerLyricist - Ethel Merman, MainArtist
℗ 1987 Universal Classics Group, a Division of UMG Recordings Inc.
Gus Kahn, Author - Richard A. Whiting, Composer - Ethel Merman, MainArtist
℗ 1987 Universal Classics Group, a Division of UMG Recordings Inc.
Sy Oliver, Conductor, Artist - Ray Bolger, MainArtist - Ethel Merman, MainArtist - Walter Cohen, ComposerLyricist - Frank Perlman, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1987 Universal Classics Group, a Division of UMG Recordings Inc.
Sy Oliver, Conductor, Artist - Ray Bolger, MainArtist - Ethel Merman, MainArtist - Dave Franklin, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1987 Universal Classics Group, a Division of UMG Recordings Inc.
Sy Oliver, Conductor, Artist - Buddy Kaye, ComposerLyricist - Ray Bolger, MainArtist - Ethel Merman, MainArtist - Tony Starr, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1987 Universal Classics Group, a Division of UMG Recordings Inc.
Sy Oliver, Conductor, Artist - Carl Sigman, ComposerLyricist - Peter De Rose, ComposerLyricist - Ray Bolger, MainArtist - Ethel Merman, MainArtist
℗ 1987 Universal Classics Group, a Division of UMG Recordings Inc.
Dorothy Fields, ComposerLyricist - Arthur Schwartz, Composer - Ethel Merman, MainArtist - Dave Terry Orchestra, Orchestra, Artist
℗ 1987 Universal Classics Group, a Division of UMG Recordings Inc.
Sammy Fain, ComposerLyricist - E.Y. HARBURG, ComposerLyricist - Ethel Merman, MainArtist - Dave Terry Orchestra, Orchestra, Artist
℗ 1987 Universal Classics Group, a Division of UMG Recordings Inc.
Dorothy Fields, ComposerLyricist - Arthur Schwartz, ComposerLyricist - Ethel Merman, MainArtist - Dave Terry Orchestra, Orchestra, Artist
℗ 1987 Universal Classics Group, a Division of UMG Recordings Inc.
Dick Manning, ComposerLyricist - Jimmy Durante, MainArtist - Ethel Merman, MainArtist - Carroll Carroll, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1987 Universal Classics Group, a Division of UMG Recordings Inc.
CHARLES TOBIAS, ComposerLyricist - Jimmy Durante, MainArtist - Nat Simon, ComposerLyricist - Ethel Merman, MainArtist
℗ 1951 Universal Classics Group, a Division of UMG Recordings Inc.
Buddy Kaye, ComposerLyricist - Jimmy Durante, MainArtist - Ethel Merman, MainArtist - Hal Borne, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1987 Universal Classics Group, a Division of UMG Recordings Inc.
Album review
This British compilation differs from other Ethel Merman retrospectives in that it focuses on a little-remembered aspect of the singer's recording career, her non-cast studio recordings of the early 1950s that appeared only on a series of singles. Like other Broadway stars, Merman didn't do much recording outside of cast albums, although she did cut some tracks for RCA Victor and Brunswick in the 1930s and early '40s before the era of the "Original Broadway Cast" album. Following the success of her show Annie Get Your Gun and its Decca Records cast album in 1946, however, Merman signed an exclusive term contract with Decca. The disadvantage of such a contract became apparent in 1950, when she starred in the musical Call Me Madam but was unable to appear on the cast album, which had been assigned to RCA, and had to record her own solo album of the show's songs instead, while Dinah Shore substituted on the RCA LP with the rest of the original cast. In addition to her Call Me Madam collection, Merman also recorded a bunch of singles that included her versions of songs from contemporary musicals such as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and Flahooley; covers of the current pop hits "I Said My Pajamas (And Put on My Pray'rs)" and "If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake," both performed as duets with fellow Broadway star Ray Bolger; and novelty tunes, some of them done with Bolger, others with Jimmy Durante. The material did not measure up to the Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, and Cole Porter songs she was accustomed to singing on-stage, but Merman threw herself into the sessions enthusiastically, and the performances showed off a light, playful side of her not always apparent on her cast albums. This collection, the first attempt to gather these rarely heard tracks together, should be welcomed by show music fans.
© William Ruhlmann /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 20 track(s)
- Total length: 00:58:35
- Main artists: Ethel Merman
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: MCA
- Genre: Classical Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred)
© 2005 Universal Classics Group, a Division of UMG Recordings Inc. ℗ 2005 Universal Classics Group, a Division of UMG Recordings Inc.
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