Tag Archives: Bob Merrill

Episode 179. The Pop Stylings of Maria Ewing

January 13, 2023African American Singers, Black History Month, Crossover, In Memoriam, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Pop Icons, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century MusicAngela Morley, Antônio Carlos Jobim, Barry Forgie, Billy Rose, Billy Strayhorn, Bob Merrill, Cole Porter, Cy Coleman, David Shire, Don Raye, Dorothy Fields, Edward Eliscu, George Gershwin, Gordon Rose, Harold Arlen, Harry South, Herman Hupfeld, Hugh Martin, Hughie Price, Iain Sutherland, Ira Gershwin, Jerome Moross, Jimmy Van Heusen, John LaTouche, John Wilson, Johnny Burker, Jule Styne, Ken Woodman, Kurt Weill, Kymaera, Maria Ewing, Maxwell Anderson, Neil Richardson, Norman Gimbel, Oscar Hammerstein II, Pete Moore, Ralph Blane, Richard Maltby, Richard Rodgers, Richard Rodney Bennett, Shane Hill, Simon James, Stephen Robinson, Ted Koehler, Vincent Youmanscountermelody

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A year ago, as I was preparing my memorial Countermelody episode dedicated to Maria Ewing I was struck anew at just how naturally she had mastered the often messy “crossover” genre. Perhaps that’s because she never “crossed over” at all: this material formed part of her essence. I thought it would be a lovely thing to give a more complete picture of her work as a pop singer, using three primary sources: first, her 1990 studio pop album entitled “From this Moment On,” featuring arrangements by Richard Rodney Bennett; second, a rare release entitled “Simply Maria,” which comprises a live concert she gave at the Barbican Centre in London in 10 May 1997; and third, live and studio recordings that she made in in the early 2000s with the jazz combo Kymaera, led by guitarist Simon James. The range of material is dizzying, from Broadway classics by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Cole Porter, Jule Styne, Harold Arlen, Cy Coleman, Kurt Weill, and George and Ira Gershwin to jazz stylings by Tom Jobim, eden ahbez, and Billy Strayhorn, with more than a few surprises along the way, and her mastery of it all is exceptional, with all of the intense commitment she showed in her operatic portrayals (and none of the condescension or preciousness associated with certain other crossover artists). I’m so thrilled to share this less well-known side of one of the great operatic singing actors of our time.

Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel’s lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody’s core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody’s Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly support at whatever level you can afford. Bonus episodes available exclusively to Patreon supporters are currently available and further bonus content including interviews and livestreams is planned for the upcoming season.

Episode 157. Forgotten Broadway I

August 12, 2022African American Singers, Broadway, Comic Relief, Crossover, Great Baritones, In Memoriam, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Pop Icons, Queer Pride, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century MusicAdolph Green, Alan Bergman, Alfred Drake, Alice Playten, Angela Lansbury, Anton Coppola, Barbara Cook, Barbra Streisand, Beatrice Arthur, Ben Bagley, Betty Comden, Bob Merrill, Broadway, Bruce Coughlin, Buster Davis, Claibe Richardson, Daniel Gundlach, Dear World, Do I Hear a Waltz, Dolores Gray, Don Costa, Don’t Bother Me I Can’t Cope, Donald Pippin, Dorothea Freitag, Drat the Cat, Elisse Boyd, Ervin Drake, Ethel Merman, Flahooley, Fran Landesman, Fred Werner, Frederick Dvonch, Funny Girl, George Forrest, Happy Hunting, Harold Karr, Herbert Greene, High Spirits, Ira Levin, Jay Blackton, Jerry Herman, Jimmy Jones, John Alban Coughlan, John Williams, Jule Styne, June Carroll, Kenward Elmslie, Lehman Engel, Leslie Uggams, Lloyd Arriola, Marilyn Bergman, Matt Dubey, Maurice Levin, Micki Grant, Milton Schafer, Mimi Hines, Moises Vivanco, Murray Grand, musicals, Nancy Wilson, Peter Matz, Richard Marx, Richard Rodgers, Robert Wright, Roslyn Kind, Sally Ann Howes, Sergio Franchi, Sheldon Harnick, Shepard Coleman, Stephen Sondheim, Tammy Grimes, The Nervous Set, Tommy Wolf, Two on the Aisle, Yma Sumaccountermelody

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Today I begin Forgotten Broadway, a new miniseries within my summer series “Musical Life in New York City 1950-1975.” This wildly eclectic (some might say chaotic) program, the first of three, concerns itself with several different aspects of “forgotten” Broadway: forgotten songs, forgotten shows, and forgotten performers; as well as all imaginable combinations of the above. For instance, many might not remember the show Drat! the Cat! but will remember quite well the song “He [originally She] Touched Me.” Everyone remembers Ethel Merman and Angela Lansbury, but I would bet that fewer remember their less successful shows Happy Hunting and Dear World. This episode includes songs by Richard Rodgers, Jule Styne, Bob Merrill, Wright and Forrest, and Comden and Green, as well as lesser known composers and lyricists such as Claibe Richardson, Bill and Patti Jacob, and Ervin Drake, sung by such stalwarts as Leslie Uggams, Barbara Cook, Alfred Drake, and Barbra Streisand, as well as such blazing (but less remembered figures) such as Alice Playten, Dolores Gray, Mimi Hines, and June Carroll. Such recently departed figures as Micki Grant, Kenward Elmslie, Sally Ann Howes, and Donald Pippin also receive airplay. Part II will be published in two weeks, and Part III will soon be available as a bonus episode for my Patreon subscribers.

Episode 148. Judy Garland @ 100

June 9, 2022Happy Birthday, In Memoriam, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Pop Icons, Queer Pride, Twentieth Century MusicAdolph Green, Alan Jay Lerner, Arthur Schwartz, Barbra Streisand, Betty Comden, Bob Merrill, Bobby Cole, Bronislaw Kaper, Burton Lane, Carl Sigman, Carolyn Leigh, Charles Chaplin, Cole Porter, Cy Coleman, David Lee, Gene Palumbo, Geoffrey Parsons, George Forrest, Gilbert Bécaud, Gus Kahn, Harold Arlen, Harry Robinson, Howard Dietz, Ira Gershwin, Jack Yellen, Judy Garland, Jule Styne, Julia Ward Howe, Larry Conley, Liza Minnelli, Lorenz Hart, Max Meth, Milton Ager, Mort Lindsey, Norrie Paramor, Richard Rodgers, Robert Wright, Roger Edens, Ted Koehler, Tony Osborne, Walter Jurmann, Willard Robison, Yip Harburgcountermelody

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On Friday 10 June 2022, Judy Garland celebrates her 100th birthday. My Pride 2022 series kicks off with a close examination of Judy’s status as gay icon, as well as my claim that Garland was, is, and remains the world’s greatest entertainer of all time. As always with Countermelody, the proof is in the performances, and I share a generous sampling of recordings, primarily from the final years of Judy’s life, that bolster that claim. Included are performances of songs by Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg, Ted Koehler, Ira Gershwin, Rodgers and Hart, Jule Styne, Burton Lane, Alan Jay Lerner, Cole Porter, Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh, Gilbert Bécaud, Wright and Forrest, Schwartz and Dietz, Charles Chaplin, and others, in live recordings from The Judy Garland Show, which ran for a single season in 1963-64; live concert performances from New York, Amsterdam, London, Paris, Philadelphia, and Copenhagen; and a smattering of rare studio recordings. I also discuss the impact of Judy’s enormous talent impact on my own life, as well as her still-substantial numbers of worldwide fans. Vocal guest stars include two other classic gay icons, Barbra Streisand, and Judy’s own daughter, Liza Minnelli.

Episode 127. Maria Ewing in Memoriam (Black History Month 2022)

February 4, 2022African American Singers, Bel canto, Black History Month, Broadway, Crossover, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Giacomo Puccini, Gustav Mahler, In Memoriam, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Operetta, Richard Strauss, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, VerismoAndrew Davis, Antonio de Almeida, Bernard Haitink, Bob Merrill, Carl Orff, Carmen, Carol Neblett, Christiane Eda-Pierre, Claude Debussy, Claudio Abbado, Claudio Monteverdi, Dale Duesing, Dennis Bailey, Dido and Aeneas, Dmitri Shostakovich, Don Giovanni, Elizabeth Collier, Eric Tappy, Francis Poulenc, François Le Roux, Funny Girl, George Bizet, Giacomo Puccini, Gioacchino Rossini, Gustav Mahler, Harold Arlen, Henri Meilhac, Henry Purcell, Horst Stein, Iain Sutherland, Idomeneo, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Jacques Offenbach, James Levine, Jean Cocteau, Jean Rigby, Jerome Kern, John Pritchard, John Wilson, Jule Styne, Jules Massenet, Kurt Masur, L’incoronazione di Poppea, La Périchole, La voix humaine, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Le nozze di Figaro, Leonard Slatkin, Lorenzo da Ponte, Ludovic Halévy, Marc Soustrot, Maria Ewing, Maurice Maeterlinck, Maurice Ravel, Myung-Whun Chung, Nahum Tate, Oscar Hammerstein II, Oscar Wilde, Patrick Devin, Pelleas et Melisande, Raymond Leppard, Richard Hickox, Richard Rodgers, Richard Rodney Bennett, Richard Strauss, Romano Gandolfi, Ruggero Raimondi, Salome, Shane Hill, Shéhérazade, Siegmund Nimsgern, Simon James, Simon Rattle, South Pacific, Sylvain Cambreling, Ted Koehler, Tosca, Tristan Klingsor, Werther, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

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The exceptional, distinctive Maria Ewing died of cancer on January 9 at her home outside of her native Detroit at the age of 71. Even before her death, I had been planning an episode on Maria Ewing, who last fall received an enormous amount of press as the mother of actor and director Rebecca Hall, whose latest film, Passing, was hitting the screens in a big way. The film is about two light-skinned Black friends in the 1920s, one of whom makes the conscious decision to present as white. The implication in much of the press was that Maria Ewing had done the same and was being taken to task for having done so. In actuality, Maria Ewing spoke frequently about her father’s apparent African American roots, and never actively tried to hide her (at times murky) family history. But, I submit to you, this is not the real story. In this episode, the first of my Black History Month 2022 series, I attempt to present as full a musical portrait of the artist as possible, allowing listeners to experience the unique musical and dramatic genius (and I use the term advisedly) of this fascinating artist. Few singers can survive comparison with Maria Callas. Maria Ewing, for all her demonstrable flaws, was one of the few artists that merit such a comparison. In this episode we hear Ewing in a wide range of material, from Purcell’s Dido to Puccini’s Tosca, with a nod to her two most famous roles, Carmen and Salome; an emphasis on both her Mozart portrayals and a focus on her aplomb with French music; and a sampling of her flair for pop music and jazz. I also discuss her sometimes controversial vocalism and role assumptions which in turn led to her blanket dismissal by her detractors. But in the end, it is her fascinating combination of carnality and innocence which made her unique. I remain, as I always have been, a devoted member of Club Ewing. This is a long-overdue Countermelody tribute to a unique and irreplaceable singer.

Episode 65: 1935 (HB2U, Mommie Dearest!)

December 13, 2020African American Singers, Broadway, Comic Relief, Crossover, Happy Birthday, Needle Drop, Operetta, Pop IconsAdelaide Hall, Alberta Hunter, Alexander Smallens, Allan Jones, Allie Wrubel, Andre Previn, Anne Brown, Arthur Freed, Benny Goodman, Bessie Smith, Bette Davis, Billie Holiday, Bob Merrill, Carlos Gardel, Carmen Miranda, Celina Lindsley, Cole Porter, Comedian Harmonists, Connee Boswell, Connie Boswell, Der Kuhhandel, Diahann Carroll, Don Reid, Eberhard Büchner, Edith Piaf, Elisabeth Welch, Ella Fitzgerald, Elvis Presley, Erich Korngold, Ethel Merman, Fats Waller, Frank De Vol, Fred Astaire, Fred E. Ahlert, George Gershwin, Gerd Albrecht, Giorgio Tozzi, Grace Moore, Gretchen Cryer, Harold Arlen, Helen Ward, Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Ivor Novello, Jacques Dalin, Jan-Latham König, Jerome Kern, Jerry Orbach, Johnny Mathis, Joséphine Baker, Judy Garland, Julie Andrews, Kurt Weill, Lehman Engel, Leo Robin, Libby Holman, Lloyd Arriola, Lorenz Hart, Lucienne Boyer, Marguerite Monnot, Marlene Dietrich, Max Reinhardt, Michael Feinstein, Mischa Spoliansky, Mort Dixon, Nacio Herb Brown, Nancy Ford, Nat King Cole, Noël Coward, Patsy Montana, Paul Robeson, Pinocchio, Porgy and Bess, Ralph Rainger, Richard Rodgers, Richard Whiting, Robert Vambery, Ruby Elzy, Rudy Vallee, Ruth Etting, Todd Duncan, Xavier Cugat, Yip Harburgcountermelody

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This coming Saturday, December 19, is an important day for my family: it’s my mother Jane’s 85th birthday. To pay tribute to this event, and to this very special woman, I’m presenting a program focusing on the year 1935, and important milestones in film, musicals, and the hit parade. There was such a dizzying variety of musical material in this year that it was challenging to organize, but I focus on young artists who were just entering the scene (Judy Garland, Carmen Miranda, and Édith Piaf) to émigrés to and from America (including Marlene Dietrich, Paul Robeson, Joséphine Baker, Kurt Weill, Elisabeth Welch, and Erich Korngold), to Broadway shows that debuted in that year (in performances by, among others, Ethel Merman, Libby Holman, and Nat King Cole). Along the way I pay particular focus to what was, in retrospect, the most important Broadway event of the year, the premiere of Porgy and Bess. From that show, I present performances by Todd Duncan, Anne Brown, and Ruby Elzy, all of whom created their roles. I also examine the “Latin” influence on US culture from artists like Xavier Cugat, Carlos Gardel, and Miranda, and of the enormous cultural impact (in spite of repression and discrimination) that African American artists were making (Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Alberta Hunter, Fats Wallter, and Adelaide Hall.) Finally I look at musicians who were also born in 1935 who made their mark in subsequent decades in a wide variety of styles (including Johnny Mathis, Julie Andrews, Diahann Carroll, Elvis Presley, Nancy Ford and Gretchen Cryer, and Jerry Orbach). This is not to forget figures ranging from Ruth Etting to Grace Moore to Fred Astaire to Patsy Montana to Allan Jones to Noël Coward to Benny Goodman to Lucienne Boyer to the Comedian Harmonists to Bette Davis. Please join me in celebrating all these artists, and in wishing my mother a very Happy Birthday!

Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel’s lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” Occasional guests from the “business” (singers, conductors, composers, coaches, and teachers) lend their distinctive insights. At Countermelody’s core is the interaction between singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. Please visit the Countermelody website (www.countermelodypodcast.com) for additional content. And please head to our Patreon page at www.patreon.com/countermelody to pledge your monthly support at whatever level you can afford. Bonus episodes available only to Patreon supporters are currently available, including a new extra episode further exploring today’s topic.

Episode 46. Julia Migenes (Crossover Classics II)

August 2, 2020Crossover, Needle Drop, OperettaAdolf Dallapozza, Alban Berg, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Antônio Carlos Jobim, Arline Woods, Astor Piazzolla, Berg Lulu, Bill Withers, Bob Merrill, Brent Ellis, Charles Strouse, Der Vetter aus Dingsda, Eduard Künneke, Ernesto Lecuona, Evening Primrose, Fiddler on the Roof, Francis Lai, Francis Poulenc, Franz Lehár, Funny Girl, Georges Pretre, Giacomo Aragall, Giacomo Puccini, Heitor Villa-Lobos, I Remember (Evening Primrose), Ileana Cotrubas, Im Prater blüh’n wieder die Bäume, Ira Gershwin, Isaac Albéniz, Jean Cocteau, Jerry Bock, Jule Styne, Julia Migenes, Kurt Weill, La Boheme, La voix humaine, Lecuona The Breeze and I, Lehár Friederike, Leigh Harline, Leonard Bernstein, Loulou Gasté, Luiz Bonfá, Manhã de Carnaval, Maximiano Valdes, Michael Kamen, Michel Legrand, Morris Albert, Ned Washington, People (Funny Girl), Rags (Strouse & Schwartz), Richard Strauss, Robert Stolz, Schicksalsmelodie, Sheldon Harnick, Silvio Varviso, Stephen Schwartz, Stephen Sondheim, Strauss Salome, The Windmills of Your Mind, Theme from Love Story, Tim Rice, Weill Lady in the Dark, West Side Story, When You Wish upon a Star (Pinocchio)countermelody

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Today’s featured artist, the cosmopolitan yet earthy Julia Migenes, is certainly one of the most compelling and successful of all “crossover artists.” Beginning early in her career, she assumed roles in musicals, operetta, opera, and beyond that showcased her versatility and contributed to her worldwide eminence. Her multilingual facility and fascinating cultural background rendered her a true artistic chameleon. I explore in particular her success in the European market, particularly Germany and France. This episode features Migenes in live and studio recordings over the course of her entire career (showcasing in particular her 1980 release, Latin Lady) in shows ranging from West Side Story to Salome, and composers from Astor Piazzolla to Richard Strauss. A celebration of a peripatetic, treasurable, idiosyncratic artist who never was afraid to be anything but herself.

Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel’s lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” Frequent guests from the “business” (singers, conductors, composers, coaches, and teachers) lend their distinctive insights. At Countermelody’s core is the interaction between singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. Please visit the Countermelody website (www.countermelodypodcast.com) for additional content. And please head to our Patreon page at www.patreon.com/countermelody to pledge your monthly support at whatever level you can afford. Bonus episodes available only to Patreon supporters are currently available!