"I Enjoy Being a Girl" | |
---|---|
Song | |
Published | 1958 |
Songwriter(s) | Oscar Hammerstein II |
Composer(s) | Richard Rodgers |
"I Enjoy Being a Girl" is a show tune from the 1958 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Flower Drum Song . It is the showpiece for the character of Linda Low, the lead showgirl. The musical is a comedic love story about growing up Chinese in America, the clash between the traditional values of the old country and the modern ways of America.
Though Flower Drum Song was not as successful as other Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, the song "I Enjoy Being a Girl" has remained a popular choice for recording vocalists, including Doris Day, Peggy Lee, Barbara McNair, [1] Pat Suzuki, Lea Salonga, Florence Henderson, and Phranc. The lyrics praise the traditional values of being a woman who longs to be the object of a man's affection. [2]
The original Broadway cast recording from 1958 includes the version sung by Pat Suzuki, who originated the role of Linda Low. [3] When the musical was rewritten and revived by David Henry Hwang in 2002, Sandra Allen recorded a new version. The version recorded for the 1961 film soundtrack is credited to the character (Linda Low) rather than the actress (Nancy Kwan) as it was sung by B. J. Baker, who is not of Asian descent. [4]
The song has been covered by Sarah Jessica Parker in a Gap commercial in 2005 and went viral as the parody "I Enjoy Being Al Gore" (recorded by the Capitol Steps in 1998). [2] Comedian Roseanne Barr released an album entitled "I Enjoy Being a Girl" in 1990, covering the song as its last track. [2] [5] The song also appeared in a film starring Barr, Look Who's Talking Too , albeit covered by Jodi Benson. It was also covered in Episode 24 of season 3 of "The Muppet Show", when Cheryl Ladd and Miss Piggy bash a dummy and Kermit in Ladd's dressing room. [6] On a 1965 episode of The Entertainers , Carol Burnett, Chita Rivera and Caterina Valente performed a version of the song on a graveyard set, all costumed as Morticia Addams. [7]
Transgender pioneer and activist Christine Jorgensen notably performed the song in nightclubs during the late 1960s. [8]
Carousel is the second musical by the team of Richard Rodgers (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II. The 1945 work was adapted from Ferenc Molnár's 1909 play Liliom, transplanting its Budapest setting to the Maine coastline. The story revolves around carousel barker Billy Bigelow, whose romance with millworker Julie Jordan comes at the price of both their jobs. He participates in a robbery to provide for Julie and their unborn child; after it goes tragically wrong, he is given a chance to make things right. A secondary plot line deals with millworker Carrie Pipperidge and her romance with ambitious fisherman Enoch Snow. The show includes the well-known songs "If I Loved You", "June Is Bustin' Out All Over" and "You'll Never Walk Alone". Richard Rodgers later wrote that Carousel was his favorite of all his musicals.
Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and director in musical theater for nearly 40 years. He won eight Tony Awards and two Academy Awards for Best Original Song. Many of his songs are standard repertoire for vocalists and jazz musicians. He co-wrote 850 songs.
The Muppet Show is a variety sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and starring the Muppets. It is presented as a variety show, featuring recurring sketches and musical numbers interspersed with ongoing plot-lines with running gags taking place backstage and in other areas of the venue.
Richard Charles Rodgers was an American composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most well-known American composers of the 20th century, and his compositions had a significant influence on popular music.
Oklahoma! is the first musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs's 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in farm country outside the town of Claremore, Indian Territory, in 1906, it tells the story of farm girl Laurey Williams and her courtship by two rival suitors, cowboy Curly McLain and the sinister and frightening farmhand Jud Fry. A secondary romance concerns cowboy Will Parker and his flirtatious fiancée, Ado Annie.
Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their musical theater writing partnership has been called the greatest of the 20th century.
Flower Drum Song was the eighth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on the 1957 novel, The Flower Drum Song, by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee. It premiered on Broadway in 1958 and was then performed in the West End and on tour. It was adapted for a 1961 musical film.
The Muppets Take Manhattan is a 1984 American musical comedy-drama film directed by Frank Oz and the third theatrical film featuring the Muppets. The film stars Muppet performers Jim Henson, Oz, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Richard Hunt, Jerry Nelson, as well as special appearances by Art Carney, James Coco, Dabney Coleman, Gregory Hines, Linda Lavin, Liza Minnelli, Joan Rivers, and Brooke Shields. Filmed in New York City during the prior summer, it was released theatrically on July 13, 1984, by TriStar Pictures. A fantasy sequence in the film introduced the Muppet Babies, toddler versions of the lead Muppet characters.
Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella is a musical written for television, but later played on stage, with music by Richard Rodgers and a book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based upon the fairy tale Cinderella, particularly the French version Cendrillon, ou la petite pantoufle de verre, by Charles Perrault. The story concerns a young woman forced into a life of servitude by her cruel stepmother and self-centered stepsisters, who dreams of a better life. With the help of her fairy godmother, Cinderella is transformed into a princess and finds her prince.
"Some Enchanted Evening" is a show tune from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific. It has been described as "the single biggest popular hit to come out of any Rodgers and Hammerstein show." Andrew Lloyd Webber describes it as the "greatest song ever written for a musical".
John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together is a 1979 Christmas television special starring Jim Henson's Muppets and singer-songwriter John Denver. The special first aired December 5, 1979, on ABC. It has never been released on any standard home video format but the special is available for viewing at the Paley Center for Media, alongside other Muppet specials.
"I Whistle a Happy Tune" is a show tune from the 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, The King and I. It is sung by the Governess Anna Leonowens to her son Louis after the curtain rises on Act One of the musical, to persuade him not to be afraid as they arrive in Siam to serve the King.
Kermit Unpigged is a comedy album released by The Jim Henson Company through BMG Kidz in 1994, and the last album released by Jim Henson Records. The record's title is a parody of the MTV series MTV Unplugged, and the cover is a parody of Eric Clapton's Unplugged album cover as well. The album consists of Kermit the Frog and the other Muppets getting lost at a recording studio and encountering celebrities including Linda Ronstadt, with whom Kermit sings "All I Have to Do Is Dream", Vince Gill who sings "Daydream" with Kermit, Jimmy Buffett who sings "Mr. Spaceman" with Gonzo, and Ozzy Osbourne with whom Miss Piggy sings "Born to Be Wild". The album ends with the Muppets meeting back up and singing the Beatles song "All Together Now". Comedian Lily Tomlin also makes appearances as her character Ernestine.
Juanita Hall was an American musical theatre and film actress. She is remembered for her roles in the original stage and screen versions of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals South Pacific as Bloody Mary – a role that garnered her the Tony Award – and Flower Drum Song as Madame Liang.
Pipe Dream is the seventh musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II; it premiered on Broadway on November 30, 1955. The work is based on John Steinbeck's novel Sweet Thursday—Steinbeck wrote the novel, a sequel to Cannery Row, in the hope of having it adapted into a musical. Set in Monterey, California, the musical tells the story of the romance between Doc, a marine biologist, and Suzy, who in the novel is a prostitute; her profession is only alluded to in the stage work. Pipe Dream was not an outright flop but was a financial disaster for Rodgers and Hammerstein.
Pat Suzuki is an American popular singer and actress, who is best known for her role in the original Broadway production of the musical Flower Drum Song, and her performance of the song "I Enjoy Being a Girl" in the show.
Flower Drum Song is a 1961 American musical film directed by Henry Koster, adapted from the 1958 Broadway musical Flower Drum Song, written by the composer Richard Rodgers and the lyricist/librettist Oscar Hammerstein II, in turn based on the 1957 novel of the same name by the Chinese American author Chin Yang Lee. The film stars Nancy Kwan, James Shigeta, Miyoshi Umeki, Jack Soo, Benson Fong and Juanita Hall. It was nominated for five Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.
A studio recording is any recording made in a studio, as opposed to a live recording, which is usually made in a concert venue or a theatre, with an audience attending the performance.
"Baby Face" is a popular Tin Pan Alley jazz song. The music was written by Harry Akst, with lyrics by Benny Davis, and the song was published in 1926.
The Muppets Go Hollywood is a one-hour television special that promoted The Muppet Movie, the first theatrical film in The Muppets franchise. It first aired May 16, 1979 on CBS, six weeks before the American release of The Muppet Movie.