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"If I Were a Bell" is a song composed by Frank Loesser for his 1950 musical Guys and Dolls . [1]
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(April 2007) |
"If I Were a Bell" is a song composed by Frank Loesser for his 1950 musical Guys and Dolls . [1]
In the show Guys and Dolls , it is sung by the character Sister Sarah, originally performed by Isabel Bigley on Broadway, and memorialized on the original cast album. [2] On a bet, Sky Masterson takes Sarah Brown to Havana to have dinner and gets her drunk. Sarah's stiff social barriers fall away and she realizes she is in love with Sky, and he with her. She sings this after they have an eventful dinner, but Sky refuses to take advantage of her drunkenness. It was also recorded by Lizbeth Webb who created the part in the original London production in 1953 at the London Coliseum.[ citation needed ]
It has become a jazz standard after it was featured by trumpeter Miles Davis, on the 1958 Prestige album Relaxin' with The Miles Davis Quintet . The Miles Davis Quintet featured tenor saxophone player John Coltrane, pianist Red Garland, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Philly Joe Jones. The song became a Miles Davis specialty and it appears on several live session recordings and compilations in different versions. The tune was taken up and performed by countless jazz musicians and is still a favorite in jam sessions.[ citation needed ]
The Miles Davis version was also used in the final scene of the final episode of The Cosby Show , when Cliff has rigged the doorbell outside to play the opening notes of the song. Then he and Claire dance off the set to it, breaking the fourth wall.
A different song with the same title was recorded in 1990 by R&B singer Teena Marie.
Frank Henry Loesser was an American songwriter who wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway musicals Guys and Dolls and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, among others. He won a Tony Award for Guys and Dolls and shared the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for How to Succeed. He also wrote songs for over 60 Hollywood films and Tin Pan Alley, many of which have become standards, and was nominated for five Academy Awards for best song, winning once for "Baby, It's Cold Outside".
Guys and Dolls is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also borrows characters and plot elements from other Runyon stories, such as "Pick the Winner". The show premiered on Broadway in 1950, where it ran for 1,200 performances and won the Tony Award for Best Musical. The musical has had several Broadway and London revivals, as well as a 1955 film adaptation starring Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, and Vivian Blaine.
"Lullaby of Broadway" is a popular song with music written by Harry Warren and lyrics by Al Dubin, published in 1935. The lyrics salute the nightlife of Broadway and its denizens, who "don't sleep tight until the dawn."
"Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" is the opening song from the musical Oklahoma!, which premiered on Broadway in 1943. It was written by composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist/librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The leading male character in Oklahoma!, Curly McLain, sings the song at the beginning of the first scene of the musical. The refrain runs: "Oh, what a beautiful mornin'! / Oh, what a beautiful day! / I've got a beautiful feelin' / Ev'rythin's goin' my way." Curly's "brimming optimism is perfectly captured by Rodgers' ebullient music and Hammerstein's buoyant pastoral lyrics."
"On the Sunny Side of the Street" is a 1930 song composed by Jimmy McHugh with lyrics by Dorothy Fields. Some authors say that Fats Waller was the composer, but he sold the rights to the song. It was introduced in the Broadway musical Lew Leslie's International Revue starring Harry Richman and Gertrude Lawrence.
"Fugue for Tinhorns" is a song written and composed by Frank Loesser and first performed by Stubby Kaye, Johnny Silver, and Douglas Deane in 1950. The song was featured in the Broadway musical Guys and Dolls.
"Too Marvelous for Words" is a popular song written in 1937. Johnny Mercer wrote the lyrics for music composed by Richard Whiting. It was introduced by Wini Shaw and Ross Alexander in the 1937 Warner Brothers film Ready, Willing, and Able, as well as used for a production number in a musical revue on Broadway. The song has become a pop and jazz standard and has been recorded by many artists.
"I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" is a song from the 1956 musical My Fair Lady, with music by Frederick Loewe and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. It was originally performed by Rex Harrison as Professor Henry Higgins who also performed it in the 1964 film version.
"Pennies from Heaven" is a 1936 American popular song with music by Arthur Johnston and lyrics by Johnny Burke. It was introduced by Bing Crosby with Georgie Stoll and his Orchestra in the 1936 film of the same name.
"They Say It's Wonderful" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the musical Annie Get Your Gun (1946), where it was introduced by Ethel Merman and Ray Middleton. A film version in 1950 again featured the song when it was performed by Howard Keel and Betty Hutton. More recently it was performed in an episode of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel by Darius de Haas.
"I May Be Wrong " is a popular song. The music was written by Henry Sullivan, the lyrics by Harry Ruskin, arranged by Dan Daugherty, and the original music publisher was Ager, Yellen, and Bornstein, Inc. The song was published in 1929 and it was included in the musical revue Murray Anderson's Almanac which ran for 69 performances at Erlanger's Theatre on Broadway in 1929. It is said that the song was written on-demand for John Murray Anderson.
"Manhattan" is a popular song and part of the Great American Songbook. It has been performed by the Supremes, Lee Wiley, Oscar Peterson, Blossom Dearie, Tony Martin, Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, and Mel Torme, among many others. It is often known as "We'll Have Manhattan" based on the opening line. The music was written by Richard Rodgers and the lyrics by Lorenz Hart for the 1925 revue Garrick Gaieties. It was introduced by Sterling Holloway and June Cochran.
"How About You?" is a popular song composed by Burton Lane, with lyrics by Ralph Freed. It was introduced in the 1941 film Babes on Broadway by Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney.
"I've Got a Crush on You" is a song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin. It is unique among Gershwin compositions in that it was used for two different Broadway productions: Treasure Girl (1928), when it was introduced by Clifton Webb and Mary Hay, and Strike Up the Band (1930), when it was sung by Doris Carson and Gordon Smith. It was later included in the tribute musical Nice Work If You Can Get It (2012), in which it was sung by Jennifer Laura Thompson. When covered by Frank Sinatra he was a part of Columbia Records.
"I've Never Been in Love Before" is a song written by Frank Loesser, published in 1950.
Reprise Musical Repertory Theatre is a series of four 12" long playing vinyl albums recorded in Los Angeles in 1963. The four albums were sold through mail order as a box set in 1963, then released separately to retail in 1964. They were conceived and produced by Frank Sinatra. Morris Stoloff was the musical director and the A&R Director was Sonny Burke.
"Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year" is the title of a 1943 traditional pop composition by Frank Loesser, written for and introduced in the 1944 movie Christmas Holiday, the song was largely overlooked for some ten years before being rediscovered in the mid-1950s to become a pop and jazz standard much recorded by vocalists and instrumentalists.
"I Can't Believe That You're in Love with Me" is a 1926 popular song and jazz standard composed by Jimmy McHugh, with lyrics by Clarence Gaskill.
'Bing Crosby Sings the Song Hits from... is a Decca Records album by Bing Crosby featuring songs from recent Broadway musicals issued as a 10” LP issued as catalog No. DL5298 and as a 4-disc 78rpm box set (A-805) and as a 4-disc 45rpm set (9-144).
"More I Cannot Wish You" is a song written and composed by Frank Loesser and first performed by Pat Rooney in 1950. The song was featured in the musical Guys and Dolls. The sentimental lyrics relate the feelings of the oldest character in the play, missionary Arvide Abernathy, who sings it tenderly to his granddaughter, Sarah Brown.
