The 100 Greatest Broadway Songs - Part IV

THE 100 GREATEST BROADWAY SONGS

• 100
• 99-98
• 97-95

SONG #94

"Brush Up Your Shakespeare"

from Kiss Me, Kate

Music & Lyrics by Cole Porter

sung by First & Second Man

By 1948, Cole Porter was considered old-fashioned and passed his prime.  The Rodgers & Hammerstein-styled book musicals that were ushered in with Oklahoma! made the sprightly comical musicals of the 1930s (of which Porter was a master!) very passé. He also was overwhelmed with several personal problems.  He had a major horse-riding accident that damaged his legs (on which he had several surgeries) and his loving wife, Linda Lee Porter, was dying of cancer.  But during all of this, he found the time to write the score for a Musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew.  The show became an instant hit and won the very first Tony Award for Best Musical.  And in this show, Porter had one of his cleverest and most comical songs.  Porter was always a great wordsmith and adeptly showed off his Yale education with puns, rhymes and metaphors.  In "Brush Up Your Shakespeare," he has two Gangsters play with the titles and themes of some of Shakespeare's most famous works.  And the song is filled with Porter-esque humor (which has all the fun of seeming dirty without saying anything really dirty!).

SONG #93

"Heart"

from Damn Yankees

Music & Lyrics by Richard Adler & Jerry Ross

sung by Coach Van Buren & the Washington Senators

The hapless Washington Senators are always losing to the powerhouse New York Yankees and they are in need of a little pep talk.  In this George Abbot-directed smash Musical-Comedy, this song becomes an anthem for the team and for doing what you love.  Abbott was a fan of shows that had "hummable" tunes and "Heart" is one of the most "hummable" songs by the duo of Richard Adler & Jerry Ross, who had previously written George Abbott's other mid-1950s smash hit The Pajama Game.  But the song goes beyond just the characters, it becomes an anthem for the show.  A song that is sung during the final curtain call while the audience is on their feet singing along.  In other words, a "hummable" tune!

SONG #92

"It Only Takes a Moment"

from Hello, Dolly!

Music & Lyrics by Jerry Herman

sung by Cornelius Hackel & Irene Molloy

While this isn't the most famous or notable song to come from this show (that comes much later in this list!), it has always been an underrated and beloved ballad by Broadway insiders.  The reason it wasn't as well-known before was mainly because while it is a love song sung towards the end of the show, it is not sung by the leading characters but by the younger supporting couple in the Musical.  But for a long time, it was a favorite of cabaret singers and piano bars (it's a particular favorite of Michael Feinstein!).  However, it gained new fame back in 2009 when the folks at Pixar utilized the film version of this song (sung by Michael Crawford and Marianne McAndrew) as an integral part of the love story in their animated film WALL-E.  Composer-Lyricist Jerry Herman was "over the moon" that they asked to utilize his music and it helped this song (and therefore Hello, Dolly!) find a new audience.

SONG #91

"Magic To Do"

from Pippin

Music & Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz

sung by The Leading Player & Company

Back when Stephen Schwartz was a college student at Carnegie Mellon University, he wrote his first Musical about the eldest son of Emperor Charlemagne titled Pippin Pippin.  When he graduated he tried to shop the score around New York to several producers, but no one was interested.  In the meantime, he was asked by a former college friend to write the score for a new Off-Broadway production called Godspell.  The show became a big hit Off-Broadway and suddenly producers became interested in more scores by Stephen Schwartz.  And his Pippin score had even grabbed the attention of director-choreographer Bob Fosse.  And Fosse had a completely new vision for Schwartz' (at-the-time) underdeveloped show.  They even created a new character called the Leading Player (specifically tailored to the talents of Fosse's friend Ben Vereen).  Fosse then asked Schwartz to come up with a catchy opening number that could grab the audience's attention.  And together, Fosse and Schwartz conceived "Magic To Do."  Schwartz provided a pop-influenced vamp and Fosse provided the showmanship.  It helped make the show an instant smash and one of the most influential Musicals of the 1970s.  Fosse's imprint on the show is still quite palpable that the current revival utilizes a lot of Fosse's original style (mixed with a bit of the circus!).

Tomorrow, I will reveal a handful more of the Best Broadway songs including the first of 7 songs with Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim (12, if you count the ones where he just did the Lyrics!).

The 100 Greatest Broadway Songs - Part III

THE 100 GREATEST BROADWAY SONGS

• 100
• 99-98

SONG #97
"I Enjoy Being a Girl"
from Flower Drum Song
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
sung by Linda Low

As promised before, here is the first of 12 songs to appear on this list composed by the legendary songwriting duo of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II.  And this one comes from one of their more obscure (yet more notorious and controversial) shows.  Flower Drum Song, a story about Chinese immigrants in San Francisco's Chinatown, has been hit with all kinds of criticism from many different sides.  It has been accused of racism, sexism and (in some cases) pro-communism (don't ask!).  This song is no exception to scrutiny (especially from feminists!).  Yet while the song showcases a woman singing about frivolous and superficial things, some people have failed to understand the context of the song and the character.  Linda Low, the vain star attraction at the Chinatown night club, is preparing for a date and (like other vain people many of us have known!) looks in the mirror and sings about the glory that is her (and the stereotypical things that have been applied to women and their wily ways!).  Despite the criticism, the song has become the most famous number from a show that many people have tried to make audiences forget.  Don't worry, the other 11 Rodgers and Hammerstein songs are from more well-known Musicals!

SONG #96
"Glitter and Be Gay"
from Candide
Music by Leonard Bernstein
Lyrics by Richard Wilbur
sung by Cunegonde

Leonard Bernstein spent most of his career trying to combine three different genres of music.  He was a lover of both Jazz and Classical and he always wanted them to find some convergence within Musical Theatre.  Unfortunately, he never really achieved it in the way he wanted to and Candide is the show that most critics point to as an example of this failing.  Based on Voltaire's 18th Century novel and a mix of Musical-Comedy and Light Operetta, the show opened in 1956 with a book by the famed writer Lillian Hellman.  And, according to many, that was the producers' biggest mistake.  Hellman, one of several writers who railed against "the establishment," adapted Voltaire's work to suit her own political agenda.  Several critics pointed at the disjointedness between Leonard Bernstein's lush score and Lillian Hellman's social commentary.  But it is this song that has survived into legend, becoming a standard aria for young sopranos in both the worlds of Opera and Musical Theatre.  Bernstein's dream has in some way come true, just without him.

SONG #95
"Come Rain Or Come Shine"
from St. Louis Woman
Music by Harold Arlen
Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
sung by Della Green

This song has become one of the most popular Jazz standards sung in night clubs and on albums by several different artists.  It was originally written by Harold Arlen (who had written the score to The Wizard of Oz) and Johnny Mercer (who is now more famous for his luxurious southern mansion).  They wrote it as part of the score for St. Louis Woman, which was initially to star their favorite singer Lena Horne (who had been prominently featured in Arlen's hit film Stormy Weather).  Though Horne backed out of the Musical due to creative differences over the show's story, it did not stop her from covering the song and helping to make another Arlen and Mercer score famous.  The show, however, has drifted into obscurity despite legendary performances in its original 1946 production by the likes of Ruby Hill (who replaced Horne), Pearl Bailey and the Nicholas Brothers.

In the next post, a few more shall be revealed including one that has found new fame as being integral to the plot of a successful Disney/Pixar movie.

The 100 Greatest Broadway Songs - Part II

THE 100 GREATEST BROADWAY SONGS

• 100

SONG #99

"Big Spender"

from Sweet Charity

Music by Cy Coleman

Lyrics by Dorothy Fields

sung by Nickie, Helene & the Dance Hall Girls

Director Bob Fosse had one of the most recognizable signature styles out of all the great Broadway Choreographers.  And this is one of his most famous show-stoppers.  With the microscopic movements and the fact that each one of the girls is their own character, Fosse made audiences see both the sensual side and the dark side of the seedy Dance Hall where the title character is employed.  Add to that the jazzy Cy Coleman vamp and the ironic vernacular of Dorothy Fields' lyrics, it is no wonder that this is one of Fosse's most significant Musical numbers.

SONG #98

"I Am What I Am"

from La Cage Aux Folles

Music & Lyrics by Jerry Herman

sung by Albin (or Zaza)

By the mid-1980s, the Broadway Musical had been changed so much by the likes of Stephen Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Webber and many more that there were very few "traditional-styled" shows being successful at that time.  Enter La Cage Aux Folles, which is a Musical-Comedy with a traditional score and big splashy numbers with gorgeous costumes.  It does, however, feature one non-traditional aspect.  Even though it is a love story (the typical plot for a Musical-Comedy!), the leading characters (being the lovers) are two men (one being a drag queen).  It was the first majorly successful Broadway Musical to feature a homosexual leading couple.  And this song has become the show's mantra.  It is the drag queen standing defiantly before everyone (both the other characters and the audience) saying he will never deny who he is for anybody or any reason.  It has become an anthem within the Gay community.

The next post will feature a few more from the Countdown (including the first of 12 songs by Rodgers and Hammerstein!).

The 100 Greatest Broadway Songs

Hello readers, I am back!  And I am beginning my return with a brand new look and a special series (at least for the next few posts!).  As a BROADWAY BABY, I feel it is my duty to talk about the stuff that has made the Great White Way so Great.  I did a little bit of this a few months ago when I revealed my All-Time Favorite Broadway Musicals.  Now, I feel it is time to list the Greatest Songs from Broadway Musicals.  And this time, I'm doing a full 100 list!  Today, I will begin with #100.  Tomorrow, I will reveal the next two in the Countdown.  And with each post, you shall see a pattern in my revelation process.  The criteria used for this list (as opposed to just a list of the songs that I have enjoyed!) is that I thought of the Musicals that have had significant influence on Broadway (both the ones I love and the ones I don't love as much!) and the songs that have made those Musicals so good.  I whittled the list down based on lots of research (i.e. creative influence, critical praise and just plain popularity!) and I believe I have what could be considered a "Damn Good" 100 list.  Now, each of these songs has been written for the Broadway (or, in some cases, London) stage.  Therefore, no songs that appeared in a film and then on stage (cough cough Disney! cough cough) made it on to this list (my apologies!).  The main requirement is that the song had to be written for a stage Musical and has been sung on Broadway in that Musical's Broadway debut (which is why songs from some of the British Musicals have made it on here!).

So with all that said and 100 songs to get through, let's get started!

THE 100 GREATEST BROADWAY SONGS

SONG #100

"Do You Hear the People Sing?"

from Les Misérables

Music by Claude-Michel Schonberg
Lyrics by Alain Boublil & Herbert Kretzmer
sung by The Company

This was tough, because I love the heck out of the Act I finale that is "One Day More" (which is performed at every single awards ceremony and variety show celebrating this Musical!).  But if I had to pick a song that truly defines what this show is all about, this one would be one of the two (the other will appear later in this list!).   And the reason is a very simple one that has been brilliantly articulated by the show's co-director Trevor Nunn.  He has pointed to the song as being an example of why the show's score is so musically thrilling.  The song, which is sung by the student revolutionaries in Act I and is reprised in the show's finale, is ultimately sung directly to the audience.  With all their suffering and revolts, the characters are basically asking the audience if they hear, if they see and if what they hear and see means something.  It is what Oprah has always called "true validation" and we all search for it.  The students in the show feel so strongly about the world they see that they are willing to fight to change it.  And at the end of the show, they are asking the audience to "join the fight."  It is a song (I believe) the young writer Victor Hugo would be singing to himself as he looked at the poverty and devastation of 19th Century Paris, much like the student revolutionaries of his sprawling novel.  By the end of the song, the audience is on its feet...wanting more.  And really, can we blame them?

Don't worry, tomorrow you will get some more as I reveal #'s 99 and 98 in the 100 Greatest Broadway Songs.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

For those of my loyal readers (all 2 of you!) who are wondering why I haven't written a new blog feature since February's Academy Awards, there is a reason!

I am currently trying to re-conceptualize the layout and the features on this blog.  I am also trying to figure out how often I wish to post.  Some say weekly.  Others say every other week.  Some even say twice a week or more! And I have to discover how that will fit into my life, schedule and various other distractions the world has to offer.

I do intend to have a new layout and maybe even some new features up and running by mid-May (just in time for May Sweeps and beginning of the Summer Movie Season!!!).  So do not fret (both of you!), I shall return bigger, brighter and better than ever...or maybe I shall just return.  Who knows?  We'll see you in May!

UPDATE: The temporary new layout is up and running. I want to test this new layout, so please if you have any comments or suggestions, feel free to share ideas with me.  Just make sure that you are polite and, if critical, be constructive.  Now that my time-table has changed (Thank You Blogger!), I do plan to return to features (both old and new) by May.  So please, hit the Comments section!!!