A Salute to the Golden Age of American Popular Music

We salute the music from Broadway, Hollywood, New Orleans, Tin Pan Alley and the "melody makers;" i.e. the bands and singers that brought the music to us via the radio, recordings and live events in the period from the 1920's to the 1960's. This is the golden period of Gershwin, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Richard Rodgers, Larry Hart, Oscar Hammerstein, Johnny Mercer, Hoagy Carmichael, Jimmy Van Heusen, Harold Arlen, Harry Warren, etc.

Friday, March 12, 2010

The 'Girl Crazy' pit band featured Glenn Miller

“Girl Crazy,” the George and Ira Gershwin Broadway musical premiered in 1930  The original production starred Ethel Merman (photo) in her debut, and Ginger Rogers.

Ethel Merman became an overnight sensation when she stopped the show with "I Got Rhythm." George Gershwin, supposedly visited her the day after the opening to congratulate her and to advise her to "never take another singing lesson...don't let anyone change you... just keep doing what you are doing!"

 To fans of the big bands, the orchestra for the 1930 show is of great interest. The band in the pit for the original Broadway production was known for its richness of talents: Red Nichols, Jack Teagarden, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller and Gene Krupa!  Glenn Miller put the group together, including his roommate from the Ben Pollack band days in California....BG.

More than ten years later, MGM filmed 'Girl Crazy' with Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney.

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