"Music and Lyrics by Jerry Herman" — Page 3

I just put all of the Herman OBCs that I haven't listened to in years on to my iPod. I forgot how good the scores for Mack and Mabel and Dear World are.

Michael Feinstein- What can I say about him? He's a good pianist, a bland singer and a sort of kiss ass. He got way too much screentime in this film. Wathcing and listening to him sing I Won't Send Roses (IN ITS ENTIRETY!) was probably the most boring part of the film. I love that song, not his rendition.
One quibble- Jerry can write down music. He eventually learned. Why didn't they (the filmmakers) clear that up? Through the whole film, one is left with the conclusion that he, like Irving Berlin, Harvey Schmidt (sp?) and several others, was a fine pianist and melody writer, but had no musical training in theory or notation.

Who is Alice Borden's plastic surgeon? She looks great!

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I wish they had touched on the whole "Hello, Dolly" vs. "Sunflower" thing. I felt skipping that was a suspicious omission.

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Updated On: 1/3/08 at 03:57 PM

As successful as the stage show and title song itself turned out to be, however, the tune "Hello, Dolly!" unfortunately became caught up in a lawsuit which could have endangered timely plans for bringing the musical to the silver screen. Composer Mack David (1912-1993) sued for infringement of copyright, because the first four bars of Herman's show number were the same as those in the refrain of David's song "Sunflower" from 1948. As he recounts in his memoirs, Herman had never heard "Sunflower" before this and wanted a chance to defend himself in court, but, for the sake of those involved in the show and the potential film, he reluctantly agreed to pay a settlement before the case would have gone to trial.

...

I understand that it cost him a pretty penny.

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Updated On: 1/3/08 at 04:20 PM

Did they?

I have to re-watch it.

I thought they said that Strouse and Merrill were brought in to help (How and to what degree kept unclear) but ultimately Herman wrote the version of Before the Parade that is in the show.

It was late and I was tried when I watched, so I could have easily missed it if Strouse said he wrote Before the Parade.

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Updated On: 1/3/08 at 04:35 PM

Thats what I heard too.

Elegance and Motherhood are clearly written by or with someone else.

I heard that that Strouse wrote a verion of Before the Parade..but Herman took the Lyric idea and then wrote his own version.

And.. who knows the full story re: Sunflower. There are those who still claim that Herman knew..but out of love for the man and appreciation for the opportunities he gave them, have kept their mouths shut publicly.

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Updated On: 1/3/08 at 04:44 PM

Jerry wrote "Before The Parade Passes By" all by himself one night in his hotel room during the out of town tryouts. He goes into great detail about the song and the show in his autobiography that came out in the mid 90's.

Could be anyone of a number of reasons. Harvey could have not been available when this was filmed....could have had other commitments, or his part could have been edited out?

From the PBS website for "Broadway: An American Musical":

After collaborating with Jerry Herman on just one song - "Before the Parade Passes By" -- for his smash hit, "Hello, Dolly!" (1964), Adams and Strouse endured mixed fortunes during the next few years. "Golden Boy," starring Sammy Davis Jr. and Billy Daniels, ran for 569 performances, "It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman" could only manage 129, but "Applause" (1970), a vehicle for the Hollywood legend Lauren Bacall, gave the songwriters their second hit and stayed around for over two years.
Lee Adams Born: August 14, 1924

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Herman wrote Before the Parade Passes By (Strouse wrote a letter to ASCAP correcting their mistake)and MOST of Elegance. (The first two lines are pure Merrill. The bad syntax, sloppy rhymes, etc. The rest is pure Herman. The line about the diamond Jims? Come on.)

Yes, BFB.

Strouse's letter was NOT to ASCAP. The ASCAP credit will never change.

Strouse's letter was a handwritten, personal note to Herman.

Hell, if I had 50% of the proceeds of "Before the Parade Passes By," I'd write whatever Jerry Herman wanted on whatever bar napkin or toilet paper he handed me--clean OR dirty.

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