"My Man" Written for Funny Girl Film?

[PJ]

Posted: 7/25/04 at 3:23pm

I was looking at the OBC of Funny Girl on Ebay and saw that "My Man" was not on the CD. I didn't know that the song wasn't in the original production. It's probably my favorite it the movie. Does anyone know for sure if it was written for the movie?

[magruder]

Posted: 7/25/04 at 3:28pm

"My Man" was Fanny Brice's signature song. So, no, it was not written for the film - it was performed by the original 'funny girl' herself. Jule Styne told a funny story how when Funny Girl was in trouble before opening, even taxi drivers were telling him to fix the show by adding "My Man". Streisand actually performed "My Man" in place of "The Music that Makes Me Dance" at her final New York performance of Funny Girl.

[PJ]

Posted: 7/25/04 at 3:40pm

That's cool. Thanks magruder.

[kjklo]

Posted: 7/25/04 at 3:59pm

It was originally "Mon Homme," a famous French torch song written by Maurice Yvain, before Brice introduced the English version in the Ziegfeld Follies.

Posted: 7/25/04 at 4:51pm

Here's some more info...

My Man (or, Mon Homme) was indeed written by Maurice Yvain, with the English lyrics by Channing Pollock (1921).

Mon Homme was introduced in the U.S. by Irene Bordoni (1895-1953) Corsican born French Broadway star who made her NY debut in 1912. Her last stage appearance was as a replacement Bloody Mary in the U.S. tour of SOUTH PACIFIC in 1951.

My Man was meant for the American debut of French music hall star Mistinguette in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1921, however by the time Mistinguette arrived in New York Ziegfeld had lost interest in her and she was dropped from the show. (That’s show biz, folks!)

Brice was given My Man by Ziegfeld to perform in the Follies. It was Ziegfeld, the consummate Producer, who insisted that Brice sing the number not in an evening gown as originally rehearsed but instead costumed as a gamin and leaning against a lamppost. She did as she was told and created a furor because up to that night she always performed as a comedienne. Explaining her own poignant rendition she is quoted as saying, “In my mind, I think of Nick leaving me, and the tears just came.”

Brice sang My Man in her talking picture debut, MY MAN (Warner Brothers, 1929); this was the first time she sang the song after her divorce from Arnstein.

My Man was later used in the film ROSE OF WASHINGTON SQUARE (Paramount, 1939), a loose thinly disguised biography of Fanny Brice. ROSE starred Tyrone Power (as Arnstein), Alice Faye (as Brice) and Al Jolson as Al Jolson. Faye sings My Man, and Jolson shines as he puts across Mammy, California Here I Come and other classics of The Great White Way during the early 1900s.

Subsequently, My Man was sung by Streisand as Brice in the final performance of FUNNY GIRL on Broadway, and interpolated in the film version.
Updated On: 7/25/04 at 04:51 PM

[Dollypop]

Posted: 7/25/04 at 4:56pm

If I recall correctly, the producers of the stage version of FUNNY GIRL wanted to use "My man" from the get-go but they couldn't secire the rights to it. That's why "The Music That Makes Me Dance" was written.

[newyorkuniq]

Posted: 7/25/04 at 5:09pm

That is true. The only time Barbra ever performed "My Man " on the Broadway stage was on her very last performance of Funny Girl. She did it as a tribute to Fanny Brice, and luckely it was captured and can be heard on the "Just For The Record" set:)

[kjklo]

Posted: 7/25/04 at 5:10pm

Thank you Jose and Dollypop! Fascinating.

"The Music That Makes Me Dance" is such a good song though, that I wish they could have found a place for it somewhere in the film.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 7/25/04 at 5:14pm

They could have done that, but they would have been making the same point twice.

[kjklo]

Posted: 7/25/04 at 5:24pm

I know. You're completely right of course. They made the right decision; it's just that I like the other song so much as well (and the way Streisand sang it on the cast album).

[PalJoey]

Posted: 7/25/04 at 9:30pm

If you want to hear a killer version of "The Music That Makes Me Dance," find the recording Judy Garland did on "Judy and Liza Live at the Palladium." Judy isn't in the best voice, but she sure knows how to build the emotion!

[BwayLover]

Posted: 7/25/04 at 9:55pm

Also, Streisand recorded "The Music That Makes Me Dance" again for her 1998 release, "A Love Like Ours". I like that version, though I like the one from the OBC much better.

Btw, did you end up getting the OBC? I find it much better than the OST - what do you think?

[PJ]

Posted: 7/25/04 at 9:57pm

I didn't buy the OBC, no. I don't have the soundtrack either but I do have a few of the songs burnt (yeah, illegal) onto a CD.

[kjklo]

Posted: 7/25/04 at 10:00pm

The copy I own of the Palladium concert is the 1973 Capitol abridged reissue LP, which does not include that song, Darn It All!

I do remember an article from years ago in which Peter Allen commented on what an "extremely" well-written song that was. So maybe it was a family favorite. Updated On: 7/25/04 at 10:00 PM

[MusicMan]

Posted: 7/25/04 at 10:14pm

Streisand is sui generis but has moved onto other things. If anyone wants to hear a more recent, slam-bang version of THE MUSIC THAT MAKES ME DANCE, keep an eye (and ear) out for Julie Connors, an up-and-coming actress/singer, currently in DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS, who gives Barbra a run for her shekels.