ON THE RECORD: Sondheim in London (with a new Sunday) and "Jule Styne in Hollywood"
By Steven Suskin
11 Jun 2006
JULE STYNE IN HOLLYWOOD [PS Classics PS-9638]
Between 1930 and 1960, there was something of an uneven exchange between theatre and film composers. Broadway royalty skipped back and forth at will, but few Hollywood composers had success storming Broadway. This had to do, to some extent, with the ability to write dramatic songs within the confines of a story, as opposed to the hoped-for song hits that were routinely placed in motion pictures.
The exception to the rule was the exceptional Jule Styne, who was born on the final day of 1905 and thus would have just turned 100. Styne started as a bandleader in Chicago, moving west during the Depression to become a vocal coach (and suffering through sessions with folk like Shirley Temple). He managed to get a writing job at a "B" studio, turning out tunes for sagebrush sagas (including stuff for Roy Rogers and his horse, Trigger).
But the man had a marvelous way with a tune. Studio lyricist Frank Loesser met Styne in 1941, quickly turning out the wartime songhit, "I Don't Want to Walk without You." The Styne-Loesser partnership was quickly terminated, as Frank went to work for his Uncle Sam. (Loesser ultimately joined Styne on Broadway's legendary composer list.) Jule's new collaborator was a clever lyricist with a warm streak named Sammy Cahn; the new team found themselves instantly perched on the Hit Parade with the million-seller "I've Heard that Song Before" (1942). Styne and Cahn were taken up by newly minted superstar Frank Sinatra, resulting in a string of song hits including "I Fall in Love Too Easily" and "Time after Time."
As Styne passed 40, though, he seems to have determined that Broadway is where he belonged. With Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1949), Bells Are Ringing (1956) and especially Gypsy (1959), he proved that he was not a mere tunesmith but a creative theatrical dramatist.
What of those early Hollywood songs that made Styne's reputation (and his fortune)? The biggest hits are still in circulation, half a century later, but the other songs have kind of faded into the ether. PS Classics has seen fit to celebrate the Styne centennial with "Jule Styne in Hollywood," 21 songs (with 15 lyrics by Cahn). Listeners expecting a pleasant album of tuneful old melodies have a surprise; while we get plenty of tuneful melodies, some of these songs are quite rollicking, thank you very much. Twenty-nine seconds into the second track, you will be hooked. This is something called "10,432 Sheep." I don't know about you, but I never heard of it. After listening to Audra McDonald practically attack the thing, I can't forget it.
PS has indulged in their usual formula of keen song selection mixed with a sterling group of current-day performers and flavorful arrangements. I could make a song-by-song list, but that would get unwieldy. Let us just say that the singers include Kelli O'Hara, Norm Lewis, Sutton Foster, Leslie Uggams, Philip Chaffin, Victoria Clark, Brent Barrett and Rebecca Luker. All sing one selection; Jason Danieley and Marin Mazzie cheat a bit with a six-song medley, but you'll get no complaints from me.
Aaron Gandy is musical director, with guest conductors Ted Sperling (on Audra's "Sheep" song) and David Loud (with Ms. Clark). Vintage orchestrations are used wherever possible, with a number of vanished charts apparently reconstructed from recordings and soundtracks by Larry Moore, Bruce Coughlin and others. Among the old-timers, I find the presence of Jack Mason (on three tracks) especially interesting. Mason was known as the "King of the Stocks," the stocks being what they called stock arrangements. The major bands had their own staff arrangers; everybody else, though, bought published arrangements that were designed to be adaptable to whatever personnel was available.
Mason wrote innumerable stocks, but we don't necessarily get to hear them nowadays. "Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night in the Week)," especially, is quite a treat. Mason's name may not be familiar, but readers of this column know at least one of his charts: "A Little Bit of Luck" from My Fair Lady. Mason also contributed to such shows as Wonderful Town, Fanny, Damn Yankees and Goldilocks.
Fans of Jule Styne on Broadway might not expect much from "Jule Styne in Hollywood," but this lively collection will far exceed expectations.
— Steven Suskin, author of the newly released "Second Act Trouble" [Applause Books], "A Must See! Brilliant Broadway Artwork," "Show Tunes," and the "Opening Night on Broadway" books. He can be reached by e-mail at Ssuskin@aol.com.
