Is it because I am a hopeless romantic? Perhaps. From the time I was a child, those beautiful ballads, most of them written for Broadway or Hollywood musicals, are what set my heart aflutter, raised the hair on the back of my neck, and gave me goosebumps. Oh, I loved the uptempo numbers, too, but they never had the same visceral effect on me that the ballads had. Fortunately, an enormous number of these beautiful songs entered the annals of the Great American Songbook and live on, at least for those of us of a certain age.
Yet, there were so many exquisite ballads written for shows that have virtually disappeared. The reasons for this are varied: the song was cut from a successful show; the show closed out of town; perhaps the show was never produced; it received dreadful New York reviews and closed in a heartbeat; the show was never recorded; the recordings have been out-of-print for years; maybe it was the only good song in the show; no major artist ever recorded it; or in a few cases, the lyric was not universal enough to transcend the show.
So many of these songs would be perfect for musical theatre auditions when a classic-style ballad is required. I found that when I was a performer, the creative staff always let me sing a song through to the end—never cutting me off after eight or sixteen bars—whenever I sang one of these Lost Ballads of Broadway. And at the end of the song, they always questioned me as to where I found the beautiful piece, who wrote it, and what show it came from. Performers today should follow my lead on this. If you choose one of the great traditional ballads, you not only sing something your auditioners have heard hundreds of times, but also expose yourself to inevitable comparison with indelible original-cast renditions.
If I were a record producer with unlimited money to toss down the drain, I would gather up all my favorite Lost Ballads of Broadway and produce a CD to breathe new life into these tunes. But, alas, such is not the case. Even if it were possible, such a recording would be an enormous flop today.
Over the years, I have noticed a precipitous decline in the appreciation of ballads. Although I recall from my youth that such numbers received the biggest applause in a show, today it’s quite a different story. I attribute this to the fact that we live in a distinctly unromantic age. I first began to notice this at the revivals and especially at the City Center Encores series. I particularly recall that during a performance of “The Man I Love” in Gershwin’s Strike Up the Band, sung beautifully by Judy Kuhn, it received a somewhat tepid response, which was surprising for such a great standard.
Also, in my own musicals, I kept getting this advice from directors and producers: too many ballads; cut some and add more uptempo tunes. Thus no such recording of The Lost Ballads of Broadway is in the offing. Instead I decided to do what little I can to point out some of these neglected gems.
Below is a compilation of many of my favorites. The list is by no means comprehensive and was determined strictly by my own personal tastes and biases. It is roughly chronological. Most are from the Golden Age of Musicals. Some on the list may never have been intended for Broadway. I’ve indicated with an asterisk the three songs that I believe are truly superior. I’m certain that I inadvertently left out many worthy songs. I invite you to indicate those omissions or any historical mistakes I’ve made in the comments section below.
Where there are recordings available, I have linked to a site from which they may be heard or purchased .
*Dream With Me, from Peter Pan, starring Boris Karloff and Jean Arthur. Music and (I believe) lyrics by Leonard Bernstein. Opened April 24, 1950. Bernstein wrote incidental music and 7 songs for this production of the play. Much of the music was cut, including this incredibly beautiful ballad, ostensibly because the actors couldn’t sing. Some speculate that it was originally written for On the Town. Here is a beautiful version by Judy Kaye on a recording made by the magnificent New York Festival of Song.
The Story of My Life, cut from Wonderful Town, starring Rosalind Russell. Opened February 25, 1953. Music by Leonard Bernstein Lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. I was never certain which character this was written for, but I suspect it had too serious a tone for the show. A lovely version on YouTube sung by Judy Blazer on a CD called, Leonard Bernstein’s New York, can be heard here.
I Wish It So from Juno, starring Shirley Booth and Melvyn Douglas. Music and Lyrics by Marc Blitzstein. Opened March 9, 1959, and played 16 performances. The song was originally sung by Monte Amundsen. There is a beautifully sung version by Dawn Upshaw. Here is Monte Amundsen singing on the original cast recording.
Marc Blitzstein
Man and Shadow, from Kean, starring Alfred Drake. Opened November 2, 1961. Music and Lyrics by Robert Wright and George Forrest. This was their first show to come to Broadway using only original music. Previous to that they wrote a show called At the Grand, which played California but never came to New York, until its considerable reworking as Grand Hotel, with some new songs by Maury Yeston. Wright and Forrest also wrote an original score for a musical called The Love Doctor, which played only in London. “Man and Shadow” from Kean, sung by Alfred Drake, I believe, can be heard here.
What’s Wrong With Me? from Kwamina, starring Sally Ann Howes. Music and lyrics by Richard Adler. Opened October 23, 1961. The show, which ran only 32 performances apparently had stunning choreography by Agnes de Mille, in addition to some lovely music. I can’t locate a track from the original cast recording that is available free. Thus, though the song is clearly written to be sung by a woman (Sally Ann Howes in the show), I made a recording of it myself. See Below:
Magic Moment and Something You Never Had Before, from The Gay Life, starring Barbara Cook and Walter Chiari. Music and lyrics by Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz. Opened November 18, 1961. I once heard Barbara Cook say that she tried for years to keep these songs going. Here’s a recording of her singing “Magic Moment” on YouTube. “Something You Never Had Before” (Track 13) is Available at Amazon.
*Something to Live For from What Makes Sammy Run?, starring Steve Lawrence, Robert Alda, and Sally Ann Howes. Opened February 27, 1964. Music and Lyrics by Ervin Drake. Sung by Sally Ann Howes, the song is truly beautiful. Available at Amazon (Track 12).
If I Gave You, from High Spirits, starring Tammy Grimes, Edward Woodward, and Beatrice Lillie. Music and lyrics by Hugh Martin and Timothy Gray. Opened April 7, 1964. This was the musicalization of Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit. I used this song as my audition number for most of my career. It elicited from Jule Styne and Harvey Schmidt the same question: What was that beautiful song? I couldn’t locate a track to listen to, but the cast recording is available at Amazon (Track 11) for a very high price.
A Quiet Thing from Flora the Red Menace, starring Liza Minnelli. Opened May 11, 1965. Music by John Kander and Lyrics by Fred Ebb. This was the first Broadway-show collaboration for Kander and Ebb. Here is a YouTube performance from the original cast recording.
Everything Beautiful from The Yearling, starring Dolores Wilson and David Wayne. Music by Michael Leonard and Lyrics by Herbert Martin. Opened December 19, 1965 and closed the next day after three performances. This show probably had the best score of any major flop. Barbra Streisand made hits of the following songs from The Yearling: “I’m All Smiles,” Why Did I Choose You?” The Kind of Man a Woman Needs,” and “My Pa,” which was retitled as “My Love,” for which she used new lyrics. Sondheim names “I’m All Smiles” as one of the songs he wishes he had written. Mercury Records was supposed to record the show, but apparently never did. A vocal-selections score exists but does not include the song “Everything Beautiful.” For a time I roomed with a Broadway conductor who had a pirated tape of the show made during a performance. The tape was probably recorded by this conductor’s friend, David Baker, who did the dance arrangements. A performer friend of mine, Jess Richards, transcribed a lead sheet of the song for me from that tape. I would think the score alone would make The Yearling an interesting selection for The Encores series. (Any singers and pianists who are interested in seeing the lead sheet can write me at info@normanmathewsauthor.com for a PDF.)
Sadly, I can find no recording of the song. Again, I recorded the song myself. See Below:
Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt
Love Song and I’m Glad to See You’ve Got What You Want, from Celebration, starring Susan Watson. Opened January 22, 1969. Lyrics by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt. I had to include songs from the only Broadway show in which I was a member of the original cast. The songs (Tracks 8 and 9 ) from the original cast recording can be found on iTunes.
I’ve Never Said I Love You from Dear World, starring Angela Lansbury. Opened February 6, 1969. Music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. The song was sung by Pamela Hall. Interestingly, she was to play the lead in Jones and Schmidt’s Celebration, listed above. We were about to do workshop performances for major producers and two days before, Pamela Hall had to back out because she got this job in Dear World. The producers would not let her out of rehearsal, so Susan Watson took over on two days’ notice. Here is a YouTube performance from the Dear World original cast recording.
*The Room Is Filled With You, from Colette Collage starring Judy Blazer. Music and Lyrics by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt. Based on the life of Collete, the musical had a run at the York Theater Company, Jim Morgan, artistic director, in New York. York Theater is dedicated to the development of new musicals. The song may well be the most beautiful ballad Jones and Schmidt wrote. It was sung in the original by Judy Kaye. This track on YouTube is from The Show Goes On, a portfolio of theater songs by Jones and Schmidt.
(As pointed out in the comments below by record producer Bruce Kimmel: Check out some of the great songs on The Lost in Boston and Unsung Musicals series produced by Kimmel for the Varese Sarabande label.)
It has always pained me that these songs have been pretty much lost. Even though all their composers were renowned, I’ve felt dreadful for them. I’m sure they all believed that they had written hits. It goes without saying that I felt even worse myself when some ballads I had written never found a life. So, in a bit of shameless self-promotion, I list a few of these as well.
Landscape (Track 3), A Very Short Song (Track 7), and Nocturne (Track 8) from You Might as Well Live, a one-person musical about Dorothy Parker, using her verses as lyrics. The show has been seen only in workshop and showcase productions, performed both by Tony-Award-Winner Michele Pawk and by Karen Mason. The tracks for these are from a studio recording sung by Karen Mason. Click here or go to the Music tab at the top of this website.
Can’t We Just Stay Here (Track 6) and Before You (Track 10) from Lost Empires, an unproduced musical based on the novel by J. B. Priestley. The lyrics are by Patty Seyburn. A dramatization of the novel was seen on Masterpiece Theatre, starring Colin Firth and Sir Laurence Olivier. Both of these tracks are from a studio demo sung by Brynn O’Malley and Danny Gurwin. Click here or go to the Music tab and the top of this website. Then scroll down to the Lost Empires recording
For a deeper look at the development of both You Might as Well Live and Lost Empires, see my autobiography, The Wrong Side of the Room: A Life in Music Theate by clicking here.
