Saturday, October 15, 2011

You Tube, Lyrics & Sutton Foster

I had fun this afternoon  browsing You Tube searching for songs by  some of my favorite lyricists, i.e. Lorenz Hart, Jerome Kern, Berlin, Sondheim, and Cole Porter. Another reason  I was motivated in finding a song is because  I've added a new  gadget on my blog allowing me to share videos with blog followers.    You Tube is a musical haven for anyone who enjoys listening, and  watching  great songs performed by great artists over and over again.

In my search today, I came across several clips from those golden MGM musical years of the 1940's and 50's. A favorite is June Allyson dancing, and singing Hart's Thou Swell in the biopic Words and Music, a film loosely based on Hart's life.  His lyrics

"Thou swell, thou witty, thou sweet, thou grand
  wouldst kiss me pretty
  wouldst hold my hand"

may sound corny and simple to some, but I find his choice of words clever and well put together.  Better examples of his fine lyrics  might be  My Romance, Blue Moon, or Ten Cents a Dance.  In my opinion, all wonderfully written.

I also viewed several of  Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Frank Sinatra.  I'm a huge fan of  Judy, and was happy to find  many  videos  of her singing and dancing at her best ,   but the one I finally went with  is this years Tony Award winner, Sutton Foster,  for her starring  role  in Broadway's  revival  of Cole Porter's Anything Goes.  Please check video link at end of this post. Believe me, it's a treat to watch.  Not only does Foster give an outstanding performance, but it's wonderful to know the lyrics and music of Cole Porter are timeless !

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