Jule Styne and His Many Lyricists: Distant Melody
Under the aegis of the 92Y.
“It is said that Jule Styne published over 1,500 songs in his lifetime, with a who’s who of lyricists including Frank Loesser, Sammy Cahn, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, Bob Merrill and Stephen Sondheim.” Paul Masse, Artistic Director/Arranger/Piano.
Julia Murney opens this evening’s salute with “Small World, Isn’t It?” (1959 Gypsy- Lyrics Stephen Sondheim.) The song arrives in soft shoe tempo, somehow less touching for its bounce.
Though he was born in London in 1905, Jule Styne came of age in the landscape of gin-soaked, 1920s Chicago jazz. By age 9, he’d debuted as a soloist with The Chicago Symphony. When he was 14, claiming to be 16, he took a job at Haymarket Burlesque House learning on the job to improvise with the bumps and grinds of strippers, a skill that would come in handy a few decades later with Gypsy… As always with this series, illuminating narration is well researched, written (Paul Masse) and spoken (by actress Beth Malone).
Styne was a vocal coach for 20th Century Fox when Darryl F. Zanuck fired him because coaching was “a luxury, and we’re cutting out those luxuries.” The producer told him he should write songs because “that’s forever.” Styne established his own dance band, then went to work for Republic Pictures.
A deal was made to borrow Frank Loesser from Paramount to write 7 songs for a 1945 film. Loesser was furious to have to work at Republic. The lyricist quickly changed his mind when he heard Styne’s music. “Always write with fellows who are thoughtful, literate and have wit,” Loesser told his new collaborator when he left for the army. Jeff Kready offers an understated, engaging “I Don’t Want to Walk Without You” (1942 Sweater Girl– Lyrics Frank Loesser).
The iconic “It’s Been a Long, Long Time” (1945 Lyrics-Sammy Cahn) is a genial stroll. Vocalist Pearl Son starts nicely, but pushes too hard at the end. Styne had 15 #1 songs with Sammy Cahn, all big band numbers. The team’s first foray into musical theater, however, (Glad to See You), proved a disaster. They scooted back to Hollywood where Frank Sinatra told MGM if they were not the writers on Anchors Away he’d quit. His reputation spreading, Styne was invited to the Monday night meeting of songwriters at the home of Jerome Kern. A typical Monday included Ira Gershwin, Harry Warren, Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer, and Hoagy Carmichael.
“At 41, the composer finally had a success on Broadway with High Button Shoes (1947 Lyrics by Sammy Cahn; book by George Abbott and Stephen Longstreet) For the next 35 years, it was rare not to have a Broadway season with a new Styne score in the mix. “The things Sammy and I wrote were just pop songs. I wrote “Three Coins in the Fountain” in minutes and they gave me an Oscar. Almost all the great standards that last are theater songs…”(Jule Styne).
“I cannot even remember a day when I didn’t want to be Peter Pan.” (Jule Styne) From the 1954 show, Mariand Torres performs “Never Never Land”: I have a place where dreams are born/And time is never planned/It’s not on any chart,/You must find it with your heart./Never Never Land…(Lyrics Comden & Green) It’s wistful and lovely until an unnecessarily big ending. Also from Pan, we hear Zachary Noah Piser’s poignant, almost child-like tenor with “Distant Melody.”
Zachary Prince’s version of “Together Wherever We Go” (Gypsy) is very different in its balladic delivery. His “Comes Once in a Lifetime” (1961 Subways Are For Sleeping – Lyrics Comden and Green) follows bouncy and bright perhaps explaining what precedes it. “Anyone can write clever. The really clever thing is to write simple.” (Jule Styne) Nikki Renee Daniels performs a tender, pristine “Little Lamb” (Gypsy). Torres returns with a theatrically anguished “The Music That Makes Me Dance” (Funny Girl). Allison Blackwell’s “Being Good Isn’t Good Enough” (1967 Hallelujah Baby– Lyrics Comden and Green) is interpreted with melodic angst. Emphasis doesn’t require volume.
Even without Brooklynese, “I’m the Greatest Star” (1964 Funny Girl – Lyrics Bob Merrill) is imbued with nifty character by the talented Farah Alvin. Clarion vocal lands with all the right emphases. The artist makes you want to cheer her on. Styne had written songs for Fanny Brice in Chicago. Here was a perfect fit. The song “People” was released in advance of the show’s Broadway opening. Hundreds of covers have been recorded in the decade since. Alvin offers a rendition that soars with yearning. Someone cast this young woman!
In a 1995 New York Times profile, Alex Witchel described Styne’s personal style as “Vibrancy mixed with pragmatism and life experience without the bitter after taste. You can see what separates him from most his age- a persistent aura of anticipation…”
We close as we began with Julia Murney. Her rendition of “The Party’s Over” (1960 Bells Are Ringing– Lyrics Comden & Green) is sophisticated rather than vulnerable, robbing the lyric of impact. “Don’t Rain On My Parade” (Funny Girl) follows beginning a capella (deft choice) expanding to full, bust-a-gut throttle.
“I’ve had a goodly life and I’m working as hard as I’ve ever worked…the brain is an amazing thing. I could sit down and write 9 songs right now and I don’t know what would come out.
Photos courtesy of the 92Y
