BEN BAGLEY’S JEROME KERN REVISITED

Music by Jerome Kern
Lyrics by Guy Bolton, Anne Caldwell, Dorothy Fields, Ira Gershwin, E.Y. Harburg, Oscar Hammerstein, Elsie Janis, Johnny Mercer, Booth Tarkington, P.G. Wodehouse

Jerome Kern was one of the greatest and most important composers of theater, film, and popular music, and one of the great melodists of all time. Between 1915 and 1920, Kern wrote sixteen Broadway scores. Kern was extremely prolific all throughout the 1920s, writing a series of popular musicals known as the Princess Theatre musicals. And then, in 1927 came the show that would change everything. The show was, of course, Show Boat, adapted from Edna Ferber’s novel by Oscar Hammerstein. It produced a large number of classic songs, including “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man,” “Make Believe,” “Live Upon the Wicked Stage,” “Why Do I Love You,” “Bill” (with lyrics by P.G. Wodehouse), and, of course, “Ol’ Man River.”

Kern found equal success in Hollywood, writing classic scores for such films as Roberta, Swing Time, You Were Never Lovelier, Cover Girl, Centennial Summer, and many others. Those films yielded yet more classics from Kern and his lyricists, including “I Won’t Dance,” “A Fine Romance,” “Pick Yourself Up,” “The Way You Look Tonight,” “Long Ago and Far Away,” “I’m Old Fashioned,” “Sure Thing,” “Up with the Lark,” just to mention a handful.

His music lives on, rediscovered by every new generation, who are entranced by those Kern tunes, ear candy of the highest order.

Ben Bagley’s Jerome Kern Revisited actually has a few of Kern’s hit songs, but of course it is loaded with the lesser-known Kern. Bagley assembled a wonderful cast of singers, including Barbara Cook, Bobby Short, Nancy Andrews, Harold Lang, Rod McKuen, Kaye Ballard, Cy Young, and George Reinholt. Norman Paris, who did several Revisiteds, was the musical director and arranger. As we’ve done for all these releases, we’ve considerably spruced up the sound for this new release. And the cover art is, of course, by the great Harvey Schmidt. -KRITZERLAND

1. Good Morning Dearie ~ Barbara Cook, Harold Lang, Cy Young 2. Didn’t You Believe? ~ George Reinholt (accompanied by Judd Woldin) 3. I Have the Room Above ~ Cy Young 4. Blue Danube Blues ~ Barbara Cook, Bobby Short 5. Heaven in My Arms ~ Harold Lang 6. Bojangles of Harlem ~ Bobby Short 7. Just Let Me Look at You ~ George Reinholt (accompanied by Judd Woldin) 8. Some Sort of Somebody ~ Nancy Andrews, Harold Lang 9. Put Me to the Test ~ Bobby Short 10. Cinderella Sue ~ George Reinholt (accompanied by Judd Woldin) 11. You Never Knew About Me ~ Barbara Cook, Cy Young 12. In Egern on the Tegern See ~ Nancy Andrews 13. Never Gonna Dance ~ Bobby Short 14. In the Heart of the Dark ~ Barbara Cook 15. Love and the Moon ~ George Reinholt (accompanied by Judd Woldin) 16. Make Way for Tomorrow ~ Barbara Cook, Bobby Short, Cy Young

Bonus Songs
17. That Lucky Fellow ~ Rod McKuen 18. Tonight is Opening Night ~ Kaye Ballard and Chorus 19. The Shorty George ~ Rod McKuen 20. April Fooled Me ~ Henrietta Valor 21. What’s Good About Good Night? ~ Rod McKuen 22. Cover Girl ~ Chorus

Musical Direction and Arrangements by Norman Paris