Annie Get Your Gun - 1946
vinyl lp record cover
album cover photographer unknown
photo of album cover by Styrous®
Annie Get Your Gun opened on Broadway on this date, May 16, in 1946. It is a musical with lyrics and music by Irving Berlin and a book by Dorothy Fields and brother Herbert Fields. The story is a fictionalized version of the life of Annie Oakley (1860–1926), a sharpshooter who starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West, and her romance with sharpshooter Frank E. Butler (1847–1926).
Oakley was portrayed by Ethel Merman and Ray Middleton as Butler. The loud and brassy Merman was perfectly cast as the rough and tumble Oakley.
Annie Oakley - 1880's
Oakley was portrayed by Ethel Merman and Ray Middleton as Butler. The loud and brassy Merman was perfectly cast as the rough and tumble Oakley.
Annie Get Your Gun - 1946
vinyl lp record cover detail
album cover photographer unknown
detail photo of album cover by Styrous®
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II was the team selected to produce the musical; they had just completed their first musical collaboraion, Oklahoma!. The music and lyrics are by Irving Berlin.
Annie Get Your Gun - 1946
vinyl lp record back cover
photo of album bacl cover by Styrous®
The show engendered many show-stoping songs, Doin' What Comes Natur'lly, You Can't Get a Man with a Gun, They Say It's Wonderful, Anything You Can Do and of course, the anthem of theater, the BIG one, There's No Business Like Show Business.
I love these songs but I have two favorites, I Got The Sun In The Morning, which is the exautation of the simple life, the wonders it holds and is sung with complete joy by Annie.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, The Girl That I Marry, is a soft, almost lullabye tune in a gentle waltz time. In it, Butler sings of the girl he longs to marry, ". . . as soft and as pink as a nursery", of course, Annie is anything but and she watches with sad dismay as he sings these words so it turns out to be a very sad song.
I love these songs but I have two favorites, I Got The Sun In The Morning, which is the exautation of the simple life, the wonders it holds and is sung with complete joy by Annie.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, The Girl That I Marry, is a soft, almost lullabye tune in a gentle waltz time. In it, Butler sings of the girl he longs to marry, ". . . as soft and as pink as a nursery", of course, Annie is anything but and she watches with sad dismay as he sings these words so it turns out to be a very sad song.
Frank E. Butler ca. 1882
photographer unknown
Annie Get Your Gun premiered on Broadway at the Imperial Theatre on May 16, 1946 and ran for 1,147 performances. Directed by Joshua Logan, the show starred Ethel Merman as Annie, Ray Middleton as Frank Butler, Lea Penman as Dolly Tate, Art Bernett as Foster Wilson, Harry Bellaver as Chief Sitting Bull, Kenneth Bowers as Tommy Keeler, Marty May as Charlie Davenport and William O'Neal as Buffalo Bill.
Annie Get Your Gun - 1946
vinyl lp record back cover detail
detail photo of album bacl cover by Styrous®
Annie Get Your Gun - 1946
vinyl lp record sleeve cover
photo by Styrous®
Annie Oakley died of pernicious anemia in Greenville, Ohio
at the age of 66 on November 3, 1926. After her death it was discovered
that her entire fortune had been spent on her family and her
charities.
Annie Get Your Gun - 1946
vinyl lp record sleeve cover
photo by Styrous®
On February 15, 1984, 10 months after she was diagnosed with brain
cancer, Merman died at her home in Manhattan at the age of 76. On the evening of Merman's death, all 36 theatres on Broadway dimmed their lights at 9 pm in her honor.
The 56th Academy Awards, held on April 2, 1984, ended with a performance of "There's No Business Like Show Business" in tribute to Merman.
Annie Get Your Gun - 1946
vinyl lp record, side 1
photo by Styrous®
Annie Get Your Gun - 1946
vinyl lp record, side 2
photo by Styrous®
Tracklist:
Side 1:
A1 - Doin' What Comes Natur'lly
A2 - Moonshine Lullaby
A3 - You Can't Get A Man With A Gun
A4 - I’m An Indian Too
A5 - They Say It's Wonderful
A6 - Anything You Can Do
Side 2:
B1 - I Got Lost In His Arms
B2 - I Got The Sun In The Morning
B3 - The Girl That I Marry
B4 - My Defenses Are Down
B5 - Who Do You Love I Hope
B6 - There's No Business Like Show Business
Companies, etc.
Manufactured By – The Compo Company Ltd.
Credits:
Art Direction [Costumes] – Lucinda Ballard
Conductor – Jay Blackton
Directed By – Joshua Logan
Lead Vocals – Ethel Merman, Ray Middleton
Music By, Lyrics By – Irving Berlin
Producer – Richard Rodgers-Oscar Hammerstein II*
Set Designer – Jo Mielziner
Vocals – Kathleen Carnes, Robert Lenn
Ethel Merman With Ray Middleton – Annie Get Your Gun - The Original Cast Album
Label: Decca – DL 9018
Format: Vinyl, LP, Mono
Country: Canada
Released: 1955
Genre: Stage & Screen
Style: Musical
Viewfinder link:
Irving Berlin
Oscar Hammerstein II
Ethel Merman
Richard Rodgers
Net links:
Plot summary
Characters
Original 1946 production
Recordings
YouTube links:
Annie Get Your Gun ~
Doin' What Comes Natur'lly
You Can't Get A Man With A Gun
I’m An Indian Too
They Say It's Wonderful
Anything You Can Do
I Got The Sun In The Morning
The Girl That I Marry
There's No Business Like Show Business
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