Showing posts with label George M. Cohan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label George M. Cohan. Show all posts

December 22, 2025

20,000 vinyl LPs 404: Mormon Tabernacle Choir – The Spirit Of Christmas

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Mormon Tabernacle Choir  ~ The Spirit of Christmas
vinyl LP front cover 
 cover photo by 
photo of album cover by Styrous®


On December 22, 1885, American composer, radio commentator, music critic, and author Joseph Deems Taylor was born. Despite minimal musical training he took to music composition. The result was a series of works for orchestra and/or voices. In 1916 he wrote the cantata The Chambered Nautilus, followed by Through the Looking-Glass (for orchestra) in 1918, earning him public praise and recognition. He acquired several students, including composer Mary Watson Weaver.          
 
 
Mormon Tabernacle Choir  ~ The Spirit of Christmas
vinyl LP front cover 
 cover photo by 
photo of album cover by Styrous®
 
 
In 1921 he secured a job as music critic for the New York World, a post he held until 1929. When approached by the Metropolitan Opera to suggest a composer to write a new opera. He put forth his own name, and was accepted, the result being The King's Henchman, with the libretto by Edna St. Vincent Millay. Peter Ibbetson followed in 1929. He was a promoter of classical music throughout his life.           
He appeared in the Walt Disney 1940 film Fantasia as the film's Master of Ceremonies, and was instrumental in selecting the musical pieces that were used in the film, including the then-controversial Sacre du Printemps by Igor Stravinsky. That same year, he served the same role as Master of Ceremonies for the classical portion of a Carousel of American Music, a famous concert series held in San Francisco on September 24. The concert had Irving Berlin, George M. Cohan, Jerome Kern, Hoagy Carmichael, WC Handy, Johnny Mercer, and many more of America's top songwriting talents performing their own compositions.     
 

 
Mormon Tabernacle Choir  ~ The Spirit of Christmas
vinyl LP Side 1 & 2 
photo by Styrous®


   
Tracklist:
       
Side 1:
        
A1 - Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming, Arranged By [Harmonized By] – Michael Praetorius - 2:32

A2 - Tell Us, Shepherd Maids, Arranged By – Mary E. Caldwell - 2:16

A3 - O Little Town Of Bethlehem, Music By – Lewis H. Redner*, Written-By – Phillips Brooks - 1:44

A4 - The Snow Lay On The Ground, Arranged By – Leo Sowerby - 3:38

A5 - The Shepherds' Story, Lyrics By – William Morris (9), Written-By – Clarence Dickinson - 4:32

A6 - For Christ Is Born, Arranged By – R. Crawford*, Written-By – K. Aiken*, Mary E. Crawford* - 4:12

A7 - Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!, Adapted By – W. H. Cummings*, Music By – Felix Mendelssohn*, Words By – Charles Wesley - 1:42

A8 - While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks, Arranged By – Arthur Warrell - 2:12

A9 - The Coventry Carol, Arranged By – Bryceson Treharne - 3:32
       
Side 2:
       
B1 - Silent Night, Holy Night, Music By – Franz Gruber, Words By – Josef Mohr* - 3:15

B2 - Carol Of The Bells, Arranged By – Peter J. Wilhousky*, Written-By – M. Leontovich* - 1:30

B3 - Glory To God In The Highest, Written-By – Giovanni B. Pergolesi* - 3:28

B4 - The Three Kings, Lyrics By – Rev. Lluis Romeu, Translated By – Deems Taylor, Written-By – Kurt Schindler - 2:30

B5 - Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light (Christmas Oratorio), Written-By – Johan S. Bach* - 1:50

B6 - Bethlehem Night, Lyrics By – W. Leslie Nicholls, Music By – Arthur Warrell - 1:55

B7 - What Perfume Is This? O Shepherds, Say!, Arranged By – Samuel Liddle - 2:12

B8 - Christmas Day, Written-By – Gustav Holst - 7:06

B9 - O Come, All Ye Faithful, Written-By – F. Oakley* - 1:40
         
Credits:
       
    Choir – Mormon Tabernacle Choir
    Directed By – Richard P. Condie
    Directed By [Assistant] – Jay Welch
    Liner Notes – Jay Welch
    Organ – Alexander Schreiner, Frank W. Asper
        
Notes:
       
Columbia gray, black and white Six Eye label
Track A7 - William Cummings (2) -> William Hayman Cummings
       
Barcode and Other Identifiers
        
    Matrix / Runout (Runout, Side A, Stamped (Except after H, inscribed)): XXSM47847-1AC H11//\-L
    Matrix / Runout (Runout, Side B, Stamped (Except H, inscribed)): XXSM47848-1CB H

Mormon Tabernacle Choir – The Spirit Of Christmas: Christmas Carols Sung By The Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Label: Columbia Masterworks – MS 6100
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo
Country: US
Released: 1959
Genre: Classical
Style: Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Modern, Choral
         
Viewfinder links:        
         
Irving Berlin                
Hoagy Carmichael           
George M. Cohan        
WC Handy          
Johnny Mercer        
        
YouTube link:        
        
Mormon Tabernacle Choir – The Spirit Of Christmas (complete album)         
        
        
         
        
        
        
Styrous® ~ Monday, December 22, 2025        
       
 
 















June 3, 2025

Nanette Fabray articles/mentions

 
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mentions:     
George M. Cohan ~   George M!          
Arthur Schwartz ~ The Band Wagon             
        
       
       
       

Nanette Fabray - 1963 
promo photo
      
       
        
    
        
      


















July 3, 2021

20,000 Vinyl LPs 297: George M. Cohan ~ George M!

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vinyl LP front cover 
photo by Styrous®


What  better way to salute the 4th of July, aka Independence Day (although that is slowly disappearing), than to celebrate the birthday of George M. Cohan who was born on July 3, 1878[, in Providence, Rhode Island, to Irish Catholic parents. He was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and theatrical producer.        
 
He wrote the patriotic standards, Over There, The Yankee Doodle Boy and You're a Grand Old Flag, as well as the wonderfully uplifting tune, Give My Regards to Broadway.        
 
 
vinyl LP back cover 
photo by Styrous®
 

George M! is a musical based on the period of his life from the late 1880s until 1937 and focuses on his life and show business career from his early days in vaudeville with his parents and sister to his later success as a Broadway singer, dancer, composer, lyricist, theatre director and producer.     
 
It was produced by Emanuel Azenberg and directed and choreographed by Joe Layton. The cast featured Joel Grey as George M. Cohan, Bernadette Peters as his sister, Betty Ann Grove as his mother and Jamie Donnelly of Grease fame and Magenta in The Rocky Horror Show as his first wife.    
 

vinyl LP back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®

 
In 1969 I saw the production when it was on tour with Joel Grey; it was pretty exciting to see it live as Grey was totally animated and perfect for the role of Cohen.      

George M! program, June 26, 1969 
photos by Styrous®





 
 
 
George M! opened at the Palace Theatre on April 10, 1968 and closed on April 26, 1969 after 433 performances and 8 previews. It did not get very good reviews.          
        
 








 
 
 
A television adaptation, presented as a staged reading of the musical with the performers discussing Cohan's life and work between rehearsal-style song-and-dance routines, was broadcast by NBC on September 12, 1970. Grey and Peters were joined by Jack Cassidy, Nanette Fabray, Anita Gillette, and Blythe Danner
 
There are some great videos of both Joel Grey from the play and James Cagney from the film, as well as Enrico Caruso taking a shot at a Cohen song and sound and video of George M. Cohan himself on YouTube (links below).        
 
A 1942 film, Yankee Doodle Dandy, was based on his life and starred James Cagney as Cohan. It also featured Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, Richard Whorf, Irene Manning, George Tobias, Rosemary DeCamp, Jeanne Cagney, and Vera Lewis. Joan Leslie's singing voice was partially dubbed by Sally Sweetland.           
 
 
movie poster
 
 
 
 
 



 
   
Tracklist:

Side 1:

A1 - Overture - 3:32
Performer – Orchestra*
        -   
A2a - Musical Moon - 3:59
Performer – Grove*, Dodge*
A2b - Oh, You Wonderful Boy
Performer – Peters*
        -   
A3 - Musical Comedy Man - 2:03
Performer – Chorus*, Peters*, Grove*, Dodge*, Grey*

A4 - Twentieth Century Love - 2:34
Performer – Peters*, Grove*, Donnelly*, Dodge*, Grey*

A5 - My Town - 1:46
Performer – Grey*

       
A6a - Billie -    6:00
Performer – O'Hara*
A6b - Push Me Along In My Push Cart
Performer – Donnelly*, Baker*, Savage*
A6c - Ring To The Name Of Rose
Performer – Bell Ringers*, Peters*
A6d - Popularity
Performer – Orchestra*
        -   
A7 - Give My Regards To Broadway - 4:04
Performer – Company*, Grey*

Side 2:

B1a - Forty-Five Minutes From Broadway - 4:43
Performer – Grey*, Ackerman*
B1b - So Long, Mary
Performer – Martin*, Carroll*, Evans*, Grey*, Ackerman*
B1c - Down By The Erie
Performer – Company*, Politicians*, Allen*, Batson*
Performer – Company*, Politicians*, Allen*, Batson*
        -   
B2 - Mary - 1:49
Performer – Alloway*

B3 - All Our Friends - 1:49
Performer – Company*, Evans*, Grey* - 1:05

B4 - Yankee Doodle Dandy; Nellie Kelly I Love You; Harrigan; Over There; You're A Grand Old Flag - 8:23
Performer – Company*, Grey*

B5 - Finale; Yankee Doodle Dandy - 1:10
Performer – O'Hara*, Grey*

B6 - Epilogue
Performer – Company*, Grey*

Companies, etc.



Credits:

    Arranged By [Vocals] – Jay Blackton
    Directed By – Joe Layton
    Engineer – Fred Plaut, Murray Zimney
    Liner Notes – Charles Burr
    Music By, Lyrics By – George M. Cohan
    Orchestrated By – Philip J. Lang
    Producer – Thomas Z. Shepard
    Supervised By [Musical] – Laurence Rosenthal
    Vocals [Agnes Nolan] – Jill O'Hara
    Vocals [Ethel Levey] – Jamie Donnelly
    Vocals [Fay Templeton] – Jacqueline Alloway
    Vocals [George M. Cohan] – Joel Grey
    Vocals [Jerry Cohan] – Jerry Dodge
    Vocals [Josie] – Bernadette Peters
    Vocals [Nellie] – Betty Ann Grove
    Vocals [Rose] – Loni Ackerman
    Vocals [Sam Harris] – Harvey Evans

Notes:

Sleeve variation, back of sleeve bottom near # shows an Engineering credit. 

Joel Grey – George M!
Label: Columbia Masterworks – KOS 3200
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1968
Genre: Stage & Screen
Style: Musical
   
   
   
         
Viewfinder links:        
         
James Cagney          
Enrico Caruso         
George M. Cohan        
Joel Grey       
William Hopper         
Walter Huston         
Bernadette Peters        
Rocky Horror articles        
        
Net links:        
         
Masterworks Broadway ~ George M! – Original Broadway Cast 1968    
NY Times ~ George M. Cohan, 64, Dies at Home       
PBS ~ George M. Cohan         
Playbill ~ George M!
Songwriters Hall of Fame ~ He gave us Yankee Doodle Dandy        
        
YouTube links:        
        
George M! (complete show) (1 hr., 16 mins., 26 secs.)       
      
James Cagney ~           
     Give My Regards To Broadway        
     Yankee Doodle Dandy      
Enrico Caruso ~ Over There
George M. Cohan ~       
     George M. Cohan (sound clips)           
     Forty-Five Minutes from Broadway (1906)     
     Over There (only Cohen studio recording)         
     You're a Grand Old Flag (1948)       
Joel Grey ~   
     George M. Cohan Medley, Statue of Liberty, 1986 (TV)     
     George M! 1974 Tony Awards (TV)      
        
        
         
"Ladies and gentlemen, my mother thanks you, 
my father thanks you, my sister thanks you, 
and I thank you!"
                    ~ George M. Cohan 
        
        
        
Styrous® ~ Saturday, July 3, 2021       
       
















 

 

 
 
 
 

George M. Cohan articles/mentions

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George M!     
     
     
      
      
 
      
     
     
      
     
      
     
      
     
     
     
      
photographer unknown