Ol 'Man River
Ol 'Man River is the most famous song from the musical Show Boat . It was written by Jerome David Kern (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (text) in 1927. The showstopper was covered across styles and developed into a jazz standard and evergreen .
History of origin
Ol 'Man River is inextricably linked with the Mississippi River , which in turn plays the leading role in the musical Show Boat .
River and shipping
The most water-rich and powerful river in the United States, the Mississippi River, is colloquially known as the Ol 'Man River . In addition to goods traffic, the paddle steamers that began to operate on the river from 1811 also developed passenger traffic with riverboats and pleasure and entertainment trips with show boats . The first floating theater was built by the Englishman William Chapman and began in 1831. The four brothers of the Streckfus family developed as the most famous providers of pleasure trips on the ship, organizing boat trips on the entire navigable route of the Mississippi from 1901. Four brothers, whose parents Balthazar and Anna Maria Streckfus emigrated from Germany to the USA in 1850. In particular, violinist John Streckfus concentrated on boat tours, which he combined with dance music. From 1901 the JS (abbreviation for Captain John Streckfus) drove between New Orleans and St. Paul for passengers who enjoyed themselves on the river with music and food "rolling on the river". In 1907 Streckfus hired the band leader Fate C. Marable, who from 1918 led a jazz band on the ship. On June 25, 1910, the company's first ship burned down, and in 1911 it was renamed Streckfus Steamboat Line . Louis Armstrong played from September 1918 on the steamer Sidney of the Streckfus fleet. Not only jazz, but also opera , operettas and musicals were offered on the ships.
song
Inspired by ship operations on the Mississippi, Kern and Hammerstein II wrote a musical entitled Show Boat in 1927 . The result was a groundbreaking and groundbreaking musical, the most famous song of which, Ol 'Man River , is sung by Joe, the black ship heater. The song was originally intended for Paul Robeson , but delays in production meant that Robeson was obliged to do something else at the time of the premiere. Jules Bledsoe took over the role of Joe in his place.
Ol 'Man River is embedded in Show Boat in the first act, scene 1. Show Boat is the first real musical in which text, music and plot form a unit. It tells the story of a vaudeville singer in the constant tension between show business and racial discrimination . The action takes place on the "Cotton Blossom", one of the magnificent theater ships on the Mississippi. A network of relationships connects the captain and his pretty daughter Magnolia with the theater troupe and the players on the ship. The young Magnolia falls in love with a charming young man named Gaylord Ravenal, who turns out to be a gambler.
In Edna Ferber's novel , the Mississippi was presented as an independent character who connects those who live on him and on him, dictates their relationships and determines their life course. Hammerstein wanted to capture this spirit in a song. The text follows Hammerstein's principle that the rhythm should be indefinite and hesitant, combined with the risk that the listener's attention could be distracted from the lyrics. This text reflects the thematic tension between the singer's physical strength and his social impotence (as opposed to the strength of the river) while the “niggers” work and the whites have fun. The river must know something, but it is silent and just keeps flowing. In Alec Wilder's opinion , Ol 'Man River is by no means a complex song melodically and harmoniously . But his pentatonic melody also appealed to the jazz people and comprises an octave and a sixth without difficult intervals . Will Friedwald has pointed out that, unlike most popular songs, there are actually only two possible ways to interpret Ol 'Man River , either as an anthem or as a fast-paced up-tempo - "killer."
The first performance of the musical took place on December 27, 1927 in the Ziegfeld Theater in New York, Ol 'Man River is sung on stage by Jules Bledsoe. The musical has 572 performances without interruptions, ran for a year and a half and is thus one of the most successful musicals ever.
Original and cover versions
The first commercial record was made on the day of the premiere. This original recording was made by Kenn Sisson & Orchestra with singer Irving Kaufman ( Brunswick # 3766) on December 27, 1927. She didn't hit the charts. This was followed by Don Vorhees & Orchester on January 7, 1928, only Paul Whiteman & Bing Crosby succeeded with their uptempo version from January 11, 1928, to occupy the first place in the charts for a week. Al Jolson advanced to fourth place with his version created on March 28, 1928. Civil rights icon Paul Robeson, who played the stoker Joe with his unmistakable baritone in the London performance in 1928 , recorded the song on March 1, 1928 and, after its release in June 1928, reached number 7 on the US charts. Meanwhile, Ol 'Man River was so well known that Bix Beiderbecke stepped in front of the microphone on July 7, 1928 and presented an instrumental version. Whiteman recorded a concert version in 1928. In 1933 a recording by Horace Henderson renewed interest in the song. On August 8, 1934, Luis Russell and his orchestra recorded the title with their vocal version with singer Sonny Woods ( Perfect 15995) and reached number 19 in the charts.
Harry James played his version for Columbia on January 22, 1941 together with singer Dick Haymes .
Frank Sinatra , who had included the song in his repertoire as early as 1942 and subsequently sang it several times live and on the radio, played it for the first time in the record studio on December 3, 1944 in New York City , accompanied by Axel Stordahl, for Columbia and kept it until 1993 in the program; On February 18, 1963, a second studio recording was made with Nelson Riddle for the recapitulation album The Concert Sinatra . In 1946 he sang the song, accompanied by the Lennie Hayton Orchestra and arranged by Conrad Salinger , also in the finale of the MGM film Till the Clouds Roll By , which had the life of Jerome Kerns as its content.
The Ravens achieved the only million seller on the small label National Records , which sold two million singles in Doo Wop style with their recording on April 24, 1947 . Ray Charles picked up the evergreen on July 10, 1963, it is the B-side of the single That Lucky Old Sun (released November 1963).
Versions by Duke Ellington with Al Hibbler (1951), Rosemary Clooney and Ernie Andrews demonstrate its potential as a jazz standard. There were also numerous instrumental versions, for example by Oscar Peterson (1959), Art Pepper , George Adams , Dave Brubeck , Peter Appleyard , Adam Makowicz or the duo Dick Hyman and Ralph Sutton . In total, ASCAP inventories 128 versions of the song.
Film adaptations of the musical
The musical Show Boat has been filmed several times. The first film directed by Harry A. Pollard premiered on March 16, 1929 . A silent film with acoustic post production in which Ol 'Man River is not sung. James Whale directed the version starring Paul Robeson as stoker Joe, which premiered on May 14, 1936. Here the song appears in a synchronized form. George Sidney directed the film, which premiered in Hollywood on July 17, 1951 . William Warfield took on the role of Joe , and thus automatically the vocal role for Ol 'Man River .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Betty Bryant, Here Comes The Showboat! , 1994, p. 191
- ^ William Howland Kenney, Jazz on the River , 2005, p. 14
- ↑ Dietrich Schulz-Köhn, I Got Rhythm: 40 Jazz Evergreens and Their History , 1994, p. 261
- ↑ a b Will Friedwald, Stardust Melodies: A Biography of Twelve of America's Most Popular Songs , 2002, pp. 104 ff.
- ↑ See A. Wilder American Popular Song: The Great Innovators, 1900-1950
- ↑ a b Gerhard Klußmeier , Jazz in the Charts. Another View on Jazz History. Liner notes and accompanying book of the 100 CD edition, ISBN 978-3-86735-062-4
- ↑ a b song portrait ( Jazzstandards.com )
- ↑ Cf. on admission and cast lists Luiz Carlos do Nascimento Silva: Put Your Dreams Away. A Frank Sinatra Discography. Greenwood Press, Westport 2000, ISBN 0-313-31055-6 , here p. 83 f.
- ↑ Cf. on admission and cast lists Luiz Carlos do Nascimento Silva: Put Your Dreams Away. A Frank Sinatra Discography. Greenwood Press, Westport 2000, ISBN 0-313-31055-6 , here p. 363 f.
- ↑ On the film soundtrack recording from March 1946 cf. Luiz Carlos do Nascimento Silva: Put Your Dreams Away. A Frank Sinatra Discography. Greenwood Press, Westport 2000, ISBN 0-313-31055-6 , here p. 112.
- ↑ Premiere on December 5, 1946
- ^ Jay Warner, American Singing Groups , 2006, p. 55