 Press Room:
A Day in Hollywood /
A Night in the Ukraine
On Stage & Screen:
Where have I heard that song before?
By Jonathan Spencer
Tickets on sale now
A central feature of A Day in
Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine’s first act is a medley
saluting the compositions of legendary Hollywood tunesmith
Richard A. Whiting. Though you may not have heard his name
before, you’ll most certainly recognize his song titles. Though he
spent only nine years writing for Hollywood films, he produced over
50 hit songs during that short period. What follows is a sampling of
the popular tunes Whiting composed that you may have heard in films
or the world of popular song standards:
“Ain't We Got Fun” is a popular
1921 Richard A. Whiting composition with lyrics by Raymond Egan and
Gus Kahn. It has since become a standard, recorded by many artists
including Bob Hope, Chet Atkins, Bing Crosby, Doris Day, Al Jolson,
Peggy Lee, and Dick Van Dyke. The song is quoted in the novel The
Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and has been used for
several years in commercials for Carnival Cruise Lines. It is also
quoted in Dorothy Parker's award-winning short story of 1929, Big
Blonde.
Lyrics:
“Every morning, every evening, Ain't we got fun
Not much money, oh but honey, Ain't we got fun
The rent's unpaid dear, we haven't a bus
But smiles were made dear for people like us!”
“Too Marvelous for Words” is a
popular song written in 1937 by Whiting and lyricist Johnny Mercer.
It was recorded by such singers as Bing Crosby, the Harry James
Orchestra, the Nat King Cole Trio, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Doris
Day, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and Rosemary Clooney. It was
featured in the 1937 Warner Brothers film Ready, Willing and Able,
as well as a production number in a musical revue on Broadway. In
addition, it was used as the love theme for the 1947 film noir
Dark Passage, starring Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart.
Lyrics:
“You're much too much, and just too very, very
To ever be in Webster's Dictionary
And so I'm borrowing a love song from the birds
To tell you that you're marvelous
Too marvelous for words.”
“On the Good Ship Lollipop” was
written by Whiting and lyricist Sidney Clare. It is most famous as
the trademark song of child actress Shirley Temple, who first sang
it in the 1934 film Bright Eyes. Perhaps the most interesting
bit of trivia about this composition is that most people would swear
that the subject of the song is a boat. However, the lyrics bear out
that the “Lollipop” was indeed an airplane. The song became so
popular in its day that over 500,000 copies were sold.
Lyrics:
“I've thrown away my toys, even my drum and train
I wanna make some noise with real live aeroplanes
Some day I'm going to fly, I'll be a pilot too
And when I do, how would you like to be my crew
…On the good ship Lollipop, it’s a sweet trip to a candy shop
Where bon-bons play on the sunny beach of Peppermint Bay.”
“Double Trouble” was written by
Whiting in collaboration with co-composer Ralph Rainger and lyricist
Leo Robin. It appeared in The Big Broadcast of 1936, the
second in the series of “Big Broadcast” movies featuring a loose
compilation of vaudeville-like sketches and popular songs. It
starred Bing Crosby, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Ethel Merman, and
the Nicholas Brothers. The song was performed in the film by Lydia
Roberti, Jack Oakie, Henry Wadsworth, and chorus.
“Louise”
Popular entertainer Maurice Chevalier had his first
American film role and garnered one of his most recognizable
signature tunes in 1929’s Innocents of Paris. The song in
question was “Louise,” written by – guess who? – Richard A. Whiting
and lyricist Leo Robin. It should be noted that through the years
every Chevalier impressionist worth his salt has used this tune to
project an instant image of this flamboyant singer.
Lyrics:
“Every little breeze seems to whisper ‘Louise.’
Birds in the trees seem to twitter ‘Louise.’
Each little rose tells me it knows I love you, love you.”
“Beyond the Blue Horizon”
Whiting and Frank Harling crafted “Beyond the Blue Horizon” with
lyricist Leo Robin for the 1930 Jeanette MacDonald film Monte
Carlo, directed by Ernst Lubitsch. MacDonald plays a runaway
bride who has hopped a train without even bothering to find out
where it's going. As she hurtles toward her destination -- Monte
Carlo -- she gazes out the window of her compartment and sings
"Beyond the Blue Horizon." This sequence is renowned among film
buffs as one of the great musical numbers of the early talkie era
because it dared to break through the stage-bound conventions of the
day. A montage of traveling shots was combined with the rhythmic
sounds of the train, the swelling strains of the orchestra, and
MacDonald’s soaring voice to create a truly memorable moment in an
otherwise forgettable film.
Lyrics:
“Beyond the blue horizon waits a beautiful day
Goodbye to things that bore me, joy is waiting for me
I see a new horizon, my life has only begun,
Beyond the blue horizon lies a rising sun”
“Thanks for the Memory” is the
only non-Richard Whiting entry in our sampling of A Day in
Hollywood selections, but it is worth a mention if only because
it is one of the more recognizable tunes of its era. It was written
by Ralph Rainger and lyricist Leo Robin and originally appeared in
the film The Big Broadcast of 1938. It was performed in that
movie by Bob Hope and later won the Academy Award for Best Original
Song. But most significantly, it became Hope's signature tune.
Whether he was performing on a soundstage in Hollywood for one of
his ubiquitous TV specials or on the deck of an aircraft carrier
before hundreds of cheering soldiers, he always closed his
performance with that song, often reworking the lyrics to suit the
moment. A sampling of the original in all its period glory is quoted
below. It seemed an appropriate way to end this walk down memory
lane!
Lyrics:
“Thanks for the memory
Of sentimental verse, nothing in my purse
And chuckles when the preacher said
For better or for worse
How lovely it was. …
We said goodbye with a highball, then I got as high as a steeple
But we were intelligent people
No tears, no fuss, hooray for us. …
Thanks for the memory …
Strictly entre nous, darling, how are you?
And how are all those little dreams that never did come true?
Oh, thank you so much.”
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2005
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