That is one of the best musical tributes I ever heard to a film composer.
The fact Alfred Newman is my favorite Golden Age composer colors my thinking but how many musicians have had a crazily popular song (starting in 1931 straight through Oingo Boingo and Danny Elfman) rewritten by it's writer and performer in their honor? Calloway did take-offs of it many times in his career, including with Henry Mancini at the Hollywood Bowl and John Williams with the Boston Pops. But he didn't do a full biographical story as he does here.
"The legacy of Alfred Newman and his influence on the language of music for the cinema is practically unmatched by anyone in Hollywood history. As an executive, he was hard but fair. As a mentor to his staff he was revered. The orchestras under his baton delighted in his abilities as a conductor. The music he himself composed, often under extreme emotional duress, is among the most gorgeous ever written. […] Not big in physical stature, he was a giant in character, a titan in of the world he loved and dominated. He was a true musical force, and one that cannot in any sense be replaced.”
I'd like to know from which year this is. Probably 40s.
I like that idea that Newman must have been very popular at that time and even known to the general public. Most likeky an exaggeration but Calloway indicates: "Made music in the studios / What happened after that / most everyone knows."
Is there any video material available with Newman conducting or him being interviewed? I only have the How to Marry Millionaire DVD with Newman conducting Street Scene. Would love to see more of him.
Is there any video material available with Newman conducting or him being interviewed? I only have the How to Marry Millionaire DVD with Newman conducting Street Scene. Would love to see more of him.
He can be heard briefly at the start of this Betty Grable record:
The Jane Frazee song was from the set of HELLZAPOPPIN'. The knock on "Mr. Potter" was in reference to director H. C. Potter who had no idea what to do on the picture and was replaced by Eddie Cline.
I'd like to know from which year this is. Probably 40s.
I like that idea that Newman must have been very popular at that time and even known to the general public. Most likeky an exaggeration but Calloway indicates: "Made music in the studios / What happened after that / most everyone knows."
Since STORMY WEATHER came out in 1943 and Calloway talks about "20th Century Fox finding us altogether making a thing called STORMY WEATHER" so I assume it is during it's making, maybe late 1942.
