Call Me Madam

One of Ethel Merman's most famous roles was Ambassador Sally Adams in the 1950 Broadway musical Call Me Madam, and the recordings from that production have been reissued many times. (There are two - one set with Merman on Decca and the RCA version with Dinah Shore, of all people, in Merman's place.)

However, the LP of the subsequent film version has been more neglected, so here is my transfer for those interested.

This is one of Irving Berlin's best scores (and by that I suppose I mean among the ones that I like the best), with a number of fine songs. The showstopper on Broadway was Merman's duet with Russell Nype on "You're Just in Love." Here Nype gives way to the terrific Donald O'Connor.

"You're Just in Love"

Also in the cast and usually in tune is George Sanders, who loved to sing and did so in several films in the 1950s. I made mild fun of Sanders' singing on an earlier occasion, only to be gently rebuked by his partisans. Here he does well in his solo, "Marrying for Love," but his entry in the duet "The Best Thing for You" is low comedy.

As often happens, Decca's pressings both for the 10-inch LP and the corresponding 45 set were grainy, but even so the sound is very good.

Merman Meets Martin

Two of the great Broadway stars got together to celebrate Ford's 50th Anniversary one day in June 1953, and Decca was there to record the occasion and later issue it on this 10-inch LP.

Ethel Merman and Mary Martin were both in excellent voice and barely pause to take a breath as they rush through what seems like half the tunes in their extensive repertoire. This kind of applause-inducing medley-mongering was very common in the television variety programs of the day, and they do it well - although maybe not quite so well as the plastered-on applause might have you think.

The television recording takes up one side of the LP, with the reverse being devoted to familiar items, including Merman's amusing set piece, Eadie Was a Lady.

NEW LINK (remastered)