"They Say It's Wonderful" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the musical Annie Get Your Gun (1946), where it was introduced by Ethel Merman and Ray Middleton.[1] A film version in 1950 again featured the song when it was performed by Howard Keel and Betty Hutton.
Recordings
edit- Ethel Merman recorded it for the original Decca Records cast album of Annie Get Your Gun (1946).[2] In 1979, she recorded a "camp" version for The Ethel Merman Disco Album, but it was not released on the original vinyl record. It was issued as a bonus track on the CD reissue in 2002.[3]
- Andy Russell – single (1946; Billboard No. 10)[4]
- Perry Como with Russ Case and His Orchestra – single (1946; Billboard No. 27)[2]
- Bing Crosby recorded the song on January 22, 1946[5] - single (1946; Billboard No. 12)
- Frank Sinatra – single (1946; "Billboard" No. 11)
- Betty Hutton & Howard Keel – Annie Get Your Gun film and soundtrack (1950)
- Modern Jazz Quartet – The Modern Jazz Quartet (1957)[6]
- Dave Brubeck – Plays and Plays and... (1957)[7]
- Sarah Vaughan – Sarah Vaughan Sings Broadway: Great Songs from Hit Shows (1958)[8]
- Johnny Mathis – Heavenly (1959)[9]
- Doris Day – Show Time (1960)[10]
- John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman - John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman (1963)[11]
- Jimmy Scott – Falling in Love Is Wonderful (1963)[12]
- Hampton Hawes – Blues for Bud (1968)[13]
- Suzi Quatro & Eric Flynn – Annie Get Your Gun – 1986 London Cast (1986)[14]
- Tony Bennett – Bennett/Berlin (1987)[15]
- Stacey Kent – Love Is...The Tender Trap (1998)[16]
- Bernadette Peters – Annie Get Your Gun Broadway revival cast recording (1999)
- Eliane Elias – Everything I Love (2000)[17]
- Michael Poss recorded the song, combined with "I Need to Be in Love", for his album Silver Screen Serenades (2000)
- Judy Garland & Howard Keel recorded the song when Garland was originally slated to star in the film. It was released on the Annie Get Your Gun film soundtrack reissue CD (2000).
- Sathima Bea Benjamin – Musical Echoes (2002)
- Beegie Adair – The Great American Songbook Collection (2002)[18]
- Kirsten Dunst – Spider-Man 3 (2007)
- Susan Lucci – ABC Presents: Love Affair (2008)
- Seth MacFarlane – Once in a While (2019)[19]
Popular culture
edit- More recently it was performed in an episode of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel by Darius de Haas.[20]
References
edit- ^ Mordden, Ethan (27 August 1999). Beautiful Mornin' : The Broadway Musical in the 1940s: The Broadway Musical in the 1940s. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-19-535176-7.
- ^ a b Gilliland, John (c. 1975). "Pop Chronicles 1940s Program #13". UNT Digital Library.
- ^ The Ethel Merman Disco Album, Track 8 - "They Say It's Wonderful". Original 1979 recording reissued on CD in 2002 by Fynsworth Alley, LLC and Universal Music Enterprises, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1991). Pop Memories 1890-1954: The History of American Popular Music. Record Research, Inc. p. 375. ISBN 0898200830.
- ^ "A Bing Crosby Discography". BING magazine. International Club Crosby. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
- ^ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
- ^ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
- ^ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
- ^ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
- ^ "www.discogs.com". discogs.com. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
- ^ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
- ^ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
- ^ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
- ^ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
- ^ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
- ^ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
- ^ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
- ^ "www.discogs.com". discogs.com. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
- ^ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
- ^ "All The Songs In 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' Season 3". Bustle. 6 December 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2020.