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[0:00] Paul Lazarus: Hi, this is Paul Lazarus. In the 1980s, I produced and hosted a radio series called Anything Goes, a celebration of the American musical theater. Now the Broadway Podcast Network is bringing back these shows. This is the conclusion of a three-part program paying tribute to renowned lyricist Ira Gershwin. Originally broadcast in 1982 on the occasion of Gershwin's 86th birthday, the show featured songs that Ira wrote with other collaborators besides his brother George. Composers like Harold Arlen, Burton Lane, and Kurt Weill.

[0:41] Paul Lazarus: In olden days, a glimpse of stocking was a look on at something shocking, but now God knows anything goes. Ira Gershwin collaborated with the composer Aaron Copland on a 1943 film produced by Samuel Goldwyn and released by RKO in October of 1943. It was a screenplay by Lillian Hellman. The cast included Walter Houston, Walter Brennan, Eric von Stroheim, Farley Granger, a pretty phenomenal effort. Unfortunately, I only have one song from this score, but it's a song entitled "Younger Generation," and it's once again from this Walden record, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, which is truly a terrific album. And I'm, fortunately, someone sent it to me because I didn't have it in my own collection. This features Patty Hope, Rocky Brinner, and Michael Martin with David Baker and John Morse at the piano.

[1:43] ♪ Musical number: "Younger Generation" — performed by Patty Hope, Rocky Brinner, and Michael Martin ♪

[3:59] Paul Lazarus: The Younger Generation from the film The North Star, Aaron Copland and Ira Gershwin collaboration. Ira's next film was with Arthur Schwartz producing, the composer producing, and Jerome Kern writing the music, and this time directed by Charles Vidor, I think otherwise known as King Vidor, and it starred Rita Hayworth and Gene Kelly and Phil Silvers, Eve Arden, unbelievable cast in these days, a whole bunch of stars all on one film. This featured quite a few of some of the best songs ever written by Jerome Kern and Ira Gershwin. Here's two from this score, Gene Kelly performing "Put Me to the Test" and perhaps the most famous song from the score, "Long Ago and Far Away" with Nan Wynn singing for Rita Hayworth.

[4:56] ♪ Musical number: "Put Me to the Test" — performed by Gene Kelly ♪

[6:41] ♪ Musical number: "Long Ago and Far Away" — performed by Nan Wynn ♪

[10:34] Paul Lazarus: Ira Gershwin Collaboration, Cover Girl film, 1944. Gene Kelly sang "Put Me to the Test." And then Gene Kelly and Nan Nguyen, who dubbed Rita Hayworth in the film, singing the beautiful ballad "Long Ago and Far Away." Apparently, by the way, that "Put Me to the Test" had Gene Kelly trying out this number on a dummy in a dress shop and then singing it to the live Rita Hayworth. Apparently, "Long Ago and Far Away" gave Ira Gershwin a great deal of trouble. He tried six or seven different versions, and one of them was called "Midnight Music." Kern had handed him the melody in toto, and he just couldn't come up with anything that he felt worked. An example of a lyric that he tried was, "Just a whisper, soft and low, and the midnight was aglow, for oh, your words made midnight music," was one of the attempts.

And apparently, he finally came up with "Long Ago and Far Away," but didn't even think that was good. But when Arthur Schwartz, the producer, called one day, he read it to him over the phone, and Schwartz said he liked it, and they stuck with it. And Ira, who had felt it was too simple of a song, compared to all the more lush lyrics that were richer in rhyme and reference, and the rest of the film didn't think it was going to go, and it became one of his biggest hits, with sheet music sales of over 600,000 in the year it came out alone. Next project for Ira Gershwin, in 1945, was Back Again with Kurt Weill. This was maybe one of Ira's biggest flops of all time. It ran 43 performances, but critically, it was a disaster.

A very fanciful period piece, and there's some really funny things in this. There's one song called the "Cozy Nook Song," which comes out nosy cook, because it's a song about spoonerisms, where the first letter of each word is inverted. But there was a beautiful ballad in it that Lottie Lenya recorded, and I also have it on this Walden lyrics by Ira Gershwin album, "Sing Me Not a Ballad."

[12:56] ♪ Musical number: "Sing Me Not a Ballad" — performed by Louise Carlisle ♪

[15:42] Paul Lazarus: From the Firebrand of Florence, "Sing Me Not a Ballad." Once again, from that Lyrics by Ira Gershwin album, and featuring Louise Carlisle, Kurt Weill, melody to Ira Gershwin lyric. You're listening to a birthday tribute to legendary lyricist Ira Gershwin. I'm your host, Paul Lazarus. I couldn't resist since it's Ira Gershwin's birthday tomorrow. He will be 86. This is from a record called Ira Gershwin Loves to Rhyme. And I don't know where they found these, but I think it's terrific that they did. This is Ira Gershwin, accompanied by Kurt Weill at the piano, singing one of the other songs from the Firebrand of Florence. There will be life, love, and laughter. Happy birthday, Ira.

[16:26] ♪ Musical number: "There'll Be Life, Love, and Laughter" — performed by Ira Gershwin ♪

[17:54] Paul Lazarus: Act One, Scene Five, In the Garden, a "Cozy Nook Song" by Angela and the Duke. But it really becomes a trio, of course, as Cellini is in the background. Duke starts the number.

[18:14] ♪ Musical number: "Cozy Nook Song" — performed by Angela, the Duke, and Cellini ♪

[21:07] Paul Lazarus: I couldn't resist. It was Ira Gershwin with Kurt Weill at the piano performing two songs from the Firebrand of Florence. They'll be life, love, and laughter, and the Cozy Nook song that homage to Spoonerisms. It's something really delightful about hearing the lyricists, no matter how limited they are as vocalists perform their numbers. They bring to it a real special flair. As usual, running out of time, I'm not going to get to some of the shows that Ira wrote with other collaborators besides his brother, George. Today, a tribute to Ira Gershwin on the day before his 86th birthday, born December 6, 1896, and alive and well in California. And we all wish him a very, very happy tomorrow. We'll have to skip over the show he wrote with Arthur Schwartz, a book by Nonalee Johnson and George S. Kaufman called Park Avenue, a show that apparently treated the subject of divorce the entire evening and unfortunately didn't fare too well.

It was also directed by Kaufman. We'll skip right to another movie produced by Arthur Fried for Metro-Golden-Mayer in 1949, music by Harry Warren, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and screenplay by Comden and Green. This is The Barclays of Broadway, which starred Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Oscar Levant and Billy Burke, and a song I had a listener call, wanting to hear You'd Be Hard to Replace.

[24:08] ♪ Musical number: "You'd Be Hard to Replace" — performed by Fred Astaire ♪

[26:41] Paul Lazarus: Time is short. We're not going to get to give a girl a break, the movie that Ira Gershwin wrote with Burton Lane. Although I have played songs from that in the past, that was a movie that had Marjorie Garrow Champion and Bob Fosse in it, and Debbie Reynolds. We've played some of the things from that, had some fun numbers in it, the title song, and it happens every time, but I've played those on other programs. I will end today with one of Ira's most famous songs, a song from A Star is Born, which was released originally in 1954, music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and Moss Hart doing the screenplay based on an earlier version by Dorothy Parker. Here now is the man that got away from A Star is Born by Ira Gershwin and Harold Arlen, and this is by way of wishing Ira an extremely happy 86th birthday tomorrow.

[30:02] ♪ Musical number: "The Man That Got Away" — performed by Judy Garland ♪

[31:16] Paul Lazarus: For more information, visit anythinggoespl.com. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to rate and follow us. Thanks for listening.