Hey, Get Your Gun, You Good Lookin’ Birthday Girl!

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Welcome to a new Musical Theatre Monday! I’ve moved it up from the usual third Monday of the month to the second, so that we can honor the 111th birthday anniversary of Musical Theatre Monday’s patron saint, Ethel Merman, who was born on January 16th, 1908.

Every year I try to share another rarity in my collection related to my favorite Broadway diva, and this time I’ve got a treat: an audio recording — tracked — from the TV production of Irving Berlin’s Annie Get Your Gun (1946), which was telecast by NBC on Sunday, March 19, 1967. This abbreviated 90-minute version of the legendary 1966 Lincoln Center revival starring Merman, Bruce Yarnell, Jerry Orbach, and Benay Venuta, is not known to survive in any visual form. However, subscribers who comment below to alert me of their interest will be able to hear the entire show, including something La Merm never recorded officially (in the three separate times she sang the score in studio), the first act finale — excerpted below.

And now, for even the non-subscribers, here’s a recording of Ethel Merman and Bill Johnson with “Hey, Good Lookin'” from the Treasury Star Parade broadcast of Cole Porter’s Something For The Boys (1943). Note that this is different — listen to the ending, for example — from the version used on the AEI release, which consists of material from a shortwave broadcast to servicemen overseas, alongside a few Treasury Star Parade takes. (This rare track comes from the Sound Stage LP. I do not have the full Treasury Star Parade show to share.)

 

Happy birthday, Miss Merman!

 

 

Come back next month for another Musical Theatre Monday! And stay tuned tomorrow for more Just Shoot Me!

28 thoughts on “Hey, Get Your Gun, You Good Lookin’ Birthday Girl!”

  1. Thank you Jackson. I would really appreciate it if you would send me the recording of Annie Get Your Gun. I was very privileged to see Ethel Merman twice when she appeared at the Palladium in London just over 40 years ago. She didn’t disappoint and I have very fond memories of her appearance. JG

  2. Jackson, your yearly Merman post is always one of my favorites, and I’d love to have a copy of your audio of the Annie special. And how great to hear this alternate take for “Hey Good Lookin'”!

    • Would love to hear more of this tv broadcast that somehow never seems to be available thanks so much for sharing sincerely michael

      • If at all possible would truly appreciate being able to listen to compleat audio of this thank you so much for your great postings

        • Hi, Michael! Thanks for reading and commenting.

          I have emailed you at your gmail address.

          (Also, as we’ve discussed privately, one comment requesting the offered material is enough. You never need to worry; I see everything that’s posted here and I’ve never offered something and not sent it out to the subscribers who’ve requested it. I’m very grateful for your readership and support… and I’ll always appreciate your patience and consideration, too. Thanks!)

  4. my favorite Broadway star.My grandmom had the 78s of this show. I grew up listening to this show in the late 40s. I bought an lp of it in the 50s. In the early 60s I saw a revival of the show in New York. I remember watching the this tv special and hearing the song Berlin wrote for the revival. I WANT A WEDDING. Id love to hear the show again. Thanks.

  5. Happy Birthday to the Merm! Jackson, she is my favorite Broadway Diva, too! The first show I was in was “Gypsy” in 1965 (I was 13). Her talent startled me, even at that young age, and still does today! Please send me the recording!
    Thank you again for all the wonderful things you have shared.
    M. Zipperlin

  6. Thank you for another great post. Had no idea about the differing Treasury Star Parade and shortwave broadcast material for Something for the Boys. Merman and Porter were a match made in heaven, and it’s thrilling to be able to hear an alternate version of Hey Good Lookin’. Hope some day to hear the Sound Stage LP in its entirety…. I wonder why AEI left some of that material off of their release.

    Would so love to hear the Annie Get Your Gun audio—what a prize for Merman fans like us. Thank you!

  12. Hello! I’d love a copy of the 1967 audio from the show! Thanks so much for making all these rare gems available!

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