Monday, April 13, 2015

HISTORY OF A SONG: MOUNTAIN GREENERY

Readers of my blog as well as people that know me, know what a fan I am of the music of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. Lorenz Hart, more than anyone, was a true poet in every sense of the word. Most of my favorite songs are Rodgers and Hart compositions. One of my favorite of the uplifting songs by the duo was "Mountain Greenery". The song was a popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart for the musical The Garrick Gaieties (1926). It was first performed on stage by Sterling Holloway. Fans of television's The Dick Van Dyke Show will remember the duet by Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore in the episode "The Sleeping Brother".

Two of the first notable records of the song were made by Roger Wolfe Kahn and his Orchestra  on May 27, 1926 and Frank Crumit on July 29, 1926. Bing Crosby recorded a version of the song for his 1956 album Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings, but my personal favorite version of the song was made by Perry Como in 1948 for the film "biography" of Rodgers and Hart's life Words And Music. Como's version contains some verses that you normally don't hear in other recordings.

Rounding out the great versions of this song was Ella Fitzgerald's great version for  Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers & Hart Songbook in 1956. Mel Tormé had a top-five hit in Great Britain with his version also from 1956. Surprisingly The Supremes as well had a nice version of the song on their retro album The Supremes Sing Rodgers and Hart in 1966. The songs of Rodgers and Hart may be over 80 years old in some instances, but their words and music are timeless...

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1 comment:

  1. beachgalApril 13, 2015 at 2:17 PM

    I had that Supremes LP of Rogers & Hart songs when it released - but I always really loved Ella's version. We had the Ella LP (when it first came out) in our family home and it was played a lot. I remember the Mel Torme version playing often on the radio in the mid 50s and he showed up on TV shows singing it too. If you like Lorenz Hart I suggest the bio by Gary Marmorstein A Ship Without A Sail: The Life of Lorenz Hart.

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