This 1929 Paramount release featured Yip’s first widely released song, “What Wouldn’t I Do for That Man?” (composer, Jay Gorney). In the film, Helen Morgan sings it perched on a piano, her trademark performing pose. The Kino BluRay edition was released in December, 2019 (Kino 24183). The song was also used in a dramatic context in another 1929 Paramount feature, Applause, in which Helen Morgan sings it while holding a portrait of the man she loves.
Category Archives: Video
Harlem Repertory Theatre Does the Wizard of Oz Featured on New York Live TV!!
Check out this NBC segment that aired 8/27/19 about our Wizard of Oz: A Jazz Musical for All Ages, a unique 21st century take!
Yip Harburg Foundation’s Rainbow Troupe: Hallowe’en 2015 Concert
The Yip Harburg Foundation’s Rainbow Troupe presented a concert of songs with lyrics by Yip at Theater for the New City’s Annual Hallowe’en Costume Ball on Oct. 31, 2015. Ben Harburg, Holly Rae Phillips, Eric Poindexter and Reanna Armellino performed, with David Gaines as Musical Director and Deena R. Harburg as Conceiver and Producer.
(“Over the Rainbow”) The Song of the Century
Everyone knows the songs from The Wizard of Oz; in fact, Over the Rainbow is often cited as the greatest movie hit of all time. Few, however, know the names of the men who wrote Rainbow and the rest of the classic Oz score.
The remedy for their anonymity now is in the hands of Aaron Harburg — great-grandson of The Wizard of Oz lyricist E.Y. “Yip” Harburg — who has begun production on The Song of the Century.
Finian’s Rainbow: An “Unbelievably Current” Classic “Old-Time Musical”
The 2009 revival of Finian’s Rainbow brought Cheyenne Jackson, Jim Norton, Christopher Fitzgerald, and Kate Baldwin to the St. James Theatre to revisit Yip’s still timely lyrics and Burton Lane’s glorious score that raise issues such as racial harmony, social equality, and living beyond one’s means.
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“Finian’s Rainbow overflows with songs that are pure heaven, propelled by Yip Harburg’s wit and Burton Lane’s timeless sense of melody. Scrumptious!” – Elizabeth Vincentelli, The New York Post (2009)
“Infectious song and exuberant dancing are on abundant display in this thoroughly winning, joyous production.” – Charles Isherwood, The New York Times (2009)
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Applause
Applause (1929). Groundbreaking early talkie directed by Rouben Mamoulian and starring Helen Morgan; contains Yip’s first film song, written with composer Jay Gorney, “What Wouldn’t I Do for That Man?” One of the extra features of this DVD is Morgan’s performance of the same song in another 1929 release, Glorifying the American Girl. Kino BluRay K24183.
Radio Riot
Radio Riot (1930). To this cartoon Yip contributed “The Bed Time Story,” which occurs at about one minute before the end. It is a satire of spooky Brothers Grimm fairy tales, spoken by an animated radio to a group of terrified mice. Not commercially available, but viewable on You Tube.
Roadhouse Nights
Roadhouse Nights (1930). Helen Morgan sings the Harburg-Gorney composition “It Can’t Go on Like This.” Jimmy Durante and ensemble also sing a couple of non-Harburg songs.
Prisoners Song
Prisoners Song (1930). A Fleischer Brothers animation in which prisoners recite Yip’s verse “Down in Dear Sing Sing.” Available from private collectors only.
A Million Me’s
A Million Me’s (1930). The Yip Harburg-Jay Gorney song “What Wouldn’t I Do for That Man?” got a lot of mileage. Lee Morse opens and closes this Paramount short with fragments of the song and sings it all the way through starting at around 6min 35sec. Not commercially available, but viewable on You Tube.