Along with anecdotes from my life, Post Apocalyptic Bohemian is intended to be a celebration of accomplished & gifted gay people on the day of the birth. But, we live in a great big world full of people of different colors, sizes, shapes, & beliefs. On rare occasions, I am moved because o,f & absorbed by the great works of no-gay individuals.
Music is a driving force in my life & my tastes are all over the map. On Monday afternoon, I was making my way through the C section of my CDs & at one point I listened to The Clash & Rosemary Clooney back to back. Since early childhood, I have a had a passion for The Great American Songbook- popular music from the 1st 6 decades of the 20th century. I own a large library of books by & about composers & lyricists, & I have done posts on the birthdays of musical greats- straight & gay. All right, I gave a bit more attention to Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Lorenz Hart, Kander & Ebb, & Jerry Herman, but the gay spin that informs their work is evident to me & speaks to me.
The decidedly heterosexual Jerome Kern wrote the music to some of the most stunning songs of the last century. In 1915 with bookwriter Guy Bolton, he began a series of intimate musicals for the 299 seat Princess Theatre. Among Kern's songs for these charming shows were They Didn’t Believe Me (1914), which I consider the 1st modern ballad, & Look For the Silver Lining (1920)
In 1927, Kern teamed with Oscar Hammerstein II & they adapted an Edna Ferber ( a lesbian) novel into one of the greatest of all American musicals: Show Boat. Show Boat pioneered the concept of the fully integrated musical, with all aspects of the show working together toward a single artistic unity. Among the songs introduced in Show Boat were Old Man River, Bill, Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man, Make Believe, & Why Do I Love You?
After Show Boat, Kern continued to write for Broadway, contributing such classic songs as The Song Is You, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, & Yesterdays (all from Roberta, 1933 with lyrics by Otto Harbach).
In 1935, Kem went to Hollywood, where he spent most of the rest of his career, writing some of his very best music. For the 1935 film of Roberta he wrote I Won't Dance. For Swing Time (1936), he wrote A Fine Romance & The Way You Look Tonight (both with lyrics by Dorothy Fields). He was nominated for 9 Oscars & won 2.
On the occasion of or 10th anniversary, after a swell party thrown by our neighbors & dear friends- Robert & Margo, I found myself alone with the man who would eventually be my husband. He presented me with a piece of his own art, a beautiful & meaningful collage just for the occasion. I had planned this moment... but I doubted that it could be pulled off without interruption, giggling, dog barking or humiliation. I stood facing him in our little Seattle cottage, I looked him in the eye & without flinching, & in what I have to admit is my pretty amazing, if uncommon sounding singing voice, I did Jerome Kern’s- All the Things You Are, verse & chorus. I was more nervous than any stage performance. When I finished, the Husband had teared up. He said- “beautiful… how come you never sing to me? I love to hear you sing”. He then hugged & kissed me.
This is not me (my voice is not sweet, polite or angelic), but the very openly gay- Will Young from the film- Mrs Henderson Presents:
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