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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 second of a three-part program, paying tribute to composer Harry Ruby. Ruby is known for his collaborations with Bert Kalmar and Ted Snyder. He wrote countless hit songs like "Nevertheless," "I'm In Love With You," "Who's Sorry Now," and "Three Little Words." Perhaps he is best remembered for the zany songs he wrote for Groucho Marx and his brothers. This program was originally broadcast in 1981.

[0:45] Paul Lazarus: In 1928, Ruby and Kalmar, together, an odd combination here, with composer Herbert Stothart, contributed the songs to a show called Good Boy, which's libretto was created by a combination of Otto Harbach, Oscar Hammerstein, and Henry Myers. And once again, the score is not particularly memorable except for this version by Helen Kane of the Ruby and Kalmar and Stothart song, "I Wanna Be Loved By You," which with its unique sort of squeaky delivery of the boop-boop-a-doop girl created quite a stir. Helen Kane. This is an original cast recording, actually, from 1928 of Helen Kane singing "I Wanna Be Loved By You."

[2:32] ♪ Musical number: "I Wanna Be Loved By You" — performed by Helen Kane ♪

[4:32] Paul Lazarus: The Boop-boop-a-doop Girl, from 1928 in a show called Good Boy. A song written by Herbert Stothart, Bert Kalmar, and Harry Ruby, the subject of today's edition on Anything Goes. Both Kalmar and Ruby went to Hollywood in the early 30s to write songs and scripts for films. Some of the pictures they worked on included The Kid From Spain, starring Eddie Cantor, Czech and Double Czech, which starred Amos and Andy and featured the Duke Ellington Orchestra, The Cuckoos, and Do You Love Me? Two songs from that period are "I Love You So Much" from The Cuckoos, which was written in 1930 but here is performed by Arlene Dahl from the soundtrack of Three Little Words, and that'll be followed by what is really an original soundtrack recording, Duke Ellington together with a vocal trio that includes a very young Bing Crosby singing "Three Little Words."

[5:29] ♪ Musical number: "I Love You So Much" — performed by Arlene Dahl ♪

[10:24] ♪ Musical number: "Three Little Words" — performed by Duke Ellington and Bing Crosby ♪

[10:54] Paul Lazarus: I think we'll return for a brief moment to the zanier side of Harry Ruby's writing and back to the famous Kalmar Ruby songbook in which all these crazy songs were put together in 1937. And this is a recording from the cast of Harry Ruby's Songs My Mother Never Sang, a recent cabaret off Broadway, and featuring the splendid work of I.M. Hobson.

[11:25] ♪ Musical number: "Three Little Fishes" — performed by I.M. Hobson ♪

[13:43] ♪ Musical number: "The Three Little Fishes" — performed by Hobson ♪

[15:19] Paul Lazarus: You're listening to a tribute to legendary composer Harry Ruby. I'm your host, Paul Lazarus. Perhaps more than anyone else who can be associated with the work of Harry Ruby, it must fall to Groucho Marx, who Ruby wrote so many songs for in the Marx Brothers films and special material, and just a lifelong association between the two men. Two terrific, terrific people who worked so well together and were not above kidding one another. Groucho Marx used to say, not to listen to Harry Ruby is a liberal education and various things. But Ruby was responsible for giving, well, together with Kalmar, I should say, was responsible for giving Groucho his theme music, "Hooray for Captain Spaulding." And this happened in a show called "Animal Crackers" on Broadway in October of 1928.

And pretty much everything, the book and the songs of that show, took a back seat to the antics of the Marx Brothers, who just completely clowned around. But one of the things that did emerge from that score was "Hooray for Captain Spaulding," and it became Groucho's lifelong theme, including for his quiz show, "You Bet Your Life." And we're fortunate to have a very short but authentic original soundtrack version from the film of "Animal Crackers" of "Hooray for Captain Spaulding," featuring the inimitable Groucho Marx.

[16:48] ♪ Musical number: "Hooray for Captain Spaulding" — performed by Groucho Marx ♪

[18:00] Paul Lazarus: Years ago, there were many songs written about mothers. "Mammy," "An Island Must Be Heaven," "Mom, They're Making Eyes at Me," "My Mother's Eyes." But nobody ever wrote any song about fathers. Father was the Townshall meal in almost every place. He was nothing. Mother was the boss. I think there were two songs that I remember: "Pop Goes the Weasel" and "Oh What a Crime is My Old Man." I remember one more song, it was called "Everybody Works but Father."

[19:02] ♪ Musical number: "Everybody Works but Father" — performed by Groucho Marx ♪

[21:20] Paul Lazarus: Groucho Marx, performing in his last concert tour in the early seventies and singing a song by Harry Ruby called "Father's Day," which was published in his "Songs Our Mother Never Sang" book in 1943, one of the Ruby crazy songs that he wrote completely on his own, words and music. As I said earlier, the association between Harry Ruby and Groucho Marx was really a very, very prosperous one. Together with Kalmar, Ruby provided the scores for many Marx Brothers films, including "Animal Crackers," "Duck Soup," and "Horse Feathers," and the latter two they also provided the screenplay for as well. They even had submitted early drafts to "Night at the Opera" and a few other pieces that were not used but were work with the Marx Brothers.

I have some more Groucho and Harry Ruby combined material here from the film "Horse Feathers." "Horse Feathers" is what I call the famous ice speech, and then there's a number that will follow that that was written by Groucho Marx and Harry Ruby together called "There's a Place called Omaha, Nebraska."

[22:47] Paul Lazarus: Well, that's the last time we deliver ice unless you pay the bill. How much do we owe you? Two thousand dollars. Two thousand dollars for ice? I can get an Eskimo for two hundred dollars and make my own ice. I tell you what I'll do. I'll make you a proposition. You owe us two hundred dollars. We take two thousand and call it square. That's not a bad idea. I'll tell you, I'll consult my lawyer, and if he advises me to do it, I'll get a new lawyer.

[23:15] ♪ Musical number: "There's a Place called Omaha, Nebraska" — performed by Groucho Marx ♪

[26:29] Paul Lazarus: You've been listening to Episode 2 of a three-part tribute to gifted composer Harry Ruby. "Anything Goes: Backstage with Broadway's Best" is produced and hosted by Paul Lazarus. For more information, visit anythinggoespl.com. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to rate and follow us. Thanks for listening.