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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 conclusion of a five-part program paying tribute to composer Harold Arlen. Arlen wrote the classic movie score to The Wizard of Oz and composed countless unforgettable melodies like Stormy Weather and Get Happy. This program was guest-hosted by Ken Bloom and featured commentary by Arlen biographer Ed Jablonski. It originally aired in July of 1982.

[0:44] Paul Lazarus: In olden days, a glimpse of stocking was a look dawn of something shocking. But now God knows, anything goes. We're going to hear Arlen singing I Wonder What Became of Me, which is one of his best songs, and yet it was cut from a show. Did this happen a lot to him?

[1:04] Ed Jablonski: It happens to everybody. Why it was cut, I don't know. It may have been it was sung by the same character that sang I Had Myself a True Love, and it's somewhat similar. So maybe they thought, well, she doesn't have to have this one also. It's a beautiful art song, practically. In fact, most of St. Louis Woman is full of tremendous creative ideas, and Mercer was never more poetic. It's a beautiful wedding, as Harold calls them, of words and music. But the show just simply did not really work. Harold still feels it has a bad second act, and I think the first act isn't too hot either. The only thing that sustains it are the songs.

[1:47] Ed Jablonski: Well, there was a problem with the original author dying midway through the production. To me, it seems the book is too close to Paul Yunbes in many ways. They're parallel characters and whatnot. But I don't know. I can't tell. People are still trying to redo it, recording possibility coming up, which would probably be better than trying to redo it.

[2:13] Paul Lazarus: From St. Louis Woman, we're going to be hearing Least That's My Opinion, and then Leave in Time and Counterpoint with Sow the Seed and Reap the Harvest.

[2:31] ♪ Musical number: "I Wonder What Became of Me" — performed by Harold Arlen ♪

[5:21] ♪ Musical number: "Least That's My Opinion" — performed by Harold Arlen ♪

[10:23] Ed Jablonski: The last thing that he wrote that was actually produced was Gay Paris, which was a movie, which was a cartoon, which had Judy Garland and Red Buttons. And we're going to hear Judy Garland singing from the soundtrack, Paris is a Lonely Town. It's a lovely song. And Harold always said that's one of Yip's greatest lyrics. I said, Harold, that's one of your good tunes.

[11:01] ♪ Musical number: "Paris is a Lonely Town" — performed by Unknown artist ♪

[14:39] Ken Bloom: You're listening to Anything Goes, featuring a tribute to composer Harold Arlen. We're going to wrap up with some songs that were not necessarily from shows or were never produced or were written on their own. First is American Minuet. Well, that was an instrumental written for a radio show that Meredith Wilson had during the Great War, W.W. II, when everybody was patriotic and kind of believed in things. So each week he would introduce some work by some American composer. You know, Harry Warren wrote a saying and Duke Ellington wrote something, Vernon Duke, and Harold wrote the minuet, a typical American version of an English folk, it is a folk form. Originally on the show it was introduced by orchestra, but Harold put it down first for piano. And this is Kevin Cole playing it. Harold loves the way he plays.

[16:01] Kevin Cole playing piano.

[16:30] Kevin Cole playing piano.

[16:59] Kevin Cole playing piano.

[17:28] Kevin Cole playing piano.

[17:57] Kevin Cole playing piano.

[18:15] Ken Bloom: Next we're going to be hearing Where Is This Road A Leading Me To, with Ruby Elsey singing. She made very few records. She was the original Serena in Porgy and Bess. And I think she was a graduate of Juilliard. And she was tremendous in Porgy and Bess. And the song is from something called American Negro Suite that he wrote in Hollywood, was Ted Kohler, which is a sermon, some spirituals, a lullaby, a lament or whatever, a cry of a lost lady or woman or whatever. Again, it's a typical art song. Eileen Farrell also recorded it. This was recorded under Harold's supervision. He was there during the recording. I think he even sings in the chorus.

[19:03] ♪ Musical number: "Where Is This Road A Leading Me To" — performed by Ruby Elsey ♪

[21:42] Ken Bloom: He worked later with lyricist Martin Charnin on shows that weren't produced. And Dory Previn, we have a song, So Long, Big Time, that Tony Bennett recorded. She, of course, was a lyricist before she ever met Harold and while she was still married to Previn. And both of them were great admirers of him. At the time, there was so little going on.

[22:03] Ed Jablonski: He enjoyed writing with these younger lyricists and slightly offbeat. Even then, her point of view was rather negative, you might say, you know, sad and downbeat. And of course, this is more of an outpouring and a shout again, almost like a Cam Calloway front shout. As far as the Bennett goes, Harold is also conducting the orchestra. He likes Bennett and he did it as a sort of special favor.

[26:17] Ken Bloom: We're going to close with "Ode," Kevin Cole playing it, and this is one of his last compositions, right?

[26:22] Ed Jablonski: Well, certainly it's one of the last of the solo piano pieces, and certainly also one of the most serious things in the way he's done. To the point where he jokingly wrote across the top of it, because it does sound serious. He didn't aspire to be Gershwin. When I once said, I wish he'd write a symphony or something, taking scenes and working into something, he laughed. He said, that's for George. So he wasn't trying to be George Gershwin, but this is something that just came out, and he liked it, and it does work, and it's interesting. But across the top of the copy he gave to me, he wrote, Tennessee, Ireland's Ode to the deeper side of all of us. But the real title is "Ode." He's one of the few composers and songwriters who has a sense of humor, too.

He doesn't take himself that seriously. He knows, you know, he's no shrinking violet. He knows when he likes a song, he likes it. But he just, you know, I argue with him sometimes. I say, you belong with Kern and Berlin and Gershwin. Oh, he said, oh no. I said, yes you do. And I said, who are you to argue with me? I'm the historian.

[29:30] Ken Bloom: And I want to thank Paul Lazarus, and especially Ed Jablonski for coming here, C.L. Muller for being our engineer, and of course Harold Arlen for lending us his tapes and for composing all these songs. We're going to leave with Harold doing "Accentuate the Positive."

[29:44] ♪ Musical number: "Accentuate the Positive" — performed by Harold Arlen ♪