Song Of The Day 12/11/2014: Original Cast of "Ain’t Misbehavin’" - "The Ladies Who Sing With the Band” + "Yacht Club Swing" + "When the Nylons Bloom Again" + "Cash For Your Trash"


Song Of The Day Outtakes 2014: This medley from the Tony-snatching Fats Waller revue from 1978 was cut from Broadway Off and On week back in June. Honestly, it was a little too good for the rest of the songs I had that week, most of which were wet-humor obscurities and tunes I wanted nobody to hum. That was until I played it back tonight, this time half-awake, and realized it was totally in line with the rest of the stuff that week. Maybe not "Put the F***ing Lotion in the Basket" from the Silence of the Lambs musical, but everything else was fine.

These songs were performed as a sort of suite under the umbrella title "The Ladies Who Sing With the Band," originally written at a time when it was entirely possible for men to be both dashing and chauvinist. The song at the top was, I'm guessing, an ode to female singers in small-to-medium markets across America who were hired because of their way of putting the song over. Note: Said way did not include being able to sing. If you catch my drift. See? Sexism's funny if you know how to mug!

Anyway, back in 1978 that was still a lampoonable conceit, and I grudgingly admit I still find the concept amusing. André DeShields and Ken Page were the original cast members who hosted this mini-suite, the rest of which was sung by the show's female principals Charlaine Woodard, Armelia McQueen and Nell Carter. "Yacht Club Swing" is Woodard's recreation of the, um, divergent vocal style of the titular ladies. McQueen's "When the Nylons Bloom Again" addressed the austere rations of ladies' pantyhose during the war, and Carter's "Cash for Your Trash" was about recycling scrap metal for the war as well. (I guess back then it was patriotic to recycle, not derided as "politically correct." It's different when you're doing it to make guns.)

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