November 24, 1950: Guys and Dolls opened on Broadway

Originally posted August 11, 2008. Last updated September 4, 2018.

Guys and Dolls (cast/soundtrack) Frank Loesser (composers)

Opened on Broadway: November 24, 1950 Cast Album Recorded: December 3, 1950 Cast Album Released: January 8, 1951 Soundtrack Released: November 3, 1955 Sales (in millions): US: -- UK: -- IFPI: -- World (estimated): -- Peak: US: 1 1-C UK: -- Canada: -- Australia: -- C cast album S soundtrack

Quotable: --

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Genre: show tunes

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Album Tracks – Cast Album:

1. Runyonland Music/ Fugue for Tinhorns/ Follow the Fold
2. The Oldest Established
3. I’ll Know
4. A Bushel and a Peck
5. Adelaide’s Lament
6. Guys and Dolls
7. If I Were a Bell
8. My Time of Day
9. I’ve Never Been in Love Before
10. Take Back Your Mink
11. More I Cannot Wish You
12. Luck Be a Lady
13. Sue Me
14. Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat
15. Reprise: Guys and Dolls

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Album Tracks – Cast Album:

1. Overture (JACK BLACKTON)
2. Fugue for Tinhorns (STUBBY KAYE / FRANK SINATRA)
3. Follow the Fold (JEAN SIMMONS)
4. The Oldest Established Floating Crap Game in New York (STUBBY KAYE / JOHNNY SILVER / FRANK SINATRA)
5. I’ll Know (MARLON BRANDO / JEAN SIMMONS)
6. Pet Me Poppa (VIVIAN BLAINE)
7. Adelaide’s Lament (VIVIAN BLAINE)
8. Guys and Dolls (STUBBY KAYE / JOHNNY SILVER / FRANK SINATRA)
9. Adelaide (FRANK SINATRA)
10. If I Were a Bell (MARLON BRANDO / JEAN SIMMONS)
11. A Woman in Love (MARLON BRANDO / JEAN SIMMONS)
12. Take Back Your Mink (VIVIAN BLAINE)
13. Luck Be a Lady (MARLON BRANDO)
14. Sue Me (VIVIAN BLAINE / FRANK SINATRA)
15. Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat (STUBBY KAYE)
16. Guys and Dolls Finale (JACK BLACKTON)

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Singles/Hit Songs *:

A Bushel and a Peck
- Perry Como/Betty Hutton (1950) #3
- Margaret Whiting/Jimmy Wakely (1950) #6
- Doris Day (1950) #16
- Andrews Sisters (1950) #22
- Johnny Desmond (1950) #29

If I Were a Bell
- Frankie Laine (1950) #30

Luck Be a Lady
- Frank Sinatra (1965) --

* In the pre-rock era, it was common for multiple versions of Broadway songs to chart instead of the originals from the show itself. By 1964, musicals didn’t dominate the charts, but it was still more likely for a cover of a Broadway tune to chart than for the original.

Review: “Guys and Dolls, based on the stories of Damon Runyon about New York gamblers, became a stunning success upon its Broadway opening in 1950. While Abe Burrows’ libretto was much praised, the show's main asset is Frank Loesser’s songs, which are unfailingly tuneful and which accurately represent the vernacular of Runyon’s characters, from Fugue for Tinhorns, a trio song full of horse racing slang, to Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat, a revival meeting pastiche in which a gambler claims to have found salvation. Luck Be a Lady, a gambler’s ode to good fortune, became a standard.” WR “Winning as these are, love songs such as I’ll Know and I’ve Never Been in Love Before are equally affecting. And that isn’t even to mention the songs that became contemporary hits, If I Were a Bell and A Bushel and a Peck.” WR The show premiered on Broadway on November 24, 1950 and ran for 1200 performances. It won the Tony Award for Best Musical. It was selected as the winner of the 1951 Pulitzer Prize, but got vetoed because Abe Burrows had problems with the House Un-American Activities Committee. WK-C WR The 1955 film adaptation starred Blaine along with Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, and Jean Simmons. Five songs from the stage musical were omitted from the movie and Loesser wrote three new songs for the film: Pet Me Poppa, Your Eyes Are the Eyes of a Woman in Love, and Adelaide. The last was written specifically with Sinatra in mind. WK-S Review Sources: WR William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide WK-C Wikipedia (cast album) WK-S Wikipedia (soundtrack)

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Awards:

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Eminem charts with “Stan”

Updated 1/12/2019. image from discogs.com

Stan Eminem with Dido

Writer(s): Eminem, Dido, Paul Herman (see lyrics here) Released: 11/21/2000 First Charted: 10/7/2000 Peak: 51 US, 36 RB, 11 UK, 27 CN, 11 AU (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales *: 2.0 US, 0.95 UK, 5.0 world (includes US + UK) Radio Airplay *: -- Video Airplay *: 225.99 Streaming *: -- * in millions

Review: “There are few songs as blindly fascinating and striking as this” SY “compelling look at the pitfalls of fame, and the the danger of becoming obsessed with our heroes.” PD “Rapper Eminem cemented his artistic standing” AB’00 with this “fictional…but frighteningly real” PD story of a deranged fan who sends “a series of unhinged letters.” RS’09 This “creepy hit… encapsulated the dramatic flair that made Eminem so impossible to ignore in 2000.” RS’09 “Even now…[it is] funnier and more shocking than 99 percent of mainstream hip-hop.” MX It is a “raw, beautiful…tragedy without melodrama.” SY It was “instantly fascinating…on first listen [in] how it could take such a cute, pedestrian verse to symbolize an obsessive fan’s descent into madness and self-destruction [and] how Eminem’s rap could sound so realistic, like he’s a friend telling you this story.” SY Malcolm McLaren’s 1984 song “Fans” appears to be the basis of “Stan” in both its structure and story, complete with an opera aria excerpt instead of the samples pulled from Dido’s song “Thank You,” a song which then became a hit in its own right. SF Em also references his own work when Stan says, “I drank a fifth of vodka, dare me to drive?,” a line from “My Name Is.” Stan also references an untrue rumor that Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” was written by Collins when he witnessed a man stand by and do nothing while someone drowned. The legend says Collins invited the man to one of his concerts and sang it to him. SF Eminem had to deal with charges of being anti-gay because in one of Stan’s letters, he writes about wanting to be with Eminem, who replies that it makes him not want to meet Stan. In response, Eminem enlisted the openly gay Elton John to play piano and sing Dido’s part at the 2001 Grammys. SF Resources and Related Links: Eminem’s DMDB Encyclopedia entry AB’00 About.com “Top 100 Pop Songs of the 2000s” (2009) MX Atlanta Metromix “Best Songs of the Decade” (11/24/2009) PD PopDose.com “The Best Songs of the Decade” (11/24/2009) RS’09 Rolling Stone “Songs of the Decade” (12/9/2009) SF Songfacts.com SY StylusDecade.com “Top Singles” WK Wikipedia Note: Footnotes (raised letter codes) refer to sources frequently cited on the blog. Numbers following the letter code indicate page numbers. If the raised letter code is a link, it will go directly to the correct page instead of the home page of a website. You can find the sources and corresponding footnotes on the “Lists” page in the “Song Resources” section.

Awards:

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