fbpx
Wikipedia

Mad About the Boy

December 07, 2023

"Mad About the Boy" is a popular song with words and music by actor and playwright Noël Coward. It was introduced in the 1932 revue Words and Music by Joyce Barbour, Steffi Duna, Norah Howard and Doris Hare. The song deals with the theme of unrequited love for a film star. It was written to be sung by female characters, although Coward (who was a gay man) also wrote a version which was never performed, containing references to the then-risqué topic of homosexual love.[citation needed] The song gained new popularity in 1992 when Dinah Washington's rendition was used in the Levi's television advertisement "Swimmer", directed by Tarsem Singh.

Lyrics edit

The song expresses the adulation of a matinee idol by a number of women as they queue outside a cinema and is sung by several female characters in turn.[1] The adoring fans sing of their love for their hero:

On the silver screen
He melts my foolish heart in every single scene (original version)

Coward later wrote additional verses for the New York production, to be sung by a male character. The lyrics make explicit reference to homosexual feelings with lines such as:

When I told my wife
She said "I've never heard such nonsense in my life!" (Broadway version)

The lyrics also make camp humorous reference to the supposed effeminacy of the character, who is likened to the contemporary film actress Myrna Loy, and to his repeated unsuccessful attempts at conversion therapy with his psychiatrist. The verses were never performed, as the management thought them too risqué.[1]

"The boy" was rumoured to be actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr, who, according to an American newspaper years later, "Noel loved...[but] Doug definitely didn't love him back, although the two men became good friends."[2] Another Hollywood star, Tyrone Power, has also been the rumoured subject of the song.[citation needed]

Dinah Washington version edit

Dinah Washington recorded the song twice: firstly, on 24 March 1952 with orchestral accompaniment by Walter Roddell, and then on 4 December 1961 with Quincy Jones and his orchestra. Her 1961 recording is possibly the most widely known version of the song. The 6
8 time arrangement for voice and jazz orchestra by Jones omits two verses and was recorded in the singer's native Chicago on the Mercury label.[3]

Her 1952 version was released as a single, but the 1961 version was not given a single release until 1992. The song was one of the 40 songs she recorded with Quincy Jones in 1961. Some of these were issued on two albums: I Wanna Be Loved and Tears and Laughter, both released in 1962. The song "Tears And Laughter" was released as a single, but "Mad About the Boy" remained unreleased until Golden Hits – Volume One, a 1963 compilation. By that point, Washington had moved from the Mercury label to Roulette. The recording was also issued on other Washington compilations.

Washington's version was popularised for a new generation when it was used as a backing track in a 1992 television advertisement for Levi's jeans. In the commercial, which is influenced by the 1968 Burt Lancaster film The Swimmer, a young man runs through an American suburban neighbourhood stripping down to only his jeans, invades private gardens and dives into a series of swimming pools to shrink his jeans. Washington's recording was re-released by Mercury as a tie-in in with the advertising campaign, and the cover art featured a shot of the shirtless man emerging from a swimming pool and bore the Levi's logo. The single entered the Top 50 in the UK Singles Chart.

Other recordings edit

The song has been performed by a number of other artists, including:

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Morley, Sheridan (2005). Noël Coward – Life & times. Haus Publishing. p. 56. ISBN 978-1-904341-88-8. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
  2. ^ Hoare, Philip (1998). Noel Coward: A Biography. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 245. ISBN 978-0-226-34512-3.
  3. ^ "Sold on Song: "Mad About The Boy"". BBC Radio 2. Retrieved 29 September 2009.
  4. ^ "Jools Holland and His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra - the Golden Age of Song". Discogs. 2012.
  5. ^ "Esther Ofarim - Esther and Abi Ofarim - Esther & Abi Ofarim - Ofraim אסתר עופרים".

External links edit

December 07, 2023
about, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, september, 2009, lea. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Mad About the Boy news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message Mad About the Boy is a popular song with words and music by actor and playwright Noel Coward It was introduced in the 1932 revue Words and Music by Joyce Barbour Steffi Duna Norah Howard and Doris Hare The song deals with the theme of unrequited love for a film star It was written to be sung by female characters although Coward who was a gay man also wrote a version which was never performed containing references to the then risque topic of homosexual love citation needed The song gained new popularity in 1992 when Dinah Washington s rendition was used in the Levi s television advertisement Swimmer directed by Tarsem Singh Mad About the Boy Song by Joyce Barbour Steffi Duna Norah Howard Doris HarePublished1932Songwriter s Noel Coward Contents 1 Lyrics 2 Dinah Washington version 3 Other recordings 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksLyrics editThe song expresses the adulation of a matinee idol by a number of women as they queue outside a cinema and is sung by several female characters in turn 1 The adoring fans sing of their love for their hero On the silver screen He melts my foolish heart in every single scene original version Coward later wrote additional verses for the New York production to be sung by a male character The lyrics make explicit reference to homosexual feelings with lines such as When I told my wife She said I ve never heard such nonsense in my life Broadway version The lyrics also make camp humorous reference to the supposed effeminacy of the character who is likened to the contemporary film actress Myrna Loy and to his repeated unsuccessful attempts at conversion therapy with his psychiatrist The verses were never performed as the management thought them too risque 1 The boy was rumoured to be actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr who according to an American newspaper years later Noel loved but Doug definitely didn t love him back although the two men became good friends 2 Another Hollywood star Tyrone Power has also been the rumoured subject of the song citation needed Dinah Washington version edit Mad About the Boy nbsp Single by Dinah WashingtonReleased1992Recorded1961GenreJazz easy listening traditional popLength2 47LabelMercurySongwriter s Noel CowardProducer s Quincy JonesDinah Washington recorded the song twice firstly on 24 March 1952 with orchestral accompaniment by Walter Roddell and then on 4 December 1961 with Quincy Jones and his orchestra Her 1961 recording is possibly the most widely known version of the song The 68 time arrangement for voice and jazz orchestra by Jones omits two verses and was recorded in the singer s native Chicago on the Mercury label 3 Her 1952 version was released as a single but the 1961 version was not given a single release until 1992 The song was one of the 40 songs she recorded with Quincy Jones in 1961 Some of these were issued on two albums I Wanna Be Loved and Tears and Laughter both released in 1962 The song Tears And Laughter was released as a single but Mad About the Boy remained unreleased until Golden Hits Volume One a 1963 compilation By that point Washington had moved from the Mercury label to Roulette The recording was also issued on other Washington compilations Washington s version was popularised for a new generation when it was used as a backing track in a 1992 television advertisement for Levi s jeans In the commercial which is influenced by the 1968 Burt Lancaster film The Swimmer a young man runs through an American suburban neighbourhood stripping down to only his jeans invades private gardens and dives into a series of swimming pools to shrink his jeans Washington s recording was re released by Mercury as a tie in in with the advertising campaign and the cover art featured a shot of the shirtless man emerging from a swimming pool and bore the Levi s logo The single entered the Top 50 in the UK Singles Chart Other recordings editThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Mad About the Boy news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message Noel Coward with orchestra conducted by Ray Noble in London on 20 September 1932 The recording was not issued at the time but has been included on CD collections Caro Emerald with Jools Holland s Rhythm and Blues Orchestra on the album The Golden Age of Song 2012 4 Phyllis Robins with Jack Hylton amp his Orchestra in London on 3 October 1932 Anona Winn with the Blue Lyres in London in October 1932 Elsie Carlisle with Ray Starita amp his Ambassadors Band in London on 5 November 1932 Maxine Sullivan on 1 May 1940 Patti Page on the album The Waltz Queen Jessica Biel on the soundtrack for the film Easy Virtue adapted from the Noel Coward play Helen Forrest in 1949 later used in the video game Fallout New VegasThe song has been performed by a number of other artists including Belle Baker Georgia Brown Georgia Brown 1963 Blossom Dearie Buddy DeFranco Marianne Faithfull Frances Faye Maria Friedman Jackie Gleason Gogi Grant Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra Joyce Grenfell Dick and Kiz Harp At the 90th Floor 1960 90th Floor Records Lena Horne Greta Keller Eartha Kitt Cleo Laine Gertrude Lawrence Amanda Lear Let Me Entertain You 2016 Beatrice Lillie Julie London London by Night 1958 Andrea Marcovicci Billy May The Ultimate 2002 Marian McPartland At the Hickory House 1996 Carmen McRae Anita O Day Esther Ofarim 1968 5 Cybill Shepherd as the title track for her 1978 album with Stan Getz Elaine Paige on her 1993 album Romance amp the Stage Miss Piggy as Mad About the Frog Tom Robinson Cabaret 79 1982 Dinah Shore Sheridan Smith Jeri Southern The Dream s on Jeri 1998 Cecile McLorin Salvant Adam Lambert 2022 See also editLiberaceReferences edit a b Morley Sheridan 2005 Noel Coward Life amp times Haus Publishing p 56 ISBN 978 1 904341 88 8 Retrieved 28 September 2009 Hoare Philip 1998 Noel Coward A Biography Chicago University of Chicago Press p 245 ISBN 978 0 226 34512 3 Sold on Song Mad About The Boy BBC Radio 2 Retrieved 29 September 2009 Jools Holland and His Rhythm amp Blues Orchestra the Golden Age of Song Discogs 2012 Esther Ofarim Esther and Abi Ofarim Esther amp Abi Ofarim Ofraim אסתר עופרים External links editSold on Song bbc co uk accessed 6 January 2009 Levi s 1992 Swimmer commercial dead link https www youtube com watch v c4Kz7e7B7 E Esther Ofarim Mad about the boy Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mad About the Boy amp oldid 1179338494, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.