And as ridiculous as she sounds, she's really not far off from the actual lyrics most of the time. The song goes:
June is bustin' out all over All over the meadow and the hill Buds're bustin' outa bushes and the rompin' river pushes Every little wheel that wheels beside a mill
June is bustin' out all over The feelin' is gettin' so intense That the young Virginia creepers Have been huggin' the bejeepers Out of all the mornin'-glories on the fence Because it's June June, June, June Just because it's June, June, June!
Regardless, I love that she's going all out even though it's pretty clear she just doesn't have all the lyrics down.
Updated On: 6/1/10 at 01:21 AM
tellybox, there used to be a clip of HALLELUJAH, BABY! on bluegobo that was removed, and it's a shame. This video is hysterical, but Leslie Uggams has some serious talent.
Leslie was (is) also a damn good dramatic actress, and she gained much critical acclaim in the TV miniseries ratings phenomenon called "Roots." She appeared on lots of variety shows, sitcoms, and talk shows, often singing. In addition to winning a Tony for Hallelujah, Baby!, she also starred on Broadway in Jerry's Girls, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and On Golden Pond.
But nothing, NOTHING beats her ad-lickin' the lyrics to June Is Bustin' ...
Legendary!
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
I wish the clip of American Dance Machine doing DeMille's original version of this was still online.
And of course, it always makes me think of Sondheim's anecdote that when he first saw the show he thought it was about Julie's pregnancyu and they were singing "Julie's bustin' out all over!" and he marvelled at how brave they were to do that in a Broadway show.
I'm watching the final section of 'Backstairs At The Whitehouse' and I swear Leslie Uggams just doesn't age.
"TheatreDiva90016 - another good reason to frequent these boards less."<<>>
“I hesitate to give this line of discussion the validation it so desperately craves by perpetuating it, but the light from logic is getting further and further away with your every successive post.” <<>>
-whatever2
Glad this was bumped! Never gets old. Am I imagining this or did Uggams recently participate in some concert or Broadway event (like the Easter Bonnet thing) and actually replicate her June Is Bustin' performance with flubbed lyrics? Gotta say, she has a great sense of humor about it. I just did a YT search, but I'm not finding it. Anyone?
EricMontreal22 wrote: And of course, it always makes me think of Sondheim's anecdote that when he first saw the show he thought it was about Julie's pregnancy and they were singing "Julie's bustin' out all over!" and he marvelled at how brave they were to do that in a Broadway show.
Oh, the things we think when we're teenagers. Or even adults, when we're logically trying to make sense of a mondegreens.
She took it on tour first but the tour bombed and closed on the road so they brought her in to replace LuPone on Broadway. She got very good reviews with one critic (Frank RIch, maybe) writing that you could actually understand the lyrics when she sang (unlike LuPone who ran many of the lyrics together while singing).
A second (and much cheaper) tour of ANYTHING GOES went on the road later with Mitzi Gaynor playing Reno.
She was also in the play "King Hedley II" on Broadway with Brian Stokes Mitchell about 11 years ago. I think she earned another Tony nomination for that.