Please help, Pre 1920’s songs

[SuddenlySeymour1989]

Hi everyone! I’m doing a musical theatre graded performance exam and one of the requirements is a song from a pre 1920’s show. I’m a female mezzo soprano and I’m really scrambling to find something. For my 1920-1970 song I’ve picked Somewhere from West Side Story, for 1970+ I’ve picked Somewhere That’s Green from Little Shop of Horrors and the song from any period, I’ve picked the title song from Carrie The New Musical. Any suggestions of what would be a pre 1920’s female solo for mezzo would be wonderful. I also need to find backing for it *tears out hair* thanks in advance!

[John Adams]

So many resources at your fingertips, so easily researched... What have you tried so far?

[Harriet Craig]

You'd Be Surprised, by Irving Berlin, from the Ziegfeld Follies of 1919. I don't know if it was originally written for a mezzo, but Stephanie Blythe (an operatic mezzo) sometimes performs it in recitals, so it can obviously be sung by a mezzo.

[Dollypop]

Would love to help but I'm not THAT old.

Where's Mr Roxy when you need him?

[SuddenlySeymour1989]

Thanks I’ll have a look. I’ve been looking online but it’s hard to find anything especially as I have to acquire a backing track. It’s not easy for songs that are so old!

[SuddenlySeymour1989]

I’ve been online all day and since I need a backing track too it’s not easy at all.

[SuddenlySeymour1989]

Dollypop said: "Would love to help but I'm not THAT old.

Where's Mr Roxy when you need him?"

 

Lol of course. I’m a ripe old 29 ??

[Far From Home]

Will You Remember? from Maytime (1917) Sigmund Romberg

[amaklo]

Check out the recordings by William Bolcom and his wife, mezzo-soprano Joan Morris.  Here's the song list from one of their records (sorry, can't help with the backing):: 

VAUDEVILLE - SONGS OF THE GREAT LADIES OF THE MUSICAL STAGE

Nonesuch H-71330 (LP), N5-1330 (cassette) - 1976 

Side One 

1. I Don’t Care (1906) - Harry O. Sutton 
2. I Just Can’t Make My Eyes Behave (1906) - Gus Edwards 
3. Shine On, Harvest Moon (1908) - Nora Bayes/ Jack Norworth 
4. The Bird on Nellie’s Hat (1906) - Alfred Solman 
5. When You Were Sweet Sixteen (1898) - James Thornton 
6. The Yama-Yama Man (1908) - Karl Hoschna 
7. Yip-I-Addy-I-Ay! (1908) - John H. Flynn 
8. My Castle on the Nile (1901) - J. Rosamond Johnson 

Side Two 

1. May Irwin’s "Frog" Song (1896) - Charles E. Trevathan 
2. Let the Rest of the World Go By (1919) - Ernest R. Ball 
3. In the Baggage Coach Ahead (1896) - Gussie L. Davis 
4. Poor John! (1906) - Henry E. Pether 
5. I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now (1909) - Joseph E. Howard 
6. Pine Apple Rag (1910)- Scott Joplin 
7. Smiles (1917) - Lee S. Roberts

 

[freewilma]

Check out some of the vaudeville songs from George M Cohan. Many of them are classic songs and shouldn't be too hard to find backing tracks.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_M._Cohan  

[OlBlueEyes]

Jerome Kern always adds a touch of class. In 1914 he wrote "They Didn't Believe Me" for the musical The Girl From Utah. Over a hundred years later it is still a popular standard. An iTunes search turns up 94 covers of the song, from Tony Bennett, Mel Torme, Sammy Davis to Lena Horne, Dinah Washington and even the great MoTown Marvin Gaye.

Kern wrote "Look for the Silver Lining," which was popularized in the 1920 musical Sally but was written and introduced in 1919 in the flop musical Zip Goes a Million. Judy Garland has probably the best known performance of the song in the MGM biopic Till the Clouds Roll By produced after Kern's death in 1945.

The title song "Till the Clouds Roll By" was a hit written by Kern and P. G. Wodehouse for the Princess Theater musical Oh, Boy in 1917.

[Skip23]

Try: “Bill” from the musical SHOWBOAT. Song was written in 1918.

[ABitOnTheSide]

"Bill" is a fantastic suggestion. I adore that song. Another good song interpolated into Show Boat is "After the Ball."  (1891)

[Skip23]

Here’s Cleo Laine doing “Bill” in the 70s Showboat revival.

Heaven

https://youtu.be/N7q43uU6lEs

[SuddenlySeymour1989]

Skip23 said: "Try: “Bill” from the musical SHOWBOAT. Song was written in 1918.

"

Thanks I definitely will! I thought Showboat wouldn’t count as it was the first Broadway show in 1927 but if the song was written before maybe they’d allow it. 

[SuddenlySeymour1989]

Thanks everyone who commented some suggestions, I’ll definitely look into these ones :)

[TheGingerBreadMan]

Since you said that this is for an exam, I’m assuming you’re in college - if you can find sheet music for a song but not a backing track, you may be able to have a music/piano major record the backing for you. They will likely expect to be paid for it, but it’s an option if you really can’t find anything.

[gypsy101]

i’d imagine OP may have a friend in the music department that may record the track for free as a favor.

the song i thought of was Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life from 1910. i do find the categories a little strange though, only one song from 1920-1970, which includes the entirety of the “golden age” of musicals from 1943-1959?

[SuddenlySeymour1989]

TheGingerBreadMan said: "Since you said that this is for an exam, I’m assuming you’re in college - if you can find sheet music for a song but not a backing track, you may be able to have a music/piano major record the backing for you. They will likely expect to be paid for it, but it’s an option if you really can’t find anything. "

Nah I’m 29 lol. But the London College of Music and Media do graded exams at any age. I may have to get an accompanist. I remember actually a guy on YouTube will play a piano track for any song for a fee so i could do that. I had to buy the Carrie one on a website so maybe they would have it there 

[SuddenlySeymour1989]

 

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gypsy101 said: "i’d imagine OP may have a friend in the music department that may record the track for free as a favor.

the song i thought of was Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life from 1910. i do find the categories a little strange though, only one song from 1920-1970, which includes the entirety of the “golden age” of musicals from 1943-1959?"

I know. I think they just want to see you have a vast knowledge and interest in the genre. I’ve added the link to the syllabus. I’m doing grade 6: http://lcme.uwl.ac.uk/media/1351/music-theatre-syllabus.pdf

[OlBlueEyes]

I'll see your splendid Cleo with Judy

"Look for the Silver Lining"  Kern, DeSylva  1919

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUYiZo4gqw0