| re: 'Dubbing Through the Decades' in movie musicals & more: How many of these do you know? | |
| Posted by: TheOtherOne 06:09 pm EDT 07/03/17 | |
| In reply to: re: 'Dubbing Through the Decades' in movie musicals & more: How many of these do you know? - AlanScott 04:53 pm EDT 07/03/17 | |
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| I own, on vinyl, a Mammoth/Evergreen album of Juanita Hall singing jazzy standards. I am not certain when it was recorded. The liner notes make reference to her being in the stage version of Flower Drum Song and the film version of South Pacific, so I would assume the late 1950s, but they go on to mention her death in 1968, so the omission of the film version of Flower Drum Song doesn't necessarily date the recordings. However, the last two cuts on the album are her studio recordings of Bali Hai and Happy Talk. Happy Talk is sung in a slightly lower key, but otherwise there is no indication that she would need to be dubbed. In fact, Bali Hai is belted with surprising strength. Ken Darby is quoted as saying she was concerned about the quality of her aging voice when she reported to the pre-recording sessions for South Pacific, but that with coaching and exercises he brought her voice to a stronger place than it had been in when South Pacific opened on Broadway. None of that mattered, however, because Rodgers was set on using Muriel Smith's voice. At its best, Juanita's voice was a sturdy character actress's voice, whereas Muriel's was grand and magnificent. As the composer, he had the final say and one can understand why he felt the way he did. It was probably more a question of preference than necessity. |
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| Previous: | re: 'Dubbing Through the Decades' in movie musicals & more: How many of these do you know? - AlanScott 04:53 pm EDT 07/03/17 |
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