Ol' Man River - William Warfield and MGM chorus(Showboat)

[Moontazra]

Sitting here in tears....was black in a past life

[wilus1969]

Far too slow, horrible orchestration, but what a voice!

[dredd1366]

Call me Crazy ...Do I hear a Bit O' John Mc Cormick Here?????/

[diddymuck]

Brilliant voice.  Would love to hear other works.

[liora1954]

just simply awesome

wish we had it today

[MrDerpPants]

When you think of singing, this section of singing is often forgotten. Simply awesome.

[foggy223334]

Magnificent voice. Somehow i doubt that boat would be ohs approved today. lol

[drasaid]

When he died, one of the networks played this entire piece. All five minutes of it, on national news. He deserved it.

[gallantentry]

Wow!

[win4friday12]

Mean while in 2012....

ASSASSASSASSASSASSASSASSASSASS

[tagdam1]

God, I love this man's voice!

[Hawkeye752]

A great voice singing this song!!!!!

[thecluephone]

Thank you SO much for posting this classic. What a beautiful voice. I've been looking for this on blu-ray and can't find it. Perfect production: a single shot of a foggy dawn on the river to put us in a location, and then quiet focus on one man's personal despair. The way he slows his vibrato, just a bit, at about 3:06. Perfect. And in the finale when the chorus pauses at 4:58, you can still hear Warfield. Perfect.

[WoodyinNYC]

Yes, thanks for including the reprise at the finale. And give MGM and the director their props. Warfield's first, full rendition has him on screen alone, and as the song moves to its climax, the camera quietly closes in on his strong face. Then in the reprise, as the song builds to its climax again, the massive machinery of the boat begins to move, emphasizing the power of the song. The camera pulls away from him, the chorus comes in, the river itself dominates the scene. Stunning "Ende".

[jcarh5]

What a voice!!



[andrewbyrdful]

2 people have to pick the 'taters and cotton.

[aTnavarrow]

I have always loved this ~ truly a classic ~

[Watchyou2008]

it's really amazing film,Andrew,An awesome & Beautiful song,I've found this DVD to watched the whole movie, really Wonderful,you did absolutely great posting that it's deserved the high views,

loves and Congratulations to you.

[NotComingBack01]

Magnificent song.

[annielouism]

American Musicals are such a wonderful gift to us and the world.

[johnnyjtuber]

He makes me proud to be a musician! What a beautiful voice!!!

[denknach1]

Ol' Man River-Amazonas des Nordens =Buschmähn

[wittmom10]

We saw this at the Ohio Theater in Columbus several years ago, and even though people these days rarely show their appreciation at the movies, the entire audience broke into spontaneous applause after William Warfield finished this song. It was amazing!

[ThatGentleman]

Feels so true right now.

[ickiepoo]

Anybody else think this is the best song in American musical history?

[OurGangFan]

2 people got a little drunk and landed in jail

[1musicallover]

Absolutely mesmerizing to hear him sing this song and Yes, Julie saying goodbye at the end is heartbreaking

[MrMichaeljtomchuck]

This is the ultimate preformance of a song ever.

[Bkeytx]

Wonderful singer

[yte39248]

とても心に響く歌です！　魂の叫び！

[ringo27ful]

William was dubbed one take William as the song was done in one session! Wonderful

[cindigrrlx]

I cry every time I see Ava Gardner at the end of the movie...

[katezz12]

absolutely brilliant

[slideoverbaby1]

I prefer this to Robeson's simply because I think the song sounds so much better slow than fast, Robeson and Sinatra sound rushed in comparison

[acblueeagle]

Excellent music, but it struck me the other day this is music written by Jerome Kern for a Broadway audience. He wrote it about what he thought of black experience at the time and something that would appeal to his audience. That, therefore, this music does not necessarily reflect the Negro experience at the time, before or even since. It is what a Broadway song writer thought that experience must be. I doubt Jerome Kern ever even saw the Mississippi.

[paolonove65]

GREAT VOICE !!

[Xxnicoroxxx]

this guy's voice gives me the chilllzzzz

[MaoistLeninistMarx]

Paul Robeson was a greater voice than this guy.

[tang0manana]

@MaoistLeninistMarx

But this guy wasn't a Commie, so you're biased

[MaoistLeninistMarx]

@tang0manana Hey ass-hole he was a BIG-TIME Communist, he sung many Soviet and some Red-Chinese song, he lived in the USSR and said "I feel more at home in the Soviet Union with Socialism than I have in any other place I have been". So do some research!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[tang0manana]

@MaoistLeninistMarx

Uh, that was my point. Robeson was a Communist dupe and your own leanings have automatically biased you against Warfield, not the sound of his voice, as you mendaciously posted.

Look up mendacious, brainiac

[gaguy1967]

@tang0manana not only was Robeson a communist, he was a fan of Stalin

[kozmon0t]

@tang0manana

Ей ухнем

Ей уянем

Еще разик!

Еще раз

[MaoistLeninistMarx]

@tang0manana Paul Robeson the person who first sang this song!!!!

[eider1111]

Se la dedico a D. W. Se que le gustarà.

[56Steevo]

It goes to the heart. Thanks for posting.

[VValkyrie]

Thanks so much for including the finale version.  Incredible ending & what a tear jerker.

[Me112233]

He's good, even great . . . yet, James Hyter still sings the best Old Man River I've ever heard.

[kumsuk77777]

I usually don't like musicals but really like this one.

It's also my favorite Ava Gardner film.

[PaperGrape]

I'll bet William Warfield coulda benched 1 ton :-D

[Honestmanayr]

The singer is William Warfield. Suggest you check out some of the original lyrics on you tube. Robeson sang some very different and controversial ones in earlier versions.

[agrimmek]

The artist is  Paul Robeson, Jerome Kern is the composer.

[guido1365]

what a voice huh?

[kazzag44]

WOW I have goosebumbs amasing voice

[barbarakelly1965]

Fantastic song my brother Stephen used to sing it so well.. Brings tears to my eyes x

[jackdanielmason1969]

The perfect voice for this song, love it.

[2n918]

Wonderful! Wow, what a voice! Thanks for posting!

[broadwaysteve55]

WoW Man can he sing !!!!! I love the tone of his voice. He makes you feel every note he sings

[KatherineXIX]

The one sublime moment of this subpar movie version. Loved how he just disappeared after this...stupid racist 1950s Hollywood...

[phil2u]

"Yes", to the question of his marriage to Leontyne Price. It is not mentioned in the "Wicked-pedia" version of his life, but I believe they were married for close to twenty years, though their divergent careers kept them separated much of the time.

[phil2u]

By the way, both Kathryn Grayson (who had top billing in this movie) and Ava Gardner are North Carolina natives.

[TheRebekah1967]

I saw the movie for the first time the other day and can't get the song out of my head. One of the best singers I've ever heard.

[lostchordevine]

Not only is Warfield just sublime in voice, his expressions are most heartfelt and moving, especially at the end of his last note. So magnificently emotional. The filming of this movie is still the best I've seen of people's faces.

Ava Gardner is incredibly beautiful, but even more so in this filmmaker's camera.

I wish I was there during filming. This was movie-making at its best.

[12thsonofisrael]

Will somebody please show this clip to Mr. Michael Moore so that he will have an example of what is an epic movie. This is an example of an Epic, a collage of diverse, multifaceted, superbly talented stars, weighing each in turn upon a fabric sewn together seamlessly by a brilliant mind with great skills. Not you MMM. Close your eye cyclops and listen to this, you can almost see the sunset, sense the sadness and feel the cool breeze off of the Mississippi in a bygone era.

[12thsonofisrael]

Will somebody please show this clip to Mr. Michael Moore so that He will at least an example of what an epic movie is. This is an example of an Epic, a collage of diverse, multifaceted, superbly talented stars, weighing each in turn upon a fabric sewn together seamlessly by a brilliant mind with great skills. Not you M-M-M. . . Close your eye cyclops and listen to this, you can almost see the sunset, sense the sadness and feel the cool breeze off of the Mississippi in a bygone era.

[pengeo100]

OMG God gave that man that voice.!!!

[sandyshaughnessy]

My god he was good

[albinollama]

Alright so, I have seen this film several times before and I have seen it once in a local stage production......and I still get major chills when I hear both this song and all its reprises.

[malmcclelland]

my wife just heard this for the first time in a long time she was over the moon thank all concerned

[andremcconnachie]

Thanks babo

[TheFatty73]

beautiful voice

[iwishiwasZEN]

Haunting and lovely.

[DRG82100]

No doubt about it. One of the best movie endings ever!! Thank you for posting!

[PeterFormaini]

One of the finest 5 minutes in film history. And one of the most haunting and provocative songs ever written, Northing today comes close.

[wizardbase]

This version is the best of the rest...It seems to have more feeling then the others

[TheDiscoDays]

Ava Gardner at the end.what can you say????????? She is so beautiful......Love the music......Too bad they can't make these grand musicals like this anymore, but sadly perhaps there isn't the talent anymore. Plus, there would be no more of those wonderful on location shots, it would all be done in digital and in front of phony green screens...

[bilmar1966]

Paul Robeson is my favorite bass; however, this William Warfield version of Old Man River equals (surpasses?) Robeson's in the 1936 movie Showboat. Perhaps Warfield had better acoustics. Maybe. Either way Warfield gets and A+.

[KoenHoekx]

@bilmar1966 i have to disagree with you on that one, not about which one was a better baritone, because they were both supreme at what they did. For me, the main difference is in the feeling and passion entwined in those lyrics; Robeson's version seemed to open up a gateway to the heart with visions of strife and hardship. Warfield's just never hit that special cord for me. This is all just personal though, as every song and every performer brings out different feelings per individual.

[lonesomepete]

Awesome! It puts me in mind of my late favorite uncle,the great John Huck, who appeared as Gaylord Ravinal in about '66 or '67 in community theater in Chicago. Thanks for uploading!

[dbjkatz]

Warfield and Robeson had the most amazing voices. I could listen to them for hours.

[CSMLarsen]

I saw this on stage in Chicago, fantastic!!

[lukumi007]

Voice of God!

[openmind5050]

Try a listen at openmind5050

I'm told it's not too bad

actually singing much better a year latter from my recording

Mr Warfield- awesome

[stinkpotbaby]

This is so wonderful. I would have loved to have seen this in a great

moviee theatre. Thank you for sharing.

[TheMelissaglassman]

wiwq writes: "Black voices don't really fit in the opera world"

You're a moron.

[wiwq]

@TheMelissaglassman dont know how to reply??

lol

[dewedete]

thx for the video !

[LisaSimpsonRules1st]

What a voice! Made for opera!!!

[wiwq]

@LisaSimpsonRules1st blacks voices dont really fit in opera world..

[LisaSimpsonRules1st]

@wiwq OK, if you say so. It souds like opera, though.

[wiwq]

@LisaSimpsonRules1st theyr voice has too much black color,,

[Deghinsea132]

@wiwq Shut the fuck up, inbred, go fuck your sister some more.

[wiwq]

@Deghinsea132 lol...why so much rage?

im just saying that black men voices dont fit in opera..

im not hating them..

they are good for other things..

like hard physical work, basketball, jazz, bluez..

[Deghinsea132]

@wiwq No, they do. White supremist cunt, get your ass off of YouTube, you are not welcome anywhere other than your KKK buddies. Go fuck your sister some more.

[wiwq]

@Deghinsea132 lol wut??

i dont even live in USA..

if u think that im redneck u are very wrong sir..

i hate rednecks..in fact..i hate all what is american..

and niggers are the part of that list..

[BasementBeginnings]

@wiwq Social and musical ignorance on full display. ￣ー￣

[pagalley1]

@wiwq You obviously haven't heard Sir Willard White sing.

[imscenery]

@wiwq You are a true ignorant idiot. One of the most famous voices in opera is a soprano by the name of Leontyne Price. She is from Laurel, MS and was married to William Warfield - who was also a noted bass-baritone (and you guessed it, also black). She is credited with having one of the longest standing ovations in history at the Metropolitan Opera (42 minutes) and has taught master classes at Julliard.

[imscenery]

@wiwq Among her many honors are the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1964), the Kennedy Center Honors (1980), the National Medal of Arts (1985), numerous honorary degrees, and nineteen Grammy Awards, 13 for operatic or song recitals, five for full operas, and a special Lifetime Achievement Award in 1989, more than any other classical singer. In October 2008, she was one of the recipients of the first Opera Honors given by the National Endowment for the Arts.

[wiwq]

@imscenery who os this she u are talking about>?

[imscenery]

@wiwq Leontyne Price

[Jams636]

@wiwq why are you racist? black people are actually amazing.. this is the best rendition of this song ive heard.. he's amazing and you say black people have no place in opera?! in my opinion you deserve to be shot for being racist... i hate racist people.

[LisaSimpsonRules1st]

@wiwq I stand by my opinion. I can't see why he couldn't sing in an opera.

[phil2u]

Check out Lawrence Brownlee here on YouTube. The site would not let me send a link.

[phil2u]

@phil2u This was directed at some racist idiot who said the "black voice" (whatever that is) did not fit in opera.

[felixbautista]

Thank you so much for uploading for this timeless piece of classic.. one of my favorite movies of all time... i do have the VHS copy of it and am treasuring it.

[mizholly23]

I remember watching this as a kid and being amazed at his voice. I would just stop and watch it and then rewind it and listen again and rewind it again. I still do that but he is an amazing singer with so much emotion. Love him, and this movie.

[roadrunner1ification]

I heard a man sing this song in MANCHESTER a few years ago. His voice was absolutely amazing. He was just stood in the street.

[cboncklis]

I get goosebumps and tears in my eyes when I listen to him sing Old Man River. Old musicals gave us some of the greatest musical scores and songs during the 20th century. This is why the 30s, 40s and 50s are the golden years of cinema in the U.S. I think we will never see again such greatness in cinema.

[rayYT100]

Freedom's song ... wearies & works no end ...

[TheWhippingdredd]

such depth

[zeena61]

He sounds amazing! So much emotion he puts into his singing!!

[vfw454]

I was lucky enough to see William Warfield in person some 20 years ago and will never forget it.

[7927jackpark]

The spirit of "Old Man River" is the thread the binds the rich tapestry of melodies that are purely and singularly American. Music snobs who think we must look to Europe for all great music will never understand this. Kern justifiably belongs in the pantheon of great American composers.

[bastardfingers]

@7927jackpark Don't be silly. This song is wonderful but every element is found outside of america.

[dtorfleming]

I saw Warfield sing this song in Chicago in 1999. I was very surprised and touched by the emotion and depth he put into it.

[Brahmsfourth]

This is one of the most poignant and rapturously stunning vocal performances of any song, ever!

[SparrowisSexy]

Goosebumps

[PRR5406]

Read Warfield's biography. He was a finely honed singer, not content to get by on his considerable natural ability.  Truly, this man was an American treasure.

[TenderTrap86]

Absolutely stellar!

[chkjns]

One of the best blockbuster stories of all time! My channel is 700 playlists featuring a century of the best music on earth, including 112 lists for the songs of every year since 1900. Added this to my Music of 1951 playlist. Sadly, lost a couple other Showboat songs by Howard Keel, another priceless voice. 60 years old this year - incredibly hard to believe, but the best music, like this, is always timeless. My heartfelt thanks for posting this, finale scene here is stupendous! chuck

[46skyward]

THIS SONG HAS TOUCHED MILLIONS. IT'S OBVIOUS WHY.

[octobersanctuary]

First version that I ever heard

[MissTeenageNothing]

I truly believe this is the best version I've heard.

:)

[lorrrence]

@MissTeenageNothing I agree it is the best by far!

[apgcovilili1]

Amigo,

buenisimooooo.*****.

[Watchyou2008]

A WONDERFUL SONG ! GREAT VIDEO DESCRIPTION, I LOVE YOUR VIDEOS STYLE,ANDREW,ABSOLUTELY GREAT !

[apgcovilili]

Mas estrellas

y un saludo.

[NairamAngel1]

Das ist ein episches Lied und Filmszene denke ich, sehr schön, das du diese Szene hochgeladen hast!!

[Orkide8]

IT IS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL SONG, YOU NEVER GET TIRED OF, THANK YOU FOR UPLOADING. ALL THUMBS UP!!!!

[Cantinhodaluh]

Nice!