Mario Lanza - A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody - Great Moments In Music

In October 1945, not long after his release from the US forces, young budding tenor Mario
Lanza was approached by ABC Radio to occasionally stand in for Jan Peerce on "The Celanese
Hour: Great Moments In Music".
Lanza performed on just six of those programmes between 1945 & 1946, all of which I
endeavour to upload in chronological order.
Here, Lanza sounds youthfull and vibrant, if a touch forgetfull in some songs and, as one
biographer describes it, 'a little cold' in some performances.
However, this is a very important body of work, one that is essential to the Mario
Lanza story and if anything sows the seeds to the sort of songs he would record througout
his career - the highlight in, my opinion, being A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody.
I have not found any of these recordings so far on YouTube, but forgive me if they are
already here.
This is simply to keep alive the memory greatest voice of the 20th Century!

Full list of songs:

Show # 1 - 24/10/1945 - excerpts from Puccini's "Tosca"
1) Recondita Armonia
2) Love Duet(with Jean Tennyson)
3) E Lucevan Le Stelle

Show # 2 - 7/11/1945 - selections from "Peace Must Be Won"
4) The House On The Hill
5) America The Beautiful(with Robert Weede, Vivian Bauer & chorus)

Show # 3 - 14/11/1945 - excerpts from Verdi's "Otello"
6) Drinking Song(with Robert Weede & chorus)
7) Love Duet(with Jean Tennyson)

Show # 4 - 26/12/1945 - excerpts from Lehaman's "In A Persian Garden"
8) Ah, Moon Of My Delight
9) A Jug Of Wine(with Frances Yeend)

Show # 5 - 23/1/1946 - selections from "The Music Of Irving Berlin"
10) All Alone/What'll I Do?(with Natalie Bodanya, Leonard Stokes & chorus
11) A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody(with chorus)
12) Blue Skies(with Natalie Bodanya)

Show # 6 20/2/1946 - excerpts from Romberg's "The Student Prince"
13) Serenade(with chorus)
14) Deep In My Heart, Dear(with Winifred Smith)
15) Golden Days(with Robert Weede)

Please rate, coment and enjoy!

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Mario Lanza
• A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody
• Opera
• Great Moments In Music
• Radio

[halavey]

Those where the days when they had great songs and great singers to sing them on radio and now Paul Potts, yes the quality has gone to the pot really. His voice was a great natural lyric here and belonged in the opera house but he brought millions to opera including myself and so at age 69, thank you to Lanza for a life long passion since 1950 when i saw the Toast of New Orleans at age nine and was so moved from his singing and then the following year, 1951 the great caruso.

[imthethriller]

@35westst i'm only 19 years old and I can like this music just as much as someone born from that era hell I like the days of music before the 19 century, but yeah I kind of agree with you music nowadays ranges from vulgar to unimpressive.

[paulostroff99]

Lovely.TY nomorewoe for posting.

[imthethriller]

20th century my bad

[mwg12393]

This is when music was good well thought out and really said something not like now i agree with all u guys and im only 17 u guys should check out the version by artie shaw

[35westst]

Can you imagine what the folks would think of this today? It would be like Chinese opera to them. Todays top hits include "Crowbar Abortion" "I'm Gonna Smack Muh Bitch" and "We is Gonna Do It To It." Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Cole Porter.... who dey? Gimme rappah gangsta singing "Let's Git Down To it Bitch."

[sugarbist]

He was born to sing

[moloch49]

Mario Lanza and an Irving Berlin composition - what an unbeatable combination!

(Why didn't time just crystalize around 1954?)

[Etnalleb]

Lanza was only 25 when this was recorded and his voice not yet fully developed into the enormous voice he was to have by his 30's,even so he sang this better than most accomplished tenors of that day. Alan Jones was the perfect pick to do this song in1946 as he was a fully matured tenor at the top of his career but had they waited 10 or even 5 more years to do the movie this song was featured in Lanza would have been the one , no doubt about it.