The Ghost's High Noon

Ruddigore (CD 1963)

Joseph Rouleau, Glyndebourne Festival Chorus, Pro Arte Orchestra/ Sir Malcom Sargent

The only ghost scene I know of in a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta.

British impresario Richard D'oyly Carte was born 5/3/1844 (making Monday his 155^th birthday); he produced the Gilbert and Sullivan Operettas and, beginning in 1875, the company that bore his name provided definitive performances of the G&S shows at the Savoy Opera. The company folded in 1982

A More Humane Mikado (from The Mikado)

The Art of the Savoyard (CD 1993)

Richard Temple

Recorded 9/1902. Richard Temple (1847 - 1902) created the role of Sir Marmaduke in The Sorcerer (1877) and appeared in the premieres of all the G&S operettas after that until Yeoman of the Guard. He was a regular at the Savoy until 1908.

Poor Wand'ring One (from The Pirates of Penzance)

Isabel Jay

Recorded in late 1904. Isabel Jay (1879 - 1927) became the leading soprano at the Savoy in 1899, appearing in The Pirates of Penzance, Patience, and Iolanthe

The Major-General's Song (from The Pirates of Penzance)

C.H. Workman

Recorded 1910. Charles Herbert Workman (1873 - 1923) first appeared at The Savoy in The Grand Duke in 1896 and went on to be the principal comedian of the D'Oyly Carte touring company for 13 years.

How to Write Your Own Gilbert and Sullivan Operetta

Anna Russell Album (CD)

Anna Russell

Recorded at The Town Hall, New York, 4/23/1953

Duel of the Fates

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (CD 1999)

London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus/John Williams

An early promo CD, apparently part of the first wave of hype.

Bing Crosby was born today (5/2) in 1901. For two decades, Crosby was among the USAs top radio and movie stars, and was the first popular singer to win an Oscar (Going My Way, 1944).

Love in Bloom

Charming Gents of Stage and Screen (CD)

Bing Crosby, with Irving Aaronson and his Commanders

From the film She Loves Me Not (1934), recorded 7/5/1934. It was on the pop charts for 15 weeks and was #1 for 6 of them.

Road To Morocco (alternate take)

Bob Hope & Friends (CD 1992)

Bing Crosby, Bob Hope

From the soundtrack of the 1942 film Road to Morocco. The plot is a send up of Hollywood desert/Arabian Nights epics. This alternate take is more free-wheeling than the one heard in the film, and includes a few flubs.

Ain't Got a Dime to My Name

Swinging on a Star (CD re-issue 1962)

Big Crosby

From The Road to Morocco; includes Bing's trademark humming.

Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral (That's an Irish Lullabye)

From Going My Way. This one goes out with a dedication to Fathers O'Hare and O'Toole of The St. Louis Brain Sandwich (which follows Stage Left on KDHX).