Songs about fathers and sons in observance of Father's Day (June 17th) here in the US..
PLAYLIST
| Selection |
Source |
Performer(s) |
Comments |
| Never Say No |
The Fantasticks (OC 1960) |
William Larsen and Hugh Thomas |
The two fathers discuss the finer points of reverse psychology in child rearing. |
| Your Daddy’s Son |
Ragtime (OC 1996) |
Audra McDonald |
Sarah sings a lullaby to her son, trying to explain the fit of madness that drove her to try to buy him alive. |
| Like Father, Like Son |
Aida (OC 2000) |
Adam Pascal, John Hickock |
Radames rejects the machinations of his father, the high priest Zoser. |
| Gimme Gimme Gimme |
Mamma Mia! (OC 1999) |
Female ensemble |
Sophie quizzes her mother’s three former lovers, one of whom is her father. |
| Voulez Vous |
Mamma Mia! (OC 1999) |
Company |
Unfortunately, two of them decide they’re The Man, and chaos threatens. The runaway hit of London’s West End, Mamma Mia! Is built around songs by the ‘70s pop group ABBA. |
| Tell My Father |
Sean McDermott: My Broadway (1999) |
Sean McDermott, National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Martin Yates |
From Frank Wildhorn’s The Civil War; a Yankee soldier’s dying wish is for his father to know he died honorably. |
| The American Boy |
Tippecanoe and Tyler Too (1992) |
The Chestnut Brass Company and Friends |
From 1826, this patriotic father and son conversation has music by African-American songwriter and cornetist Francis Johnson (1792 – 1844). |
| Ma! Ma! Where’s My Pa? |
The Hand that Holds the Bread (1976) |
Joel Imbody, Vera Grujin, Marianne Specht, Cincinnatti's University Singers conducted by Earl Rivers |
From the 1884 presidential campaign, in which Reform Party candidate Grover Cleveland had to confess that he had a 10-year-old illegitimate son. He also had been supporting both the boy and his mother since the boy’s birth, but the Republicans – then as today highly focused on sex – tried to make a campaign issue of it, hence this song by Monroe Rosenfeld (1861 – 1918), who would later author hits such as “Johnny Get Your Gun” and “Those Wedding Bells Shall Not Ring Out”. The song is actually a parody of the racist 1883 novelty number "Little Ah Sid". |
| Daddy, Won’t You Buy Me a Baby Brother |
Spike Jones and His City Slickers (1986) |
“Baby” George Rock |
The only thing funnier than hearing “Baby Georgie” Rock was seeing him perform, since his large size contrasted hilariously with his ability to produce the “baby boy” voice. Perhaps his best-known song is “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth”. |
| That’s My Boy! |
Tip of the Freberg (1999) |
Stan Freberg with Les Baxter and His Orchestra |
From 1951, this was inspired by the New Yorker cartoons of Charles Addams. |
| It’s a Boy |
The Will Rogers Follies (OC 1991) |
Dick Latessa, Keith Carradine |
Will’s father Clem celebrates the arrival of his first son. The music is by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. |
| Sons . |
The Rothschilds (OC 1970) |
Hal Linden, Leila Martin, Lee Frankln, Robby Benson, Michael Maitland, Mitchell Spera |
Mayer Rothschild, founder of the financial services firm that bears his name, is just starting out in the currency exchange business – and wants sons to carry it on |
| Soliloquy |
Ron Raines: Broadway Passion (1998) |
Ron Raines, National Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards |
From Rogers and Hammerstein’s Carousel. It really should be sung by a tenor since Billy Bigelow is little more than a juvenile himself (and is sung that way in the 1993 revival), but taken out of context this way it’s more effective with a baritone like Raines. |
