| Selection |
Source |
Performer(s) |
Comments |
| Salute My Boots |
TV or Not TV |
Proctor and Bergman |
The Once Honorable Bosco Hearn explains the current economic situation. |
| Money (That's What I Want) | National Lampoon's Animal House (OS 1978) |
John Belushi |
This version of the Barry Gordy / Janie Bradford soul classic comes from the often-imitated John Landis comedy. The soundtrack also includes Belushi's version of "Louie, Louie" in which the lyrics are even less comprehensible than The Kingsmen's original. |
| It Don't Come Cheap |
Howard the Duck (OS 1986) |
Dolby's Cube, Lea Thompson |
This could almost be the pledge drive motto. Based on the politically edgy comic book by St. Louis' own Steve Gerber, Howard the Duck (1986) exchanged the politics for a routine sci-fi monster plot and bombed at the box office. George Lucas was executive producer, even though he later disowned it. |
| Rent |
Rent (OC 1996) | Company |
Music, book and lyrics by Jonathan Larson, who died just hours before the show opened. It won several Tonys and the Pulitzer for drama. |
| Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? |
Brother Can You Spare a Dime? | Bing Crosby |
Originally from the Broadway show Americana (1932) which ran only 77 performances. I don't have any information on composer Jay Gorney, but lyricist E.Y. ("Yip") Harburg contributed the words to many hit songs such as "April in Paris", and "Over the Rainbow". |
| Are You Making Any Money? |
Where Have We Met Before? | Ramona (vocal), Paul Whiteman Orchestra |
Originally from the film Moonlight and Pretzels, 1933; recorded 7/20/1933. The song is by Herman Hupfeld, who wrote "As Time Goes By". |
| The Gold Diggers' Song (We're in the Money) |
Brother Can You Spare a Dime? | Dick Powell |
From Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933), this is one of many hits by Harry Warren and Al Dubin, who also scored the 1933 film 42nd Street. The song ended up in the 1980 stage adaptation of 42nd Street |
| The Money Song |
Eric Idle Sings Monty Python | Eric Idle |
He REALLY loves money! |
| Ballad of Gracious Living |
Threepenny Opera (Revival Cast 1976) | Raul Julia |
Behind bars at last, Macheath reflects on what a prosperous life he's had so far. |
| Money, Money |
Cabaret (OS 1972) | Joel Grey and Liza Minnelli |
Composed for the 1972 film version of Cabaret by Kander and Ebb, who also scored the stage original. |
| Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend |
Broadway: the American Musical | Carol Channing |
This is from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1946), in which Channing got her first big role on Broadway. The music is by Jule Styne and the witty lyrics by Leo Robin. |
| Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend |
Giants of the Movies | Marilyn Monroe |
Monroe got the Channing role of gold digger Lorelei Lee in the 1953 film version of the show. |
| Diamonds Are Forever |
Diamonds Are Forever (OS 1971) | Shirley Bassey |
British singer Bassey (who also scored big with Goldfinger) belts out this hymn to diamonds by Bond film score veteran John Barry. |
| Onion Radio News 29 |
The Onion's Finest News Reporting | Doyle Redland |
Ants Demand 23.9 Hour Workday |
| A Little Tin Box |
Fiorello (OC 1959) | Howard Da Silva, Chorus |
From Fiorello (1959), loosely based on the career of former NYC mayor Fiorello LaGuardia. A group of larcenous politicians hold a mock trial to explain how they became Big Spenders. The score is by Bock and Harnick who are best known for an obscure little 1964 show titled Fiddler on the Roof. Fiorello! ran for a respectable 795 performances as opposed to Fiddler's 3,242 on Broadway the first time around and Dobbs-only-known how many all over the world since then. |
| Ten Percent |
Lost in Boston (2003) | Harry Groener |
Here's a little-known Kander and Ebb song from Chicago (1975). It was dropped during tryouts in Philadelphia because the character of The Agent wasn't particularly well fleshed-out and the show lacked focus as a result. Here he sings about the joys of being despised but living a life of luxury on his "ten percent". |
| And the Money Kept Rolling In |
Evita (OC 1979) | Mandy Patinkin |
Here's another song about ill-gotten gains, this time from Evita. |
| The Money Song |
Avenue Q (OC 2003) | Rick Lyon, John Tartaglia, Natalie Venetia Belcon, Jordan Gelber, Ann Harada and Jennifer Barnhart |
Avenue Q is an adult send-up of Sesame Street with a cast of humans and Muppet-style puppets (without the approval or participation of Jim Henson's organization, of course) offering helpful advice to the struggling young folks trying to make a living and find love on Avenue Q. Avenue Q opened off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre in March 2003, where it gained rave reviews, and was extended four times. It's still running on Broadway as this is written. In this song one of the puppets is homeless and tries to panhandle money from one of his neighbors. It turns into a little Sesame Street-style lesson in the benefits of giving. |
| Money, Money, Money |
Mamma Mia! (OC 1999) | Siobhan MacCarthy, Louise Plowright, Jenny Galloway, Neal Wright |
Mamma Mia! is the runaway hit musical (first in London, now on Broadway) that uses ABBA songs for the score. It's not an ABBA tribute per se, but an actual book musical that uses the Swedish group's hits to illuminate character and advance the story. |
| After the Gold is Gone |
Das Barbecü (OC 1995) | Carolee Carmello, Julie Johnson, Sally Mayes |
Here's the premise: Take Wagner's four-part opera cycle Der Ring des Niebelungen and re-tell the story as a musical set in Texas with a five-person cast. ("I'm not making this up, you know", as Anna Russell used to say.) The show was commissioned and first performed by Seattle Opera in 1995; music is by Scott Warrender, book and lyrics by Jim Luigs. In this song the Rivermaidens, having lost their gold nugget to Alberich, are reduced to making a living doing synchronized swimming in an aquatic theme park - in an unheated pool! |
| Sitting Pretty (The Money Song) |
Cabaret (OC 1966) | Joel Grey |
"I've got al the money I need". If only we did! |
| Trying To Make A Living |
Chicago Blues Classics | Koko Taylor |
This track by Chicago blues legend Taylor is from her 1975 "comeback" album I Got What it Takes. Taylor appears as herself in several films, including David Lynch's Wild at Heart (1990) and Mercury Rising (1998). |
| If I Can't Sell It, I'll Keep Sittin' On It |
Blues Classics: the '80s | Ruth Brown |
It's about this chair she's selling, honest! Originally a big band vocalist, Brown recorded for Atlantic in the 1950s. She appears in John Waters' film Hairspray (1989). |
| Hot Rock Radio / Carumba |
Give Us a Break! | Proctor and Bergman |
This is what we might sound like if it weren't for contributions from our listeners. |
| Shake Your Moneymaker |
1960-1964 Blues Classics | Elmore James |
This track shows up in the soundtrack of The Blues Brothers, although it's not credited. Other Elmore James numbers are featured in In God's Hands (1998), Almost Famous (2000) and Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001). |
| Busted |
Ray Charles: 1965-1966 | Ray Charles |
Charles' version of this Johnny Cash song was No. 3 on the charts in 1963. |
