All 'Sing'-ing, All
Dancing
3 current shows jump to the
classic tune 'Sing, Sing, Sing'
New York Now | Theater |
Wednesday, February 02, 2000By PATRICIA
O'HAIRE
Daily News Staff Writer
Viewers of "The Rosie
O'Donnell Show" went on a toe-tapping trip to Broadway yesterday when the cast of
"Swing" treated them to the show's rousing finale, "Swing, Brother,
Swing."
The song is a medley of
sorts, and incorporates the famous big-band hit with a similar name: "Sing, Sing,
Sing." In fact, the old tune is so catchy and well-liked that "Swing" is
just one of three current Broadway musicals that dances to its beat; "Fosse" and
"Contact" are the other two.
"It's one of those
tunes that really gets people moving," says Jonathan Smith, musical director of
"Swing."
"Sing, Sing,
Sing" has been around for at least 60 years, a swing classic recorded by Benny
Goodman in 1939 and featured at his famous Carnegie Hall concert that year.
It's called "Sing,
Sing, Sing," even though the song has no vocals. It could just as easily be called
"Dance, Dance, Dance" because that's the effect it has on people, even today.
"No wonder people
still react so strongly to it," Smith says. "It's a wonderful piece. We took the
bones of the tune and made it the base layer on which we build the finale. 'Sing, Sing,
Sing' was written by Louis Prima, and it's a pretty straight-ahead tune. Once that's
played, [the show's finale] modulates into a clarinet solo, and the rest of the number is
based on another tune, 'Christopher Columbus.'"
The "Columbus"
tune was in the tradition of Count Basie's music. "The musicians would be playing it
night after night, and would be getting a little bored by it," Smith says, "so
every now and then, they'd add a little more to it. The final tune developed over dozens
and dozens of nights."
If you want to
hear it for yourself, you can still catch "Swing" at the St. James Theater on W.
46th St. Or you can get the original cast album featuring Ann Hampton Callaway, Everett
Bradley and the Gotham City Gates; it was released by Sony Classical Records last week and
kicked off with a cast performance at Tower Records in Times Square.
