šŸ„‚ 50th 50th Anniversary Celebration - West Coast*

In which city should the 50th Anniversary Celebration be based?

  • Downey

    Votes: 22 42.3%
  • Thousand Oaks

    Votes: 28 53.8%
  • Long Beach

    Votes: 4 7.7%
  • Other

    Votes: 2 3.8%

  • Total voters
    52
Same song, definitely! But done in a "tack" style piano and not horns. Harold and Richard provided the backing vocals while Agnes handled the lead. I think one of the huge takeaways was, at the end, Karen saying "that's my mom," and Richard saying "that's my dad!"
Iā€™d forgotten about that! Loved it. You can imagine them saying it to camera if the song had been included in the TV special.

I thought Iā€™d resurrect this thread because I was reading the Musical Legacy book tonight and caught my eye on a paragraph in the Christmas section.

ā€œOriginally it was meant to be a musical segment, which was good because itā€™s the only time that Mom was dragged into a recording studioā€ Richard says. ā€œShe sang [the Irving Berlin standard] ā€˜Play A Simple Melodyā€™ and from the first note, she sounds like Karenā€.

The number was cut, but the parents stayed in the show, making a quick scene-stealing cameo.


Does this mean the song was filmed with Agnes and Harold for the TV special and later cut, or the whole idea was dropped before they got to the actual filming of the special?
 
I thought Iā€™d resurrect this thread because I was reading the Musical Legacy book tonight and caught my eye on a paragraph in the Christmas section.

ā€œOriginally it was meant to be a musical segment, which was good because itā€™s the only time that Mom was dragged into a recording studioā€ Richard says. ā€œShe sang [the Irving Berlin standard] ā€˜Play A Simple Melodyā€™ and from the first note, she sounds like Karenā€.

The number was cut, but the parents stayed in the show, making a quick scene-stealing cameo.


Does this mean the song was filmed with Agnes and Harold for the TV special and later cut, or the whole idea was dropped before they got to the actual filming of the special?
To answer your question, the latter. šŸ˜€
 
I THINK I can answer that. About 10 years ago, I saw an original blurb in the paper when the show originally aired. Several songs were included as part of the 'highlights' of the special. 'Play A Simple Melody' was one of them. So, if I had to guess, I'd say it exists on videotape.
 
Oops. Just saw Chris's comment, so I could be totally wrong. But it's odd that they would list that segment if it wasn't even videotaped and never existed.
 
I THINK I can answer that. About 10 years ago, I saw an original blurb in the paper when the show originally aired. Several songs were included as part of the 'highlights' of the special. 'Play A Simple Melody' was one of them. So, if I had to guess, I'd say it exists on videotape.

Fascinating!
 
Oops. Just saw Chris's comment, so I could be totally wrong. But it's odd that they would list that segment if it wasn't even videotaped and never existed.
If Iā€™m not mistaken, Agnes and Harold had a hard time lip syncing to the track. I believe theyā€™d intended to include the pieceā€”which likely meant the copy for the advertisement was written as such, but never got it so it didnā€™t happen. Iā€™ll ask Richard if I think about it!
 
@Chris May - With ONJ rauthroizing eleasing deluxe versions of her albums (with additional material) a few years back, do you think Richard would ever consider doing the same?
 
If Iā€™m not mistaken, Agnes and Harold had a hard time lip syncing to the track. I believe theyā€™d intended to include the pieceā€”which likely meant the copy for the advertisement was written as such, but never got it so it didnā€™t happen. Iā€™ll ask Richard if I think about it!

I wish this track had been included on As Time Goes By. I was there at the 50th anniversary panel discussion and was almost delirious when it came over the sound system.
 
@Chris May - With ONJ rauthroizing eleasing deluxe versions of her albums (with additional material) a few years back, do you think Richard would ever consider doing the same?
I guess it all depends on whether or not Universal thinks itā€™s worth the expense to manufacture them!
 
I wish this track had been included on As Time Goes By. I was there at the 50th anniversary panel discussion and was almost delirious when it came over the sound system.
I'm still hoping to hear that recording some time (I can dream, can't I?)
 
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