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Song from the 1950 musical Guys and Dolls
"If I Were a Bell " is a song composed by
Frank Loesser for his 1950 musical
Guys and Dolls .
[1]
Guys and Dolls
In the show
Guys and Dolls , it is sung by the character Sister Sarah, originally performed by
Isabel Bigley on Broadway, and memorialized on the original cast album.
[2] On a bet, Sky Masterson takes Sarah Brown to Havana to have dinner and gets her drunk. Sarah's stiff social barriers fall away and she realizes she is in love with Sky, and he with her. She sings this after they have an eventful dinner, but Sky refuses to take advantage of her drunkenness. It was also recorded by
Lizbeth Webb who created the part in the original London production in 1953 at the
London Coliseum .[
citation needed ]
Miles Davis
It has become a
jazz standard after it was featured by
trumpeter
Miles Davis , on the 1958
Prestige album
Relaxin' with The Miles Davis Quintet . The Miles Davis Quintet featured
tenor saxophone player
John Coltrane , pianist
Red Garland , bassist
Paul Chambers , and drummer
Philly Joe Jones . The song became a Miles Davis specialty and it appears on several live session recordings and compilations in different versions. The tune was taken up and performed by countless jazz musicians and is still a favorite in
jam sessions .[
citation needed ]
The Cosby Show
The Miles Davis version was also used in the final scene of the final episode of
The Cosby Show , when Cliff has rigged the doorbell outside to play the opening notes of the song. Then he and Claire dance off the set to it, breaking the
fourth wall .
Covers
Shirley Bassey on her album,
Shirley (1961)
[3]
Petula Clark recorded a version for her 1966
My Love album.
Holly Cole recorded it on her debut album
Blame it on my Youth (1991).
Bing Crosby recorded the song with
Patty Andrews on September 7, 1950
[4] and it appeared on the album
Bing Crosby Sings the Song Hits from...
Doris Day had a top-20 hit with her version recorded on September 28, 1950.
Blossom Dearie did a version of this song on
Once Upon a Summertime , with one of the classic Oscar Peterson rhythm sections of
Ed Thigpen and
Ray Brown along with
Mundell Lowe on guitar.
Ella Fitzgerald recorded it for
Ella Swings Lightly (1958).
[5]
Red Garland recorded a version of this tune outside of
Miles Davis ' quintet for his album,
Red Garland's Piano (1957).
Joni James recorded this song for her album, Sings Songs of Victor Young and Frank Loesser (1956).
[6]
Stacey Kent covered it on her
The Lyric album.
Chelsea Krombach sings it on her debut album, Profile (2004).
[7]
Amel Larrieux covered this song on her May 2007
jazz standards album,
Lovely Standards .
In 2002, guitarist
Chuck Loeb covered the song from his album, My Shining Hour.
[8]
Seth MacFarlane recorded a version for his 2022 Blue Skies album.
Carmen McRae -
Recorded Live at Bubba's (1981)
Dinah Shore covered the tune on the 1963
Reprise Musical Repertory Theatre album of Guys and Dolls
Sarah Vaughan sang the song as a duet with
Joe Williams , backed by the
Count Basie Orchestra, on
Count Basie/Sarah Vaughan .
Dinah Washington covered it for her album
In the Land of Hi-Fi (1956).
[9]
A different song with the same title was recorded in 1990 by R&B singer
Teena Marie .
References
^ Dietz, Dan (July 2, 2014).
The Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals .
Rowman & Littlefield . p. 39.
ISBN
978-1442235052 . Retrieved July 27, 2021 .
^
"Robert Alda, Vivian Blaine, Sam Levene – Guys & Dolls: A Musical Fable Of Broadway (1950, Vinyl)" . Discogs.com . 3 December 1950. Retrieved 4 May 2021 .
^
"www.allmusic.com" . www.allmusic.com . Retrieved June 25, 2024 .
^
"A Bing Crosby Discography" . Bingmagazine.co.uk . Retrieved July 22, 2017 .
^
"www.allmusic.com" . www.allmusic.com . Retrieved June 25, 2024 .
^
"Joni James - Joni Sings Songs By Victor Young And Songs By Frank Loesser" . Discogs.com . Retrieved 4 May 2021 .
^
"Profile - Chelsea Krombach | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" .
AllMusic . Retrieved 4 May 2021 .
^
"My Shining Hour overview" .
AllMusic .
^
"www.allmusic.com" . allmusic.com . Retrieved June 25, 2024 .
Inspiration Adaptations Songs Albums