Great American Songbook Mania

  Oklahoma! the Musical Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein turned Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs , into the musical, Oklahoma! The musical is set in Claremore, a small farming town in present day Oklahoma. The story follows Laurey Williams and her two suitors, the cowboy Curly McLain and the farmhand Jud Fry. The musical explores important themes such as relationships, commitments, and violence.   Why is it so Revolutionary? Oklahoma! was different from anything seen on Broadway previously. It successfully integrated music, dance, lyrics, and dialogue to effectively develop the characters and a create a dimensional plot. Each of these aspects advanced the cohesive story. The musical includes well-known scores such as "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'"  and "The Surrey With the Fringe on Top"  that develop the personalities and relationships between characters.  (Curly and Laurey sing "The Surrey With the Fringe on Top") The musical als...

 " The Ballad of October 16th" "The Ballad of October 16th" was a folk song released in May of 1941 on the album Songs for John Doe . The lyrics were written by Millard Rampell and the song was recorded by the Almanac Singers. The members of this band were among isolationists who promoted peace. Therefore, many of the songs on the   album, including "The Ballad of October 16th", were considered to be anti-war songs.  Although World War II was going on at the time of the songs release, the United States remained neutral and The Soviet Union and Nazi Germany remained at peace. However, soon after its release, Germany invaded The Soviet Union. As a result, The Almanac Singers began pushing for U.S. intervention in Europe. Therefore, they pulled Songs for John Doe  from distribution and encouraged those who purchased the album to return them. The Almanacs began supporting involvement in the war in their songs and albums from that point on (although it was in a...