Episode 469. Muriel and Angela: Together Again for the First Time
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Today’s Pride episode foregrounds trans pioneer Angela Morley (10 March 1924 – 14 January 2009), who achieved great fame in her native England as a composer, arranger and conductor of popular music, becoming the music director for the British division of Philips records in 1953. She transitioned in 1970 and went public with her new name in 1972. She subsequently moved with her second wife Christine to the United States, where she was deeply involved in creating and arranging music for some of the most highly acclaimed movies and television shows of that era. She was twice nominated for an Oscar (the first out trans person to be so acclaimed) and won three Emmy Awards. In her association with Philips, she was the arranger and conductor for all the pop records made by African American icon Muriel Smith (23 February 1923 – 13 September 1985), probably best known for creating the title role in Oscar Hammerstein’s musical Carmen Jones. Smith moved to the UK in the early 1950s and achieved enormous acclaim and recognition for her stage portrayals in the West End of the British premieres of South Pacific and The King and I before returning to the United States in the early 1960s. These recordings, made between 1953 and 1955, are noteworthy both for Smith’s unique way of connecting with her musical material as well as for Morley’s lush and varied musical arrangement. When I first discovered Muriel Smith during the first year of Countermelody, I made it a goal to collect all her elusive yet remarkable Philips recordings, promising to celebrate that accomplishment with my listeners once I finally attained it. Just last week, I finally secured my last Morley/Smith 78. So here, finally, is that very special episode, replete with Smith’s intensely personal song stylings backed by the evocative arrangements of Angela Morley (for once identified in these recordings under her post-transition name).
RECORDINGS HEARD IN THIS EPISODE
All tracks feature Muriel Smith with arrangements by Angela Morley leading Her Orchestra
Ronald Cass, David Climie: The One I Love (Is Not in Love with Me) [1954]
Harry Noble: Hold Me, Kiss Me, Thrill Me [1953]
Louis “Loulou” Gasté, Géo Koger, Sonny Miller: I’d Love to Fall Asleep (And Wake Up In Your Arms) [1953]
Auyar Hosseini, Norman Gimbel: Climb Up the Wall [1955]
The following eight tracks comprise the 1953 10-inch LP release I’m in the Mood for Love featuring Muriel Smith with Angela Morley and her orchestra. The instrumentalists are credited as follows: Tommy Whittle, Bill Griffiths, Ted Thorne, Jack Goddard, Dave Stephenson [saxes and woodwind]; Alan Franks [trumpet]; Bill McGuffie [piano]; Joe Muddel [bass]; Tony Kinsey [drums]; Bert Weedon [guitar]:
- Jimmy McHugh, Dorothy Fields: I’m in the Mood for Love
- Hoagy Carmichael, Ned Washington: The Nearness of You
- Cole Porter: I’ve Got You Under My Skin (Born to Dance)
- J. Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie: You Go to My Head
- George Gershwin, Buddy De Sylva: Do It Again (The French Doll)
- Paul Mann, Stephan Weiss, Kim Gannon: Make Love to Me
- George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin: Embraceable You (Girl Crazy)
- Johnny Green, Edward Heyman, Robert Sour, Frank Eyton: Body and Soul (Three’s a Crowd)
Harvey Fuqua, Alan Freed: Sincerely [1955]
Bonnie Benjamin, George Weiss: How Important Can It Be? [1955]
Ben Weisman, Fred Wise, Kay Twomey: Oo! What You Do to Me [1953]
Hugh Martin, Ralph Blane: Love (Ziegfeld Follies) [1953]
Traditional English: Coventry Carol. Julian Bream [1955]
Paul Burkhard, Jürg Amstein, Robert Gilbert, Geoffrey Parsons, John Turner: Oh! My Pa-Pa [O mein Papa] (Der schwarze Hecht) [1954]
Franz Waxman, Jay Livingston, Ray Evans: Tonight, My Love [1955]
