Ol’ Man River (Jerome Kern, 1885-1945)

"Ol' Man River" is a song from Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein's musical Showboat (1927). To me it is the finest example of an American musical theatre song, and is the song I would place on the list for the 250th anniversary of America. "Kern had been impressed by Edna Ferber's novel Show Boat and wished to present a musical stage version. He persuaded Hammerstein to adapt it and Florenz Ziegfeld to produce it. The story, dealing with racism, marital strife and alcoholism, was unheard of in the escapist world of musical comedy. Despite his doubts, Ziegfeld spared no expense in staging the piece to give it its full epic grandeur. According to the theatre historian John Kenrick: 'After the opening night audience filed out of the Ziegfeld Theatre in near silence, Ziegfeld thought his worst fears had been confirmed. He was pleasantly surprised when the next morning brought ecstatic reviews and long lines at the box office. In fact, Show Boat proved to be the most lasting accomplishment of Ziegfeld's career – the only one of his shows that is regularly performed today.' The score is, arguably, Kern's greatest. The show ran for 572 performances on Broadway and was also a success in London. Although Ferber's novel was filmed unsuccessfully as a part-talkie in 1929 (using some songs from the Kern score), the musical itself was filmed twice, in 1936, and, with Technicolor, in 1951. In 1989, a stage version of the musical was presented on television for the first time, in a production from the Paper Mill Playhouse telecast by PBS on Great Performances. The 1994 revival was nominated for ten Tony Awards, winning five, including best revival." (Wikipedia: Jerome Kern)