Many years ago a friend and I traveled to Indiana to watch the Washington Huskies play soccer against the Irish of Notre Dame, Indiana.
We went to a restaurant where ‘Irish’ sang fight songs better than us. We could feel the history of Notre Dame weighing on us. People were very kind. I didn’t get the chance, but I enjoyed the trip, the people, and the university. . . I lost badly, but I enjoyed the game. We had a great time, but the lasting effect of the trip was staying in a hotel room and watching the old black and white Jack Benny movie “Back Benny Ride Again” . In the movie, there was a song called “Say It.” “Say It”, which made him number two on the weekly “Your Hit Parade” radio countdown in 1941, was written by Frank Lesser and Jimmy McHugh. The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra performed the song with vocals by Ellen Drew, Virginia Dale and Lillian Cornell.
For more information on Buck Benny Ride Again, see http://imdb.com/title/tt0032289/.
Frank Lesser was a great songwriter, having written dozens of his songs for Broadway and movies. A favorite memory is of Peg and I staying at a hotel in downtown Tacoma with many of our granddaughters. While Peg and her girls sat on the bed and talked, I watched Lesser’s classic “Man and Doll.” Her granddaughter Bailey said her eyes lit up when she saw that name on her TV. She still loves live theater.
I enjoy many movie musicals and live musicals. The song and lyric phrasing run through my head almost constantly. “Say It” is one such song. I can’t remember how great the Huskies played in this game, but I can still remember myself sitting on the edge of my bed in Indiana enjoying the song “Say It.”
I was lucky enough to see Karrin Allyson live one night in Seattle.
This is “Say It” by Karyn Allison.
fun!