Maurice Jarre's score to David Lean's RYAN DAUGHTER produced an unexpected Liza Minnelli hit, IT WAS A GOOD TIME.
It also produced this flop, WHERE WAS I WHEN THE PARADE WENT BY based on THE MAJOR THEME with lyrics by Mack David and Mike Curb (the future Lieutenant Governor of California).
Stephen Van Dorn milks it for all its glory in this first read-through sight-reading. Adam Shell and Rena Strober give perky percussion support.
RYAN’S DAUGHTER (Where Was I When the Parade Went By- The Major) lyrics by Mack David and Mike Curb
Here is a link to a checklist of Sheet Music from which this was chosen.
Whew! That was sooooooooooooo excruciating! The song will never replace my love for the instrumental version as heard in the film and on the soundtrack -- I remember seeing "Ryan's Daughter" the weekend the film opened, at a large reserved-seating theatre in Beverly Hills, and while it remains one of director David Lean's lesser achievements, the soundtrack has long been one of my favorites. I realize that you are specifically filming initial (cold) run-throughs, but I would sure like to hear this after a little rehearsal.
You made the point that Liza Minnelli recorded a song from this score, which I mentioned last week at another discussion here, making the point that, to my knowledge, Minnelli never acknowledged that the song came from Maurice Jarre's score for "Ryan's Daughter."
As you know, I've been following (and usually enjoying) several of your postings. May I offer a suggestion for another? Composer Georges Delerue is very popular on this site, and one of my favorite soundtracks by him is "Rich And Famous." Jane Olivor, in her "In Concert" album, sang "Daydreams," which I immediately recognized as the principal theme from "Rich And Famous." I think you should look into it.
