I Got Rhythm-Maud Hixson

Piece Description

The greatest “seal of approval” a loving public can cast on a performer, is to grant that performer a long and durable career. Few American performers of the 20^th century remained as successful for as long as Ethel Merman did. Yet, there are millions of people who think of her merely as the epitome of clichéd “Broadway Bombast”, a singer without subtlety, nuance or taste. They of course miss the essence of what made Miss Merman great: In her prime, it was her intensity,  her charisma; the way she owned a stage, and inhabited the essence and rhythm and excitement of the songs she was given to sing. The song that marked her original success was the Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm” in the 1930 show “Girl Crazy”. With it, she rang down the curtain on act one, galvanized the audience, and became a legend, literally overnight. Although the song has been performed by many others, it will forever be associated with Merman, who made it a musical milestone – launching  the Century’s greatest career in American Musical Theater. Singing it today is Minnesota’s Voice, Maud Hixson.