Ethel Merman

Ethel Merman (born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann, January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American actress, artist, and singer. Known primarily for her distinctive, powerful voice and leading roles in musical theatre, she has been called "the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage".

Among the many standards introduced by Merman in Broadway musicals are "I Got Rhythm" (from Girl Crazy); "Everything's Coming Up Roses", "Some People", and "Rose's Turn" (from Gypsy—Merman starred as Rose in the original 1959 Broadway production); and the Cole Porter songs "It's De-Lovely" (from Red, Hot and Blue), "Friendship" (from DuBarry Was a Lady), and "I Get a Kick Out of You", "You're the Top", and "Anything Goes" (from Anything Goes). The Irving Berlin song "There's No Business Like Show Business", written for the musical Annie Get Your Gun, became Merman's signature song.

Birth and Death Data: Born January 16, 1908 (Astoria), Died February 15, 1984 (Manhattan)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1931 - 1955

Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 1-25 of 90 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor BS-73708 10-in. 9/29/1932 How deep is the ocean (How high is the sky) Ethel Merman Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band vocalist  
Victor BS-73709 10-in. 9/29/1932 I'll follow you Ethel Merman Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band vocalist  
Victor BS-73710 10-in. 9/29/1932 Satan's li'l lamb Ethel Merman Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band vocalist  
Victor BS-73711 10-in. 9/29/1932 I gotta right to sing the blues Ethel Merman Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band vocalist  
Victor BRC-Test-475 10-in. 10/1/1931 Life is just a bowl of cherries Ethel Merman Female vocal solo, with piano vocalist  
Victor BRC-Test-476 10-in. 10/1/1931 Ladies and gentlemen, that's love Ethel Merman Female vocal solo, with piano vocalist  
Brunswick TCL1444 10-in. 2/2/1931 Boy, what love has done to me! Ethel Merman Female vocal solo vocalist  
Brunswick TCL1445 10-in. 2/2/1931 I got rhythm Ethel Merman Female vocal solo vocalist  
Decca 68425 10-in. 12/2/1940 My mother would love you Ethel Merman vocalist  
Decca 68426 10-in. 12/2/1940 I've still got my health Ethel Merman vocalist  
Decca 68427 10-in. 12/2/1940 Let's be buddies-1 Joan Carroll ; Ethel Merman vocalist  
Decca 68428 10-in. 12/2/1940 Make it another old-fashioned, please Ethel Merman vocalist  
Decca 73592 5/26/1946 I'm so lonesome I could cry Ethel Merman vocalist  
Decca 73593 5/26/1946 I got lost in his arms Ethel Merman vocalist  
Decca 73594 5/26/1946 I got the sun in the morning Ethel Merman vocalist  
Decca 73597 5/26/1946 Doin' what comes natur'lly Ethel Merman vocalist  
Decca 73599 5/26/1946 They say it's wonderful Ethel Merman ; Ray Middleton vocalist  
Decca 73600 5/28/1946 Moonshine lullaby-1 Ethel Merman vocalist  
Decca 73603 5/28/1946 Anything you can do Ethel Merman ; Ray Middleton vocalist  
Decca 74188 12/1/1947 Eadie was a lady, part 1-1 Ethel Merman vocalist  
Decca 74189 12/1/1947 Eadie was a lady, part 2-1 Ethel Merman vocalist  
Decca 74190 12/1/1947 Blow, Gabriel, blow-2 Ethel Merman vocalist  
Decca 74208 12/8/1947 I get a kick out of you-1 Ethel Merman vocalist  
Decca 74209 12/8/1947 You're the top-1 Ethel Merman vocalist  
Decca 74230 12/12/1947 I got rhythm-1 Ethel Merman vocalist  
(Results 1-25 of 90 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Merman, Ethel," accessed March 22, 2023, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103314.

Merman, Ethel. (2023). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 22, 2023, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103314.

"Merman, Ethel." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2023. Web. 22 March 2023.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103314

External Sources

Wikipedia: Ethel Merman

Discogs: Ethel Merman

Linked Open Data Sources

LCNAR: Merman, Ethel - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n81120327

Wikidata: Ethel Merman - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q129087

VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/22329860

MusicBrainz: Ethel Merman - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/a17eed36-fd8f-4d71-898b-2da805ac7492

Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license

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