Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman (born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann; January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American singer and actress. Known for her distinctive, powerful voice, and her leading roles in musical theater, she has been called "the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage." She performed on Broadway in Anything Goes, Annie Get Your Gun, Gypsy, and Hello, Dolly! She is also known for her film roles in Anything Goes (1936), Call Me Madam (1953), There's No Business Like Show Business (1954), and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963). Among many accolades, she received the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in Call Me Madam, a Grammy Award for Gypsy, and a Drama Desk Award for Hello, Dolly! Merman introduced many Broadway standards, including "I Got Rhythm" from Girl Crazy, "Everything's Coming Up Roses", "Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries", "Some People" and "Rose's Turn" from Gypsy, and the Cole Porter songs "It's De-Lovely" (from Red, Hot and Blue), "Friendship" (from Du Barry 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 Annie Get Your Gun, became Merman's signature song. |
Birth and Death Data: Born Astoria (neighborhood in Queens, New York City, United States), Died February 15, 1984 (Manhattan (borough of New York City, New York, United States) )
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 93 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 | PCS-79121 | 12-in. | 3/31/1934 | Love thy neighbor | Bing Crosby ; Nathaniel Finston ; Ethel Merman ; Paramount Studio Orchestra | Promotional : Female and male vocal solos, with orchestra | vocalist | |
| Victor | BS-075659 | 10-in. | 12/8/1942 | (We'll be singing Hallelujah) marching thru Berlin | Ethel Merman | Female vocal solo, with male vocal quintet | vocalist | |
| Victor | BS-075660 | 10-in. | 12/8/1942 | Move it over | Ethel Merman | Female vocal solo, with male vocal quintet | 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 |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Merman, Ethel," accessed January 3, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103314.
Merman, Ethel. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 3, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103314.
"Merman, Ethel." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 3 January 2026.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Ethel Merman
Discogs: Ethel Merman
Allmusic: Ethel Merman
Grove: Ethel Merman
RILM: Ethel Merman
IMDb: Ethel Merman
Britannica: Ethel Merman
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Merman, Ethel - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n81120327
Wikidata: Ethel Merman - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q129087
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/22329860
MusicBrainz: Ethel Merman - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/a17eed36-fd8f-4d71-898b-2da805ac7492
Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/80964 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/80964
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