That’s Entertainment! is the legendary song from the MGM musical The Band Wagon and also lent its name to a compilation film produced in 1975 celebrating the golden jubilee of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer revisiting some of the most popular songs of Hollywood’s Golden age.
That's Entertainment! also lends it's name to a new album by The John Wilson Orchestra in which the original scores have been recreated to produce a definitive album using modern recording technology.
How MGM Lost Classic Musical Scores
Unfortunately by the 1970s many classic musical scores from MGM’s legendary music catalogue such as Meet Me In St. Louis, Easter Parade, Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, High Society and Singing In The Rain ad been destroyed by MGM studios in the belief that they had long since served their purpose.
So it was quite a task when world renowned conductor, arranger and film music expert John Wilson came to record vibrant new versions of these musical scores for his new album celebrating the golden era of the MGM Musical. John explains “Nobody realised that this music might later be seen as a great popular art of the 20th Century.”
The popularity of television in the 1950s and 60s sent cinema audiences into decline leaving MGM studios with much of its fortune tied up in some of Hollywood’s biggest names with much to lose.
As MGM struggled to keep control of its many assets the company went through several ownerships before making the tragic decision in 1969 to order the destruction of its music library. “The Whole lot was taken and buried under a golf course!” states John Wilson “Every note of every film made for every MGM musical since the late 20s, early 30s was destroyed”.
All that remained were short scores for piano which had been lodged for copyright purposes at the Library of Congress in Washington DC. When John approached Warner Brothers for permission to reconstruct the lost scores of MGM’s classic musicals it was these short scores of which he turned to for inspiration. The scores would form the basis of a labour of love in which John would transcribe the scores by ear from the original soundtrack recordings.
John Wilson Orchestra Recreate Classic Scores From Hollywood's Golden Era
As The John Wilson Orchestra’s new release That’s Entertainment – A Celebration of the MGM Film Musical proves, John’s patience paid off.
The orchestra magically recreates all the glitz and glamour of music from Hollywood’s golden era. From the magnificence of the MGM Jubilee Overture via the memorable Did You Evah? (from High Society) to the elegant Stepping Out With My Baby (from Easter Parade) and the feelgood brilliance of Singin’ In The Rain, That’s Entertainment delivers a colourful cornucopia of Hollywood’s finest moments.
That’s Entertainment Features Vocal Contributions From Curtis Stigers And Kim Criswell
The John Wilson Orchestra bring these golden scores from Hollywood’s greatest years to life with a glorious aural vibrancy. This is complimented with stunning vocal treatments provided by Kim Criswell, Matthew Ford, Seth McFarlane and Curtis Stigers. Each vocalist breathes new life into songs originally delivered by Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra over half a century ago.
Since recording this album some of the original scores from the films have surfaced with John Wilson discovering his recreations are incredibly close to the originals. The musical pieces are certainly timeless and display all the energy and fun of the originals, but boosted with the clarity of modern recording techniques. As Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby probably would have said “Well, Did You Evah?”
That’s Entertainment – A Celebration of the MGM Film Musical by The John Wilson Orchestra available from EMI Classics as a special CD/DVD set complete with lavish sleeve notes, photographs and interviews.
For further information on The John Wilson Orchestra including dates for their current tour, visit their official website.
- Background Information and quotes from That’s Entertainment – A Celebration of the MGM Film Musical, Press Release, November, 2011
