I'D RATHER BE RIGHT
Composer: Richard
Rodgers
Lyricist: Lorenz Hart
Opened: November 2, 1937, Alvin Theatre, NYC
Performances: 290
Ev'rybody Loves You (cut):
1. Rodgers and Hart
Revisited, Vol. 1, Painted Smiles (S) PS-1341 (Charlotte Rae
with musical direction by Norman Paris) [reissued as CD/Painted
Smiles PSCD-116]
2. More Rodgers And Hart, RCA (S) ARL1-4676 (Joan Morris with
William Bolcolm, piano) [reissued as CD/RCA RCD1-5858]
3. Meehan's In, Mercury (M) MG 21043 (Danny Meehan)
4. My Funny Valentine: Frederica Von Stade Sings Rodgers &
Hart, CD/Angel CDC-54071 (Frederica Von Stade with The London
Symphony Orchestra directed by John McGlinn)
5. Sleep Warm, CD/Ho Zan Zee 20898 (Mary Cleere Haran with music
directed by Bill O'Connell)
6. Sweet and Slow, CD/Audiophile 260 (Barbara Lea with the
Legendary Lawson-Haggart Jazz Band)
7/ This Funny World, CD/Varese Sarabande VSD-5584 (Mary Cleere
Haran with music direction by Richard Rodney Bennett)
Have You Met Miss Jones?:
I have not attempted to
provide discological information for this oft-recorded standard.
I'd Rather Be Right (first version)
(cut; music used as "Now That I Know You" in TWO WEEKS WITH
PAY):
1. 78/Victor 25687 (Lee
Sullivan with Leo Reisman and His Orchestra) [reissued on
Rodgers And Hart 127-1942, JJA (M) 19734; The Music Of Broadway:
1937, JJA (M) 19841]
2. My Funny Valentine: Frederica Von Stade Sings Rodgers And
Hart, CD/Angel CDC-54071 (Frederica Von Stade with the Ambrosian
Chorus and the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by John
McGlinn) (as "Now That I Know You")
3. Rodgers And Hart Revisited Vol. IV, Painted Smiles (S)
PS-1367 (Johnny Desmond) (as "Now That I Know You") [reissued as
CD/Painted Smiles PSCD-126]
I'd Rather Be Right (second version):
1. 78/Decca 1520 (Kenny
Sargent with Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra) [reissued on
The Music Of Broadway: 1937, JJA (M) 19841]
2. 78/Decca 15037 (Frankie Carle) [also 78/Decca 29215; reissued
on The Music Of Broadway: 1937, JJA (M) 19841]
3. 78/Bluebird B 7238 (Rudy Vallee, vocal, with Rudy Vallee
& His Connecticut Yankees)
4. The Complete Rhythm Makers Sessions 1937-1938, Vol. 2,
CD/Flyright 2192 (Artie Shaw and His Orchestra)
5. Rodgers And Hart Revisited Vol. IV, Painted Smiles (S)
PS-1367 (Johnny Desmond) [reissued as CD/Painted Smiles
PSCD-126]
6. Rarities, CD/Bygone BG-1001 (Kevin Early or Ben Johns and
Anne Edler, Lisa Rogers, or Danielle Vernengo)
7. You Took Advantage: Songs Of Rodgers & Hart, CD/American
Classics (Mary Ann Lanier, Benjamin Sears, and Bradford Conner)
Off The Record:
1. Yankee Doodle Dandy, CD/Rhino 78210
(Warner Bros. orchestra conducted by Ray Heindorf)
2. Yankee Doodle Dandy, CD/Rhino 78210 (James Cagney with the
Warner Bros. orchestra conducted by Ray Heindorf) (outtake)
[also found on Rodgers And Hart 127-1942, JJA (M) 19734]
3. You Took Advantage: Songs Of Rodgers & Hart, CD/American
Classics (Bolly Jolly and Margaret Ulmer with Bradford Conner,
piano)
Spring In Vienna (changed to "Spring in
Milwaukee" when Hitler annexed Austria after the opening):
1. Salon Musik,
CD/Selected (Palm Court Orchestra) (unverified)
A unverified radio transcription of a song with this title
performed by an uncredited orchestra is also known to exist.
Sweet Sixty-Five:
1. 78/Decca 15037 (Frankie
Carle) [also 78/Decca 29215; reissued on The Music Of Broadway:
1937, JJA (M) 19841]
2. Rodgers And Hart Revisited Vol. IV, Painted Smiles (S)
PS-1367 (The Men and The Women) [reissued as CD/Painted Smiles
PSCD-126]
Take And Take And Take (second part of
"Beauty Sequence"):
1. 78/Decca 15037 (Frankie
Carle) [also 78/Decca 29215; reissued on The Music Of Broadway:
1937, JJA (M) 19841]
2. Rodgers And Hart Revisited Vol. IV, Painted Smiles (S)
PS-1367 (The Women) [reissued as CD/Painted Smiles PSCD-126]
3. You Took Advantage: Songs Of Rodgers & Hart, CD/American
Classics (Bobbi Carrey and Margaret Ulmer with Bradford Conner,
piano)
Unrecorded Numbers:
A Baby Bond (For Baby)
American Couple (ballet) (dropped after opening and replaced
with "What's It All About?")
Here He Is (first part of "Beauty Sequence")
His Chances Are Not Worth A Penny (Finaletto) (cut)
A Homogenous Cabinet
Labor Is The Thing
Little Bit Of Constitutional Fun
No So Innocent Fun (aka "Nine Young Girls And Nine Old Men")
(cut; music does not survive but scans to "A Little Bit Of
Constitutional Fun")
A Treaty, My Sweety With You (cut)
We Just Sing And Dance (cut; possibly same number as "What's It
All About?" added after opening)
We're Going To Balance The Budget (aka "Tune Up Bluebird")
What's It All About? (added after opening; lyrics missing)
The World Is My Oyster (cut)