YOU AND THE NIGHT AND THE MUSIC

The picture that you see is all that is left of the historic Tin pan Alley buildings in New York City. can you imagine that there used to be fifty-three different publishers in just this one set of buildings? Wow! Today is the 70th anniversary of a great song composed by Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz who also gave us that amazing MGM signature song "That's Entertainment" The song was featured in a very forgotten Broadway musical called "Revenge in Music". The musical opened and closed in thirty-eight performances and then being Christmas time , the theatre had nothing else to present and they re-opened the show where it fared better (154 performances) Back in those days, you didn't need a long time to recoup your music. In case you don't remember the lyrics of the great show, here they are.

You and the night and the music

Fill me with flaming desire

Setting my being completely on fire

You and the night and the music

Thrill me but will we be one?

After the night and the music are done

Until the pale light of dawn and in daylight

Hearts will be throbbing guitars

Morning will come without warning

and take away the stars

If we must live for the moment

Love 'til the moment is through

After the night and the music die

Will I still have you?

Until the pale light of dawn and in daylight

Hearts will be throbbing guitars

Morning will come without warning

and take away the stars!

If we must live for the moment

Love 'til the moment is through

After the night and the music die

Will I still have you?

When you get a line like "Hearts will be throbbing guitars" --you know you have a well written lyric line. That lyric was supplied by Dietz's partner Arthur Schwartz.

But Dietz was more than simply a great composer because In 1919, he joined Goldwyn Pictures Corporation as publicity director. In 1924, he became director of advertising and publicity for MGM, a position he held for over 30 years, rising to vice-president. He devised the company symbol, Leo the Lion, and its pseudo-Latin slogan, "Ars Gratia Artis".In 1923, Dietz wrote the lyrics for an Arthur Samuels melody called "Alibi Baby," which was a hit in W.C. Fields’ stage show, Poppy. For the next few years, Dietz collaborated on several Broadway shows, including Dear Sir (1924), with Jerome Kern, and the revue Merry-Go-Round (1927).Many of Dietz's greatest songs were written in collaboration with composer Arthur Schwartz, with whom he first worked on The Little Show in 1929 (songs from that production included "I Guess I'll I Have to Change My Plan”). Other notable songs written by Dietz and Schwartz are "Something to Remember You By" and “The Moment I Saw You” from Three’s a Crowd (1930). “Dancing in the Dark" from The Band Wagon (1931), "Alone Together" from Flying Colors (1932), "You and the Night and the Music" from Revenge With Music (1934), "By Myself," "Triplets," and "I See Your Face Before Me" from Between the Devil (1938). Well today is my first official day at Disneyland working in the Main street Emporium. Well we shall see what this brings. I have always wanted to work for Disneyland, but I never had the opportunity or the necessity to be so motivated. Well, until next time.