A number of years ago, friends and I traveled to Indiana to see the Washington Huskies play football against the Irish of Notre Dame in Indiana.
We went to a restaurant where the “Irish” sang our fight song better than we did. You could feel the history of Notre Dame weighing down on us. The people were so nice. We never stood a chance, but we enjoyed the trip, the people, the university . . . we even enjoyed the game, although we lost badly. We had a great time, but the lasting effect of the journey was me staying in my hotel room and watching the old black and white Jack Benny film of “Buck Benny Rides Again.” In the film, was the song “Say It.” “Say It” reached #2 on the weekly “Your Hit Parade” radio countdown in 1941 and was written by Frank Loesser and Jimmy McHugh. The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra played the tune with the vocal by Ellen Drew, Virginia Dale, and Lillian Cornell.
For more information about Buck Benny Rides Again visit – imdb.com/title/tt0032289/
Frank Loesser was a fantastic song writer with dozens and dozens of his songs on Broadway and films. A favorite memory is Peg and I staying at a hotel in downtown Tacoma, with a number of granddaughters with us. Peg and the girls were sitting on the bed and talking, while I watched Loesser’s masterpiece “Guys and Dolls.” When granddaughter Bailee saw the name on the TV her eyes lit up and said, “So that’s Guys and Dolls?” She still loves live theatre.
I enjoy many film musicals as well as live musicals. The songs and phrasing of lyrics run through my mind almost constantly. “Say It” is one of those songs. I can’t remember any great plays by the Huskies for the game, but I can still see myself sitting on the edge of my bed in Indiana enjoying the song, “Say It.”
We were lucky enough one night in Seattle to see Karrin Allyson perform live.
Here is Karrin Allyson performing “Say It”
Enjoy!
