They Say It's Wonderful Explained

"They Say It's Wonderful" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the musical Annie Get Your Gun (1946), where it was introduced by Ethel Merman and Ray Middleton.^[1] A film version in 1950 again featured the song when it was performed by Howard Keel and Betty Hutton.

Recordings

• Ethel Merman recorded it for the original Decca Records cast album of Annie Get Your Gun (1946). In 1979, she recorded a "camp" version for The Ethel Merman Disco Album, but it was not released on the original vinyl record. It was issued as a bonus track on the CD reissue in 2002.^[2]
• Andy Russell – single (1946; Billboard No. 10)^[3]
• Perry Como with Russ Case and His Orchestra – single (1946; Billboard No. 27)^[4]
• Bing Crosby recorded the song on January 22, 1946^[5] - single (1946; Billboard No. 12)
• Frank Sinatra – single (1946; "Billboard" No. 11)
• Betty Hutton & Howard Keel – Annie Get Your Gun film and soundtrack (1950)
• Modern Jazz Quartet – The Modern Jazz Quartet (1957)^[6]
• Dave Brubeck – Plays and Plays and... (1957)^[7]
• Sarah Vaughan – (1958)^[8]
• Johnny Mathis – Heavenly (1959)^[9]
• Doris Day – Show Time (1960)^[10]
• John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman - John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman (1963)^[11]
• Jimmy Scott – Falling in Love Is Wonderful (1963)^[12]
• Hampton Hawes – Blues for Bud (1968)^[13]
• Suzi Quatro & Eric Flynn – Annie Get Your Gun – 1986 London Cast (1986)^[14]
• Tony Bennett – Bennett/Berlin (1987)^[15]
• Stacey Kent – Love Is...The Tender Trap (1998)^[16]
• Bernadette Peters – Annie Get Your Gun Broadway revival cast recording (1999)
• Eliane Elias – Everything I Love (2000)^[17]
• Michael Poss recorded the song, combined with "I Need to Be in Love", for his album Silver Screen Serenades (2000)
• Judy Garland & Howard Keel recorded the song when Garland was originally slated to star in the film. It was released on the Annie Get Your Gun film soundtrack reissue CD (2000).
• Sathima Bea Benjamin – Musical Echoes (2002)
• Beegie Adair – The Great American Songbook Collection (2002)^[18]
• Kirsten Dunst – Spider-Man 3 (2007)
• Susan Lucci – ABC Presents: Love Affair (2008)
• Seth MacFarlane – Once in a While (2019)^[19]

Popular culture

• More recently it was performed in an episode of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel by Darius de Haas.^[20]

Notes and References

1. Book: Mordden, Ethan. Beautiful Mornin' : The Broadway Musical in the 1940s: The Broadway Musical in the 1940s. registration. 27 August 1999. Oxford University Press, USA. 978-0-19-535176-7. 115.
2. The Ethel Merman Disco Album, Track 8 - "They Say It's Wonderful". Original 1979 recording reissued on CD in 2002 by Fynsworth Alley, LLC and Universal Music Enterprises, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
3. Book: Whitburn. Joel. Pop Memories 1890-1954: The History of American Popular Music. 1991. Record Research, Inc.. 0898200830. 375. registration.
4. Web site: Pop Chronicles 1940s Program #13. John. Gilliland. c. 1975 . UNT Digital Library.
5. Web site: A Bing Crosby Discography. BING magazine. International Club Crosby. September 21, 2016.
6. Web site: www.allmusic.com. allmusic.com. April 16, 2024.
7. Web site: www.allmusic.com. allmusic.com. April 17, 2024.
8. Web site: www.allmusic.com. allmusic.com. April 18, 2024.
9. Web site: www.allmusic.com. allmusic.com. April 18, 2024.
10. Web site: www.discogs.com. discogs.com. April 19, 2024.
11. Web site: www.allmusic.com. allmusic.com. April 19, 2024.
12. Web site: www.allmusic.com. allmusic.com. April 20, 2024.
13. Web site: www.allmusic.com. allmusic.com. April 20, 2024.
14. Web site: www.allmusic.com. allmusic.com. April 19, 2024.
15. Web site: www.allmusic.com. allmusic.com. April 19, 2024.
16. Web site: www.allmusic.com. allmusic.com. April 18, 2024.
17. Web site: www.allmusic.com. allmusic.com. April 18, 2024.
18. Web site: www.discogs.com. discogs.com. April 17, 2024.
19. Web site: www.allmusic.com. allmusic.com. April 15, 2024.
20. Web site: All The Songs In 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' Season 3 . Bustle . 6 December 2019 . 2 January 2020.