"Luck Be a Lady" was written by Frank Loesser for the musical Guys and Dolls. The musical opened at the 46th Street Theatre on November 24, 1950. It eventually became the fifth longest-running Broadway musical of the '50s.
In a classic, hilarious example of miscasting, Marlon Brando (portraying Sky Masterson) "sang" the song in the 1955 film version. Frank Sinatra, cast as Nathan Detroit in the same film, took to calling Brando "Mumbles" during and after filming. Now, why would he have done that?....
Later, it became a signature song for Sinatra, first released on the album Reprise Musical Repertory Theatre. One of the best recorded live versions he did that I'm aware of was for the 1966 TV special, Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music Part II. This is live television, with Nelson Riddle conducting. Frank (and orchestra) really tear it up(!):swingin'!
I've still only seen the first half hour of Guys & Dolls and haven't yet found the time to see the rest. However I couldn't help but notice that Brando's Sky Masterson sounds exactly like Fat Tony in the Simpsons especially the absence of contractions. Or vice versa rather.
ReplyDeleteLOL! That's hilarious.
ReplyDeleteI've only seen clips from Guys and Dolls, and even then, the clips were of Sinatra, and enough moments to get a sense of how wrong it was to put Brando (not a singer) in a part that required a singer.