Spotlight on Betty Hutton

1. It Had To Be You~~~2. A Square In The Social Circle~~~3. I Wake Up IN The Morning Feeling Fine~~~4. Love Is The Dardest Thing~~~5. Stuff Like That There~~~6. What Do You Want To Make Those Eyes at me for?~~~7. Hamlet~~~8. His Rocking Horse Ran Away~~~9. I Wish I Didn't Love You So~~~10. Rumble, Rumble, Rumble~~~11. Blue Skies~~~12. That's Loyalty~~~13. Poppa, Don't Preach To Me~~~14. Doin It The Hard Way~~~15. The Sewing Machine~~~16. Now That I Need You~~~17. Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief Product Description

It's Up, It's Bouncy

I've always considered Betty Hutton something of a novelty act -- gesticulating, face-pulling, and only incidentally singing (and often yelling) a series of jivey up-tempo numbers in a brassy (if not particularly distinctive) voice. And while I pretty much stand by that assessment, this collection of mid-1940s Columbia sides proves that when called upon, the late Ms. Hutton could put over a ballad; if not with the best of them (Judy Garland this ain't), certainly with the rest of them. Ms. Hutton's more famous songs -- "Murder He Says" and "It's Oh So Quiet" (the latter given a new lease on life by Bjork's 1995 cover) are absent. But there's plenty of boistrous novelty numbers here -- among the best, Frank Loesser's "Hamlet" (the Shakespeare classic condensed to two minutes and 49 seconds of slang lyrics and brass), and "His Rocking Horse Ran Away", the rapid-fire lament of an overworked, overwrought mother of a mischievous little boy. The pleasant surprise here is the relative tastefulness with which Ms. Hutton croons "It Had to Be You" and "I Wish I Didn't Love You So". A particular treat for me is what I assume is the original version of "Stuff Like That There", covered by Bette Midler in her 1991 film "For the Boys". This collection hasn't turned me into a hard-core Betty Hutton fan; but it's definitely a fun listen. August 16, 2007

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