Song:If I Loved You
Album:Carousel: Original Broadway Cast Album
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II wrote the musical Carousel after the success of Oklahoma. so they knew comparisons would be made. But the 1945 Broadway production was a success. This clip is from a 1954 live TV tribute to Rodgers and Hammerstein. Jan Clayton and John Raitt were part of the original cast. John Raitt is famous as one of the all time greats of musical theatre. And he is also the father of blues guitarist Bonnie Raitt. But I'm sure most folks don't know much about Jan Clayton. Her performance as Julie Jordan in Carousel is probably her biggest success. She was born Aug. 26, 1917 in Tularosa, NM. She moved to Hollywood and appeared in several MGM films. But she got her big break when she went to New York to audition for Carousel. She left Carousel in 1946 to appear in Show Boat. This clip is from the 1954 TV show The General Foods 25th Anniversary Show. it was a tribute to Rodgers and Hammerstein. Carousel was not turned into a film until 1956 so I think many viewers had not seen anything from the show. And unlike John Raitt, Clayton was never a star. Other than this clip, her best known role was as the mother in the TV show Lassie when it was first produced in 1954. She left and June Lockhart replaced her in 1957. She did TV guest shots for the remainder of her career and died of cancer on Aug. 28, 1983 at age 66. The 1945 original cast recording of Carousel is available as a budget CD. Here's Jan Clayton and John Raitt performing "The Bench Scene" from Carousel which includes If I Loved You on The General Foods 25th Anniversary Show 1954.
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