AFTER an inexplicable 25-year absence, “The Ethel Merman Disco Album,” has finally been re-released on CD (Fynsworth Alley).
Ethel, of course, was known as a Broadway belter whose taste ran more to Cole Porter than the Bee Gees.
But nobody kept up with the trends like Ethel. So when the disco craze hit, she was ready to update her favorite Broadway standards with that brassy, bouncy disco sound. You have not truly boogied until you’ve heard “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” the dance version.
Other highlights are “There’s No Business Like Show Business” and “I Get a Kick Out of You” arranged for brass, bongos, sirens and whistles.
Ethel performed the songs a cappella; the disco sound and background vocals were mixed in later.
But she was proud enough to promote the record on the late-night talk-show circuit (back then, “The Joe Franklin Show”).
Too bad Ethel isn’t with us anymore: Imagine how wonderful her rap version of “I Got Rhythm” would be.