1991 Bette Midler – For The Boys
For the Boys is a 1991 film which traces the life of Dixie Leonard, a 1940s actress/singer who teams up with Eddie Sparks, a famous performer, to entertain American troops.
As in The Rose, Bette Midler‘s first starring role and also a blockbuster quasi-biopic, the film is fiction. However, actress/singer Martha Raye believed that Midler’s character was based on many widely known facts about her life and career with the USO and pursued legal action based on that assumption. After a protracted legal engagement, Raye ultimately lost the case. The Caan character was generally believed to be based on Bob Hope.
The film was adapted by Marshall Brickman, Neal Jimenez, and Lindy Laub from a story by Jimenez and Laub. It was directed by Mark Rydell and the original music score was composed by Dave Grusin. It stars Bette Midler, James Caan, George Segal, Patrick O’Neal, Christopher Rydell, Arye Gross, Norman Fell and (a then-unknown) Vince Vaughn in his film debut, playing a Cheering Soldier in a Crowd.
For her performance, Bette Midler was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. The movie soundtrack features adaptations of many classic songs, including “Come Rain or Come Shine”, “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” by Frank Loesser, “P.S. I Love You”, “I Remember You”, “Every Road Leads Back To You” and the Beatles’ “In My Life”. Many of these have lyrics by Johnny Mercer.
In 2011, the film was adapted for the musical stage by Aaron Thielen and Terry James and debuted at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, Illinois.
Tracks
1 Billy-A-Dick (Hoagy Carmichael, Paul Francis Webster) 1:35
2 Stuff Like That There (Jay Livingston, Ray Evans) 2:51
3 P.S. I Love You (Gordon Jenkins, Johnny Mercer) 3:32
4 The Girl Friend of the Whirling Dervish (Al Dubin, Harry Warren, Johnny Mercer) 1:16
5 I Remember You – Dixie’s Dream (Marc Shaiman, Johnny Mercer, Victor Schertzinger) 2:21
6 Baby It’s Cold Outside (Frank Loesser) 1:29
7 Dreamland (Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, Dave Grusin) 3:16
8 Vickie and Mr. Valves (Leonard LaCroix) 2:29
9 For All We Know (J. Fred Coots, Sam Lewis) 4:00
10 Come Rain or Come Shine (Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer) 3:30
11 In My Life (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) 3:26
12 I Remember You (Johnny Mercer, Victor Schertzinger) 3:34
13 Every Road Leads Back to You (Diane Warren) 3:47
Biography
Musicians
Bass | Chuck Berghofer |
Bass | Chuck Domanico |
Drums | Vinnie Colaiuta |
Drums | Harvey Mason Sr |
Drums | Alvin Stoller |
Drums | Frank Capp |
Guitar | Dennis Budimir |
Keyboards | Mike Lang |
Keyboards | Dave Grusin |
Keyboards | Robbie Buchanan |
Keyboards | Marc Shaiman |
Keyboards | Claude Gaudette |
Keyboards | Joe Mardin |
Trumpet | Jack Sheldon |
Background Vocals | Melissa Manchester |
Background Vocals | Patty Darcy |
Background Vocals | Morgan Ames |
Background Vocals | Lorraine Feather |
Background Vocals | Arnold McCuller |
Background Vocals | Joann Harris |
Background Vocals | John West |
Background Vocals | Kevin Dorsey |
Background Vocals | David Lasley |
Background Vocals | Eugene van Buren |
Background Vocals | Jon Joyce |
Background Vocals | Randy Crenshaw |
Background Vocals | Don Shelton |
Background Vocals | Carmen Twillie |
Vocals | Bette Midler |
Other Musicians
11 In My Life
Guitar | Steve Lukather |
Guitar | Dennis Budimir |
Keyboards | Robbie Buchanan |
Keyboards | Joe Mardin |
Synthesizer | Joe Mardin |
13 Every Road Leads Back To You
Drums | Jeffrey Porcaro |
Guitar | John Goux |
Vocals | James Caan |
Liner Notes
Producer – Arif Mardin
Co-producer – Dave Grusin, Joe Mardin, Marc Shaiman
Coordinator (Production) – Lisa Maldonado
Arranged By – Marc Shaiman (Tracks 1, 5)
Arranged By – Billy May (Track 2)
Arranged By – Dave Grusin (Track 7)
Arranged By – Marty Paich (Track 8)
Arranged By – Ralph Burns (Track 9)
Arranged By – Joe Mardin (Track 13)
Arranged By (Additional Arranging) – Arif Mardin (Track 2)
Arranged By (Background Vocals) – Lorraine Feather, Marc Shaiman, Morgan Ames (Track 4)
Arranged By (Background Vocals) – Arif Mardin (Track 11, 12)
Arranged By (Orchestra) – Marc Shaiman (Track 4)
Arranged By (Orchestra) – Arif Mardin (Track 12)
Arranged By (Rhythm) – Dave Grusin (Track 3)
Arranged By (Rhythm) – Marc Shaiman (Tracks 6, 10)
Arranged By (Rhythm) – Robbie Buchanan (Track 11)
Arranged By (Strings) – Arif Mardin (Tracks 3, 6, 10, 11)
Arranged By (Woodwinds) – Arif Mardin (Track 10)
Concertmaster – Gerald Vinci, Stuart Canin
Conductor – Marc Shaiman (Tracks 1, 4
Conductor – Billy May (Track 2)
Conductor – Marty Paich (Track 8)
Conductor – Ralph Burns (Track 9)
Conductor – Arif Mardin (Track 12)
Conductor (Additional) – Artie Kane
Contractor – Sandy de Crescent
Mixed By – Don Murray, Michael O’Reilly
Recorded By – Bob Schaper, Don Murray, Jack Joseph Puig, Joey Wolpert, Michael O’Reilly
Recorded At Capitol Studios
Recorded At Studio 55, Los Angeles
Recorded At Ocean Way Recording
Recorded At Conway Studios
Phonographic Copyright Atlantic Recording Corporation
Copyright Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation