Feb. 12, 1903 Todd Duncan "Unchained Melody" ***Original***
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ต.ค. 2024
- Robert Todd Duncan (February 12, 1903 - February 28, 1998) Born Robert Todd Duncan in Danville, KY, he earned a B.A. from Butler University in Indianapolis, and an M.A. from Teacher College at Columbia University, before joining the music department faculty at Howard University in Washington, D.C. He began his operatic career in 1934 with a production of Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana with the Aeolian Opera, and sang with various black opera companies in the days when that stage was still as segregated as most others in the world of high art. The music critic Olin Downes, who had seen Duncan perform, urged George Gershwin to audition Duncan in 1935, when he was trying to cast the role of Porgy in his opera Porgy and Bess. The composer had already auditioned more than 100 baritones but offered Duncan the part after hearing him sing 12 bars of an aria from an Italian opera. Ironically, Duncan wasn't enthusiastic about accepting the role -- he identified Gershwin as a Tin Pan Alley composer, of popular songs, whereas his repertory and preference lay with the works of Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms.
He heard what Gershwin had written, accepted the part, and sang 124 performances of Porgy and Bess in 1935, and did it in revival in 1937 and 1942. Porgy and Bess opened up concert stages to Duncan throughout the United States while he, in turn, opened up the world of art music to black performers. He joined the City Opera in 1945, making his debut in Leoncavallo's Il Pagliacci, the first black singer ever to sign with the company, and the first black performer ever to work in an opera with an otherwise all-white cast. His work heralded the desegregation of that part of the musical world.
Duncan left Howard University in 1945, as his operatic and concert career demanded ever more of his time. In 1949, he played the role of the Zulu minister in the Maxwell Anderson-Kurt Weill musical Lost in the Stars. As a recitalist, Duncan sang more than 2000 performances in 56 countries over a period of 40 years, and was in constant demand for operatic productions and the theatrical stage. He made a recording of the key songs from Porgy and Bess with Anne Brown, the original Bess, for Decca in the early '40s.
Duncan later returned to Washington, D.C. and also joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, becoming a renowned teacher.
www.allmusic.c...
Recording information:
Unchained Melody sung by Todd Duncan 1955
"Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. North used the music as a theme for the little-known prison film Unchained (1955), hence the song title. Todd Duncan sang the vocals for the film soundtrack. It has since become a standard and one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, most notably by the Righteous Brothers. According to the song's publishing administrator, over 1,500 recordings of "Unchained Melody" have been made by more than 670 artists, in multiple languages.
Wikipedia
Disclaimer: I do not own the copyright to this recording. This video is for historical and educational purposes only.
To be clear, Todd Duncan was BORN on February 12, 1903. The song is from the movie UNCHAINED, released in 1955.
Please check out Al Hibbler's version of "Unchained Melody"
th-cam.com/video/cri4FCMV3Zc/w-d-xo.html
Wow
Not even in English the original
This is simply beautiful! It serenades the soul!! songs like this never grow old! Thanks to the writer Hy Zaret and composer Alex North, the vocal performance may have been done better done by others but Todd Duncan will always be remembered as the very first!
Original version. Marvelous voice,,, never getting old. Timeless warm voice that made this song great. Precious treasure left by Legendary Todd Duncan for music lovers.
❤️
who writed this moviesongtext?
" Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret.
North used the music as a theme for the little-known prison film Unchained (1955), hence the song title.
Todd Duncan sang the vocals for the film soundtrack. "
Thanks for this information!
Shows how timeless this magnificant song really is.
On this day in 1955 {June 2nd} Al Hibbler's covered version of "Unchained Melody" peaked at #1 on Billboard's Most Played R&B Records on Juke Boxes chart, while at #2 was Roy Hamilton's covered version of "Unchained Melody"...
At the time Roy Hamilton's version was also at #2 on Billboard's Best Selling R&B Records in Stores chart and Billboard's Most Played R&B Records by Jockeys chart...
The month before on May 5th, 1955 Mr. Hamilton's version peaked at #1 {for 3 weeks} on the Best Selling R&B Records in Stores chart...
Les Baxter's original instrumental version peaked at #1 {for 2 non-consecutive weeks} on April 28th, 1955 on Billboard's Most Played on Juke Boxes chart, while the first vocal version was sung by Todd Duncan in the 1955 movie, 'Unchained'...
R.I.P. to Al Hibbler {1915 - 2001}, Roy Hamilton {1929 - 1969}, Les Baxter {1922 - 1996}, and Todd Duncan {1903 - 1998}...
This is so strange as im reading this on 2nd june 2022. Rip to these Musical legends. Thank you for sharing . Never knew this.
A beautiful voice!
He made the song famous by being the first to sing it in a movie!
Me quedó de piedra!!!! No sabía que ésta canción de era tan antigua ❤️
Todd duncan the original on 1903
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A convict in a medium-security prison is torn between his needed to finish his sentence and get back to his wife and family,and his desire to escape the confines of prison.
Thanks for posting this.
The information in this post is fascinating to me.
Unchained Melody -- what a great song.
Please check out Al Hibbler's version of "Unchained Melody"
th-cam.com/video/cri4FCMV3Zc/w-d-xo.html
Thank you for the history and for the song it was a fantastic read
This is the original version...wow...i never knew
Wow. These were the best. 1903
Wonderfull!
A música mais bonita do mundo é de 1903 e eu não sabia. Ouvindo em 2022 ...
Great
Did Todd Duncan ever do a full version of the song?
the date in the title is misleading, this song was written in 1955 by Hy Zaret!
So todd Duncan is the first singer who sang unchained Melody? And the righteous brothers the one who revived the song?
No... I know the version of Al Hibbler, the Fleetwoods but must have many covers more...
Yes, he was. The song is called "Unchained Melody" precisely because it was the title song for the movie, "Unchained." It was written specifically for the movie.
Duncan sang it over the opening credits and sang an abbreviated version during the movie while lying on a bunk.
The first version I ever heard was by Gisele MacKenzie, and that version remains my favorite. I never cared for the Righteous Brothers' version, since it is too "show-offy" in its vocal gymnastics.
who writed this moviesongtext?
😍😍
HY ZARET wrote this!
first and as always the best
Please check out Al Hibbler's version of "Unchained Melody"
th-cam.com/video/cri4FCMV3Zc/w-d-xo.html
who writed this moviesongtext?
i tot it was original by alex north 1955? then sang by todd duncan?
Please check out Al Hibbler's version of "Unchained Melody"
th-cam.com/video/cri4FCMV3Zc/w-d-xo.html
North wrote the lyrics
@@denisegreen9390 Alex North composed the music. Hy Zaret wrote the lyrics for a movie.
Como siempre le dan más importancia a los los blancos q los mismos de la raza nagra q fueron los originales en todo
Cómo te quedarás cuando descubras de que color eran los autores originales 😜
Singing this song is right, Todd Duncan was the First African American Opera Singer but it was written and composed by Hy Zaret and Alex North who were not black but they were white. Good evening Amigo, Good evening.