If I Loved You
Encyclopedia
"If I Loved You" is a show tune
from the 1945
Rodgers and Hammerstein
musical Carousel
.
The song was introduced by John Raitt
as "Billy Bigelow" and Jan Clayton
as "Julie". It was performed in the 1956 Carousel (film)
version by Gordon MacRae
and Shirley Jones
.
In the show, the characters of Billy Bigelow and Julie Jordan sing this song as they hesitantly declare their love for one another, yet are too shy to express their true feelings.
The song was in turn inspired by lines of dialogue from Ferenc Molnár
's original Liliom
, the source material for the musical.
Show tune
A show tune is a popular song originally written as part of the score of a "show" , especially if the piece in question has become a "standard", more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context...
from the 1945
1945 in music
-Events:*The Motion Picture Daily Fame Poll designates Bing Crosby "Top Male Vocalist" for the ninth straight year.*July 26 - Composer Ernest John Moeran marries cellist Peers Coetmore.*August 19 - Dick Powell marries June Allyson....
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were a well-known American songwriting duo, usually referred to as Rodgers and Hammerstein. They created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s during what is considered the golden age of the medium...
musical Carousel
Carousel (musical)
Carousel is the second stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II . The work premiered in 1945 and was adapted from Ferenc Molnár's 1909 play Liliom, transplanting its Budapest setting to the Maine coastline...
.
The song was introduced by John Raitt
John Raitt
John Emmett Raitt was an American actor and singer best known for his performances in musical theater.-Early years:...
as "Billy Bigelow" and Jan Clayton
Jan Clayton
Jan Clayton was a film, musical theatre, and television actress.-Career:...
as "Julie". It was performed in the 1956 Carousel (film)
Carousel (film)
Carousel is a 1956 film adaptation of the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical of the same name which, in turn, was based on Ferenc Molnár's non-musical play Liliom. The 1956 Carousel film stars Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones, and was directed by Henry King...
version by Gordon MacRae
Gordon MacRae
Gordon MacRae was an American actor and singer, best known for his appearances in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, Oklahoma! and Carousel and films with Doris Day like Starlift.-Early life:Born Albert Gordon MacRae in East Orange, New Jersey, MacRae graduated from...
and Shirley Jones
Shirley Jones
Shirley Mae Jones is an American singer and actress of stage, film and television. In her six decades of television, she starred as wholesome characters in a number of well-known musical films, such as Oklahoma! , Carousel , and The Music Man...
.
In the show, the characters of Billy Bigelow and Julie Jordan sing this song as they hesitantly declare their love for one another, yet are too shy to express their true feelings.
The song was in turn inspired by lines of dialogue from Ferenc Molnár
Ferenc Molnár
LanguageFerenc Molnár was a Hungarian dramatist and novelist. His Americanized name was Franz Molnar...
's original Liliom
Liliom
Liliom is a 1909 play by the Hungarian playwright Ferenc Molnár. It was very famous in its own right during the early to mid-20th century, but is best known today as the basis for the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel.- Plot :...
, the source material for the musical.
Recorded versions
There are many recordings of "If I Loved You" including by:- Ronnie AldrichRonnie AldrichRonnie Aldrich, born Ronald Frank Aldrich was a British easy listening and jazz pianist, arranger, conductor, and composer. The only son af a store manager, he was three years old when he started playing the piano...
- Renato RussoRenato RussoRenato Russo was a Brazilian singer and songwriter. His first band was a punk rock band called "Aborto Elétrico" . The band then broke up and split in two different ones: "Capital Inicial" and "Legião Urbana"...
- from The Stonewall Celebration Concert - Thomas Allen
- Ernie AndrewsErnie AndrewsErnie Andrews is an American jazz, blues, and pop singer. He grew up in Los Angeles, California, and one of his first jobs was with the Harry James orchestra. He went on to be recorded by Columbia Records and others...
- Julie AndrewsJulie AndrewsDame Julia Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is an English film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honors...
(1994) - Broadway: The Music of Richard Rodgers - Barbra StreisandBarbra StreisandBarbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
(1985) The Broadway Album - P. J. ProbyP. J. ProbyP.J. Proby is an American singer, songwriter, and actor, who has portrayed Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison in musical theater productions as well as enjoying a successful recording career in his own right....
(1965) - Dave ApollonDave ApollonDave Apollon was a Russian mandolin player.Today Dave Apollon is regarded as one of the most innovative and influential mandolinists of the Twentieth Century, whose more notable recordings/performances include Two Guitars, Hora staccato by Grigoraş Dinicu and Zigeunerweisen aka "Gypsy Airs" by...
- Michael BallamMichael BallamMichael Ballam is the general director of the Utah Festival Opera, a professor of music at Utah State University, an accomplished operatic singer, pianist and oboist. His professional operatic and recital career has spanned nearly three decades and four continents...
- Jimmy Beaumont
- Isabel BigleyIsabel BigleyIsabel Bigley was an American actress, perhaps best remembered for originating the part of Sarah Brown in Frank Loesser's Guys and Dolls.-Biography:...
- Paul BleyPaul BleyPaul Bley, CM is a pianist known for his contributions to the free jazz movement of the 1960s as well as his innovations and influence on trio playing.-Biography:...
- Bob BrookmeyerBob BrookmeyerRobert Brookmeyer is an American jazz valve trombonist, pianist, arranger, and composer.-Biography:Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Brookmeyer first gained widespread public attention as a member of Gerry Mulligan's quartet from 1954 to 1957. He later worked with Jimmy Giuffre...
- Ray Brown TrioRay Brown (musician)Raymond Matthews Brown was an American jazz double bassist.-Biography:Ray Brown was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and had piano lessons from the age of eight. After noticing how many pianists attended his high school, he thought of taking up the trombone, but was unable to afford one...
- Artie Butler
- José CarrerasJosé CarrerasJosep Maria Carreras i Coll , better known as José Carreras , is a Spanish Catalan tenor particularly known for his performances in the operas of Verdi and Puccini...
- Benny CarterBenny CarterBennett Lester Carter was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. He was a major figure in jazz from the 1930s to the 1990s, and was recognized as such by other jazz musicians who called him King...
- Carmen CavallaroCarmen CavallaroCarmen Cavallaro was an American pianist. He established himself as one of the most accomplished and admired light music pianists of his generation.-Music career:...
- Chad & Jeremy
- Chung-Oo
- Charlotte ChurchCharlotte ChurchCharlotte Maria Church is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress and television presenter. She rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching into pop music in 2005. By 2007, she had sold more than 10 million records worldwide including over 5 million in the United States...
(2001) - Enchantment - Victoria ClarkVictoria ClarkVictoria Clark is an American musical theatre singer and actress. Clark has performed in many Broadway musicals and in other theatre, film and television work, and her soprano voice can be heard on numerous cast albums and several animated films...
- Richard ClaydermanRichard ClaydermanRichard Clayderman is a French pianist who has released numerous albums including the compositions of Paul de Senneville and Olivier Toussaint, instrumental renditions of popular music, rearrangements of movie soundtracks, ethnic music, and easy-listening arrangements of most popular works of...
- Jan ClaytonJan ClaytonJan Clayton was a film, musical theatre, and television actress.-Career:...
and John RaittJohn RaittJohn Emmett Raitt was an American actor and singer best known for his performances in musical theater.-Early years:...
(1945) for the Carousel Original Broadway Cast Recording - Perry ComoPerry ComoPierino Ronald "Perry" Como was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with them in 1943. "Mr...
- Ray ConniffRay ConniffJoseph Raymond Conniff was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s.-Biography:...
- Van Craven
- Michael CrawfordMichael CrawfordMichael Crawford OBE is an English actor and singer. He has garnered great critical acclaim and won numerous awards during his career, which covers radio, television, film, and stagework on both London's West End and on Broadway in New York City...
- Henri CrollaHenri CrollaHenri Crolla was a French jazz guitarist and film composer.Born in Naples, Campania, Italy, to a family of itinerant Neapolitan musicians, he moved with his family to Porte de Choisy in France in 1922 following the rise of fascism in Italy...
- Bing CrosbyBing CrosbyHarry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
- Czech Symphony Orchestra
- Eileen FarrellEileen FarrellEileen Farrell was an American soprano who had a nearly 60 year long career performing both classical and popular music in concerts, theatres, on radio and television, and on disc. While she was active as an opera singer, her concert engagements far outnumbered her theatrical appearances...
- Art GarfunkelArt GarfunkelArthur Ira "Art" Garfunkel is an American singer-songwriter, poet, and actor, best known as being a member of the folk duo Simon & Garfunkel...
- Annie HaslamAnnie HaslamAnnie Haslam is an English progressive rock vocalist and songwriter.Originally a fashion student, she began studying under opera singer Sybil Knight in 1970 and developed her five-octave vocal range...
- Michael Hayden and Sally MurphySally MurphySally Murphy is an Australian children’s author and poet, who has had thirty books published, including verse novels, picture books, and educational titles.-Biography:...
on the 1994 Broadway Revival Cast Recording - Fred HerschFred HerschFred Hersch is a contemporary American jazz pianist who has become a consistent and highly demanded performer on the international jazz scene....
- Sergio FranchiSergio FranchiSergio Franchi was an Italian tenor.Franchi was born in Cremona, Italy. His father wanted him to become an electrical engineer, so he studied both music and engineering simultaneously. The family moved to South Africa in 1952, where Sergio worked part-time as a draftsman, while continuing to study...
recorded on his 1965 RCA Victor Red Seal album Broadway, I love You. - Mario LanzaMario Lanzaright|thumb|[[MGM]] still, circa 1949Mario Lanza was an American tenor and Hollywood movie star of the late 1940s and the 1950s. The son of Italian emigrants, he began studying to be a professional singer at the age of 16....
- Amel LarrieuxLovely StandardsLovely Standards is the fourth studio album by American R&B-soul singer-songwriter Amel Larrieux, released in the United States on May 22, 2007 by Blisslife Records...
- Jeanette MacDonaldJeanette MacDonaldJeanette MacDonald was an American singer and actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier and Nelson Eddy...
(1946) - Gordon MacRaeGordon MacRaeGordon MacRae was an American actor and singer, best known for his appearances in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, Oklahoma! and Carousel and films with Doris Day like Starlift.-Early life:Born Albert Gordon MacRae in East Orange, New Jersey, MacRae graduated from...
and Shirley JonesShirley JonesShirley Mae Jones is an American singer and actress of stage, film and television. In her six decades of television, she starred as wholesome characters in a number of well-known musical films, such as Oklahoma! , Carousel , and The Music Man...
on the 1956 film soundtrack - Frank SinatraFrank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
- Jo StaffordJo StaffordJo Elizabeth Stafford was an American singer of traditional pop music and jazz standards and occasional actress whose career ran from the late 1930s to the early 1960s...
- Sammy Davis, Jr.Sammy Davis, Jr.Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. was an American entertainer and was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities....
- Renata TebaldiRenata TebaldiRenata Tebaldi was an Italian lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post-war period...
- Bryn TerfelBryn TerfelBryn Terfel Jones CBE is a Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer. Terfel was initially associated with the roles of Mozart, particularly Figaro and Leporello, but has subsequently shifted his attention to heavier roles, especially those by Wagner....
(1996) - Something Wonderful: Bryn Terfel Sings Rodgers and HammersteinRodgers and HammersteinRichard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were a well-known American songwriting duo, usually referred to as Rodgers and Hammerstein. They created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s during what is considered the golden age of the medium... - The VoguesThe VoguesThe Vogues are an American vocal group from Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. The original group consisted of Bill Burkette , Don Miller , Hugh Geyer and Chuck Blasko .-Career:...
- Mara Mellstrom
- The Victorians, 1964
- Sarah BrightmanSarah BrightmanSarah Brightman is an English classical crossover soprano, actress, songwriter and dancer. She is famous for possessing a vocal range of over 3 octaves and singing in the whistle register...
(1987) - Single Carousel - Alfie BoeAlfie BoeAlfred Giovanni Roncalli Boe, known professionally initially as Alf or Alfred Boe and now as Alfie Boe, , is an English tenor.-Background:...