"If My Friends Could See Me Now", with music by Cy Coleman

Cy Coleman

Cy Coleman was an American composer, songwriter, and jazz pianist.-Life and career:He was born Seymour Kaufman on June 14, 1929, in New York City to Eastern European Jewish parents, and was raised in the Bronx. His mother, Ida was an apartment landlady and his father was a brickmason...

 and lyrics by Dorothy Fields

Dorothy Fields

Dorothy Fields was an American librettist and lyricist.She wrote over 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films...

, is a number from the 1966 Broadway musical Sweet Charity

Sweet Charity

Sweet Charity is a musical with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields and book by Neil Simon. It was directed and choreographed for Broadway by Bob Fosse starring his wife and muse Gwen Verdon. It is based on Federico Fellini's screenplay for Nights of Cabiria...

. In the musical, the character of Charity, played in original New York cast by Gwen Verdon

Gwen Verdon

Gwenyth Evelyn “Gwen” Verdon was an actress and dancer who won four Tony awards for her musical comedy performances. With flaming red hair and an endearing quaver in her voice, Verdon was a critically acclaimed dancer on Broadway in the 1950s and 1960s...

, reflects on her charmed life as she spends time with Vittorio. The 1969 film adaptation retained the song where it was performed by Shirley MacLaine

Shirley MacLaine

Shirley MacLaine is an American film and theater actress, singer, dancer, activist and author, well-known for her beliefs in new age spirituality and reincarnation. She has written a large number of autobiographical works, many dealing with her spiritual beliefs as well as her Hollywood career...

. It was originally supposed to be used as the theme song for the hit TV series The Nanny

The Nanny

Nanny may refer to:* Nanny, a child's caregiver* A grandmother * A Cajun word for godmother * A female goat* Nanny , a 1981–83 British drama series starring Wendy Craig* Nanny of the Maroons...

 starring Fran Drescher

Fran Drescher

Francine Joy "Fran" Drescher is an American film and television actress, comedian, screenwriter, director, producer, author, singer, talk show host, political lobbyist and health activist...

.

Linda Clifford version

In 1978, Linda Clifford

Linda Clifford

Linda Clifford is an American R&B, disco and house music singer and actress, who scored hits from the 1970s to the 1980s, most notably "If My Friends Could See Me Now", "Bridge over Troubled Water", "Runaway Love" and "Red Light"....

released an album entitled, If My Friends Could See Me Now. The title track, a disco version of the Broadway standard, along with the tracks "Gypsy Lady", "Runaway Love" hit number one of the disco chart for five weeks. "Runaway Love" was a major hit on the soul singles chart peaking at number three and stalled at number seventy-six on the pop singles chart. Clifford's version of the standard also made the pop and soul singles chart.