Liza with a Z
Encyclopedia
Liza with a ‘Z’. A Concert for Television is a 1972 concert film
, made for television and starring Liza Minnelli
. The film was produced by Fred Ebb
and Bob Fosse
. As well as producing, Fosse also directed and choreographed the concert, and Ebb wrote and arranged the music with his song-writing partner John Kander
. All four had previously worked on the successful film adaptation of Cabaret
earlier in the same year. According to Minnelli, it was "the first filmed concert on television". Singer
sponsored the production, although the producers did their best to keep any of the sponsors from seeing the rehearsals for fear of them pulling out due to Minnelli's short skirts.
Filmed on May 31 at the Lyceum Theatre in New York
, after only eight weeks of rehearsals, the concert was shot with eight 16mm film cameras at the insistence of Fosse, in contrast to other television specials of the time which were all shot on videotape.
Throughout the concert Minnelli sings and dances to a variety of popular songs and standards, music from Cabaret, and songs specifically written for her by Kander and Ebb
— most notably the title song. Minnelli is accompanied on stage in many of the songs by dancers and backing singers, and — in three numbers — two guitarists, a keyboardist and a drummer. The costumes were designed by Halston
, who was also a friend of Minnelli. Marvin Hamlisch
was selected by Kander and Ebb to be the music coordinator.
The film was first broadcast on NBC
on September 10, 1972. Kay Gardella of the New York Daily News
reviewed the film as being "sensational with an 'S'" and it went on to win four Emmys and a Peabody Award. However, after the initial broadcast, NBC re-ran the concert only twice more and did not screen it again after 1973. The film was not seen for over thirty years and was thought lost until 1999, when Michael Arick discovered that Minnelli owned the copyright and the two set about restoring the negatives.
and Neil Meron
, producers and friends of hers (who had produced the film of Chicago
— another Fosse and Kander & Ebb collaboration), that she owned the rights to the film and that she had been restoring it with Arick. They introduced her to Robert Greenblatt
, the President of Entertainment for Showtime, who then agreed to finance the restoration, broadcast the film, and release the DVD.
The re-mastered film was accepted into both the Toronto International Film Festival
and the Hamptons Film Festival for 2005 and premiered on September 9, 2005 at the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres
in Toronto
. The television premiere was on Showtime on April 1, 2006.
As well as a restored picture, the DVD also offers the viewer the option of a 5.1 surround sound
soundtrack. This was made possible due to a new mix being created from reels of sound recordings Minnelli had personally archived after the original production in 1972. The DVD also includes a commentary track recorded by Minnelli, a performance of "Mein Herr" (cut from the original film), an interview with Kander recorded by Minnelli, a recording of Minnelli and the restoration producers discussing the film at the Toronto Film Festival, and a separate performance by Minnelli at the GLAAD Awards in 2005.
s: Outstanding Achievement in Choreography (Bob Fosse, choreographer), Outstanding Achievement in Music, Lyrics and Special Material (Fred Ebb and John Kander, composers), Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy, Variety or Music (Bob Fosse) and Outstanding Single Program - Variety and Popular Music (Bob Fosse and Fred Ebb, producers, and Liza Minnelli, star). It was nominated for a further three Emmy's in film editing, music composition and writing. The film was also won a 1972 Peabody Award
and a Directors Guild of America
Award. Fosse's Emmy win meant that he had won an Oscar, Tony
, and Emmy all within the same year. The DVD release was nominated for a 2006 Satellite Award for Best DVD Release of a TV Show.
of the soundtrack was released in 1972 and followed in the success of the film by becoming a best seller and being certified gold. In total it spent twenty-three weeks in the Top 40 charts, and has never been out of print. A CD
of the soundtrack was simultaneously released when the film was released on DVD in 2006. The reissue was presented in stereo. Some editions of the DVD came with the soundtrack CD as a bonus disc. The soundtrack is now also available as a download from iTunes
.
Concert film
A concert movie, or concert film, is a type of documentary film, the subject of which is an extended live performance or concert by a musician ....
, made for television and starring Liza Minnelli
Liza Minnelli
Liza May Minnelli is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli....
. The film was produced by Fred Ebb
Fred Ebb
Fred Ebb was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera....
and Bob Fosse
Bob Fosse
Robert Louis “Bob” Fosse was an American actor, dancer, musical theater choreographer, director, screenwriter, film editor and film director. He won an unprecedented eight Tony Awards for choreography, as well as one for direction...
. As well as producing, Fosse also directed and choreographed the concert, and Ebb wrote and arranged the music with his song-writing partner John Kander
John Kander
John Harold Kander is the American composer of a number of musicals as part of the songwriting team of Kander and Ebb.-Life and career:Kander was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of Bernice and Harold S. Kander...
. All four had previously worked on the successful film adaptation of Cabaret
Cabaret (film)
Cabaret is a 1972 musical film directed by Bob Fosse and starring Liza Minnelli, Michael York and Joel Grey. The film is set in Berlin during the Weimar Republic in 1931, under the ominous presence of the growing National Socialist Party....
earlier in the same year. According to Minnelli, it was "the first filmed concert on television". Singer
Singer Corporation
Singer Corporation is a manufacturer of sewing machines, first established as I.M. Singer & Co. in 1851 by Isaac Merritt Singer with New York lawyer Edward Clark. Best known for its sewing machines, it was renamed Singer Manufacturing Company in 1865, then The Singer Company in 1963. It is...
sponsored the production, although the producers did their best to keep any of the sponsors from seeing the rehearsals for fear of them pulling out due to Minnelli's short skirts.
Filmed on May 31 at the Lyceum Theatre in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, after only eight weeks of rehearsals, the concert was shot with eight 16mm film cameras at the insistence of Fosse, in contrast to other television specials of the time which were all shot on videotape.
Throughout the concert Minnelli sings and dances to a variety of popular songs and standards, music from Cabaret, and songs specifically written for her by Kander and Ebb
Kander and Ebb
Kander and Ebb were a highly successful songwriting team consisting of composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb . Known primarily for their stage musicals, Kander and Ebb also scored several movies including their most famous song, the theme song from Martin Scorsese's New York, New York...
— most notably the title song. Minnelli is accompanied on stage in many of the songs by dancers and backing singers, and — in three numbers — two guitarists, a keyboardist and a drummer. The costumes were designed by Halston
Halston
Roy Halston Frowick, also known as Halston was a clothing designer of the 1970s. His long dresses or copies of his style were popular fashion wear in mid-1970s discotheques.-Early life and career:...
, who was also a friend of Minnelli. Marvin Hamlisch
Marvin Hamlisch
Marvin Frederick Hamlisch is an American composer. He is one of only thirteen people to have been awarded Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, and a Tony . He is also one of only two people to EGOT and also win a Pulitzer Prize...
was selected by Kander and Ebb to be the music coordinator.
The film was first broadcast on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
on September 10, 1972. Kay Gardella of the New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
reviewed the film as being "sensational with an 'S'" and it went on to win four Emmys and a Peabody Award. However, after the initial broadcast, NBC re-ran the concert only twice more and did not screen it again after 1973. The film was not seen for over thirty years and was thought lost until 1999, when Michael Arick discovered that Minnelli owned the copyright and the two set about restoring the negatives.
Musical numbers
- "Yes"
- "God Bless the ChildGod Bless the Child (Billie Holiday song)"God Bless the Child" is a song written by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog, Jr. in 1939, first recorded on May 9, 1941 under the Okeh label.Holiday's version of the song was honored with the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in...
" - "Say Liza (Liza with a 'Z')"
- "It Was a Good Time"
- "I GotchaI Gotcha (Joe Tex song)"I Gotcha" is a song by Joe Tex. Tex originally intended for the song to be recorded by King Floyd, but Floyd never recorded a version of it. Instead, Tex went ahead and recorded it himself in the late 1960s, but ended up not releasing it...
" - "Son of a Preacher ManSon of a Preacher Man"Son of a Preacher Man" is a song recorded by Dusty Springfield in September 1968 and featured on the album, Dusty in Memphis. It was written by John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins. The rights to cover "Son of a Preacher Man" were originally offered to Aretha Franklin, who turned it down...
" - "Ring Them Bells"
- "Bye Bye BlackbirdBye Bye Blackbird"Bye, Bye, Blackbird" is a song published in 1926 by the American composer Ray Henderson and lyricist Mort Dixon. It is considered a popular standard and was first recorded by Gene Austin in 1926.- Song information :...
" - "You've Let Yourself Go"
- "My MammyMy Mammy"My Mammy" is a U.S. popular song with music by Walter Donaldson and lyrics by Joe Young and Sam M. Lewis.Though associated with Al Jolson, who performed the song very successfully, "My Mammy" was performed first by William Frawley as a vaudeville-style act during 1918. Jolson heard the song and...
" - CabaretCabaret (musical)Cabaret is a musical based on a book written by Christopher Isherwood, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The 1966 Broadway production became a hit and spawned a 1972 film as well as numerous subsequent productions....
Medley
Re-master and DVD release
After the initial broadcasts in 1972 and 73, the negatives were stored in the vaults of NBC, only occasionally being brought out for Minnelli's own personal use. In the 1980s, the original negatives were lost and feared destroyed. Michael Arick and Minnelli eventually tracked down the original negatives in 1999, in Los Angeles and New York. In 2005, Minnelli revealed to Craig ZadanCraig Zadan
Craig Zadan is an American executive producer, director, and writer. Zadan is openly gay and is one half of the successful production team Storyline Entertainment with partner Neil Meron since their meeting many years ago in the New York theatrical community.-Early life:Zadan was born in Miami,...
and Neil Meron
Neil Meron
Neil Meron is an American film producer known for producing the 2002 film Chicago and the 2007 film Hairspray. With partner Craig Zadan he runs the production company "Storyline Entertainment".-Life and career:...
, producers and friends of hers (who had produced the film of Chicago
Chicago (2002 film)
Chicago is a 2002 musical film adapted from the satirical stage musical of the same name, exploring the themes of celebrity, scandal, and corruption in Jazz-age Chicago....
— another Fosse and Kander & Ebb collaboration), that she owned the rights to the film and that she had been restoring it with Arick. They introduced her to Robert Greenblatt
Robert Greenblatt
Robert Greenblatt is an American television executive and currently the chairman of NBC Entertainment.-Career:Greenblatt began his television career at the Fox Broadcasting Company where he ran prime-time programming and developed such shows as the original Beverly Hills, 90210 and Melrose Place,...
, the President of Entertainment for Showtime, who then agreed to finance the restoration, broadcast the film, and release the DVD.
The re-mastered film was accepted into both the Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
and the Hamptons Film Festival for 2005 and premiered on September 9, 2005 at the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres
Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres
The Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres are a pair of stacked theatres in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Winter Garden theatre is seven stories above the Elgin Theatre....
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. The television premiere was on Showtime on April 1, 2006.
As well as a restored picture, the DVD also offers the viewer the option of a 5.1 surround sound
Surround sound
Surround sound encompasses a range of techniques such as for enriching the sound reproduction quality of an audio source with audio channels reproduced via additional, discrete speakers. Surround sound is characterized by a listener location or sweet spot where the audio effects work best, and...
soundtrack. This was made possible due to a new mix being created from reels of sound recordings Minnelli had personally archived after the original production in 1972. The DVD also includes a commentary track recorded by Minnelli, a performance of "Mein Herr" (cut from the original film), an interview with Kander recorded by Minnelli, a recording of Minnelli and the restoration producers discussing the film at the Toronto Film Festival, and a separate performance by Minnelli at the GLAAD Awards in 2005.
Awards
The production won four Emmy AwardEmmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s: Outstanding Achievement in Choreography (Bob Fosse, choreographer), Outstanding Achievement in Music, Lyrics and Special Material (Fred Ebb and John Kander, composers), Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy, Variety or Music (Bob Fosse) and Outstanding Single Program - Variety and Popular Music (Bob Fosse and Fred Ebb, producers, and Liza Minnelli, star). It was nominated for a further three Emmy's in film editing, music composition and writing. The film was also won a 1972 Peabody Award
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
and a Directors Guild of America
Directors Guild of America
Directors Guild of America is an entertainment labor union which represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry...
Award. Fosse's Emmy win meant that he had won an Oscar, Tony
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
, and Emmy all within the same year. The DVD release was nominated for a 2006 Satellite Award for Best DVD Release of a TV Show.
Soundtrack
The original film soundtrack was recorded to 1/4" tape, and mixed down into a mono track for the 16mm film. An LPLP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
of the soundtrack was released in 1972 and followed in the success of the film by becoming a best seller and being certified gold. In total it spent twenty-three weeks in the Top 40 charts, and has never been out of print. A CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
of the soundtrack was simultaneously released when the film was released on DVD in 2006. The reissue was presented in stereo. Some editions of the DVD came with the soundtrack CD as a bonus disc. The soundtrack is now also available as a download from iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
.
Track listing
The following is the track listing from the 2006 reissue. There are two differences between the 1972 original and the reissue — the first is that "Son of a Preacher Man" and "Ring Them Bells" were placed in the correct performance order for the reissue. The original release had the two songs in reverse order. The second difference is that the original had a twelfth track, entitled "Bows". For the reissue, this track was mixed into the end of the previous track.- "Yes" (Kander and EbbKander and EbbKander and Ebb were a highly successful songwriting team consisting of composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb . Known primarily for their stage musicals, Kander and Ebb also scored several movies including their most famous song, the theme song from Martin Scorsese's New York, New York...
) — 3:15 - "God Bless the ChildGod Bless the Child (Billie Holiday song)"God Bless the Child" is a song written by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog, Jr. in 1939, first recorded on May 9, 1941 under the Okeh label.Holiday's version of the song was honored with the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in...
" (HerzogArthur Herzog Jr.Arthur Herzog, Jr. was a songwriter most known for work with Billie Holiday. He co-wrote several jazz songs she popularized, including "Don't Explain" and "God Bless the Child".-External links:*[ All Music page]...
, HolidayBillie HolidayBillie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
) — 3:07 - "Say Liza (Liza with a 'Z')" (Kander and Ebb) — 3:06
- "It Was a Good Time" (CurbMike CurbMichael Curb is an American musician, record company executive, NASCAR and IRL race car owner. A Republican, he served as the 42nd Lieutenant Governor of California from 1979-1983 under Democratic Governor Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown, Jr...
, DavidMack DavidMack David was an American lyricist and songwriter, best known for his work in film and television, with a career spanning from the early 1940s through the early 1970s. Mack was credited with writing lyrics and/or music for over one thousand songs...
, JarreMaurice JarreMaurice-Alexis Jarre was a French composer and conductor.Although he composed several concert works, he is best known for his film scores, and is particularly known for his collaborations with film director David Lean. Jarre composed the scores to all of Lean's films since Lawrence of Arabia...
) — 4:58 - "I GotchaI Gotcha (Joe Tex song)"I Gotcha" is a song by Joe Tex. Tex originally intended for the song to be recorded by King Floyd, but Floyd never recorded a version of it. Instead, Tex went ahead and recorded it himself in the late 1960s, but ended up not releasing it...
" (TexJoe TexJoseph Arrington, Jr. , better known as "Joe Tex", was an American Southern soul singer-songwriter, most popular during the 1960s and 1970s...
) — 3:44 - "Son of a Preacher ManSon of a Preacher Man"Son of a Preacher Man" is a song recorded by Dusty Springfield in September 1968 and featured on the album, Dusty in Memphis. It was written by John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins. The rights to cover "Son of a Preacher Man" were originally offered to Aretha Franklin, who turned it down...
" (HurleyJohn HurleyCornelius John Hurley was an Australian politician and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for 109 days in 1946-7. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party.-Early life:...
, Wilkins) — 3:25 - "Ring Them Bells" (Kander and Ebb) — 5:41
- "Bye Bye BlackbirdBye Bye Blackbird"Bye, Bye, Blackbird" is a song published in 1926 by the American composer Ray Henderson and lyricist Mort Dixon. It is considered a popular standard and was first recorded by Gene Austin in 1926.- Song information :...
" (DixonMort Dixon-Biography:Born in New York, Dixon began writing songs in the early 1920s, and was active into the 1930s. He achieved success with his first published effort, 1923's "That Old Gang of Mine". His chief composer collaborators were Ray Henderson, Harry Warren, Harry M...
, HendersonRay HendersonRay Henderson , was an American songwriter.Born Raymond Brost in Buffalo, New York, Henderson moved to New York City and became a popular composer in Tin Pan Alley...
) — 3:57 - "You've Let Yourself Go" (AznavourCharles AznavourCharles Aznavour, OC is an Armenian-French singer, songwriter, actor, public activist and diplomat. Besides being one of France's most popular and enduring singers, he is also one of the best-known singers in the world...
) — 3:56 - "My MammyMy Mammy"My Mammy" is a U.S. popular song with music by Walter Donaldson and lyrics by Joe Young and Sam M. Lewis.Though associated with Al Jolson, who performed the song very successfully, "My Mammy" was performed first by William Frawley as a vaudeville-style act during 1918. Jolson heard the song and...
" (DonaldsonWalter DonaldsonWalter Donaldson was a prolific United States popular songwriter, composing many hit songs of the 1910s and 1920s.-History:...
, LewisSam M. LewisSam M. Lewis was a Jewish-American singer and lyricist, born in New York City, New York as Samuel Levine-Biography:...
, YoungJoe YoungJoe Young was a lyricist. He was born in New York. Young was most active from 1911 through the late-1930s, beginning his career working as a singer and songplugger for various music publishers. During World War I, he entertained the U.S...
) — 3:03 - "Cabaret Medley" (Kander and Ebb) — 10:21 (9:52, 1972 version)
- "Bows" (GershwinGeorge GershwinGeorge Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
, GershwinIra GershwinIra Gershwin was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century....
, KahnGus KahnGustav Gerson Kahn was a musician, songwriter and lyricist.-Biography:Kahn was born in Koblenz, Germany in 1886. The family emigrated from there to the United States and moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1890...
) — 0:30 (1972 version only)
Charts
| Chart 1972 | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
19 |