Hold That Thought
Hold That Thought
Washington University in St. Louis
Who Should Sing "Ol' Man River"?
10 minutes Posted Nov 12, 2014 at 10:48 pm.
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Show notes
What can the history of one Broadway song reveal about American race relations? In Who Should Sing Ol' Man River?: The Lives of an American Song, now available through Amazon and Oxford University Press, musicologist Todd Decker explores how one show tune has been shaped and reshaped over time. Decker joined Hold That Thought to share how "Ol' Man River" transformed from a Broadway ballad into a dance ditty, an activist anthem, and more.