bsgs98 | Conrad Thibault - It's Only a Paper Moon (1933) @bsgs98 | Uploaded August 2019 | Updated October 2024, 16 hours ago.
It's Only A Paper Moon
Words by Billy Rose, Music by E. Y. Harburg and Harold Arlen
Conrad Thibault, Baritone
Orchestra directed by Ray Sinatra (2nd cousin of Frank Sinatra)
Victor 24424
Recorded October 5, 1933
"It's Only a Paper Moon" is a popular song published in 1933 with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by Yip Harburg and Billy Rose. It was originally titled "If You Believed in Me," but later went by the more popular title "It's Only a Paper Moon." The song was written for an unsuccessful 1932 Broadway play called "The Great Magoo" that was set in Coney Island. Claire Carleton first performed this song on December 2, 1932. It was used in the movie "Take a Chance" in 1933 when it was sung by June Knight and Charles "Buddy" Rogers.
Conrad Thibault (November 13, 1903 – August 1, 1987) was an American baritone vocalist who frequently appeared on radio, recordings, and concert tours. Thibault was born and raised in Northampton, Massachusetts, where he was involved with the church choir. Local resident Calvin Coolidge took notice of him and encouraged him to apply for a scholarship at the Curtis Institute of Music, from which he later graduated. He also graduated from the Juilliard School and was a student of Emilio de Gogorza, who became his mentor. Thibault's professional career began in the late 1920s with the Philadelphia Grand Opera Company. By the early 1930s, he was a regular performer on radio, appearing on such shows as His Master's Voice of the Air, Showboat, The RCA Victor Show, Music in the Air, and as featured soloist with the Ferde Grofé Orchestra. In 1934-1935, he had the singing role of Jack Hamilton on The Gibson Family on NBC radio. In 1946-1947, he was a singer on The American Melody Hour radio program on the Blue Network. He also was heard regularly on The Chicago Theater of the Air, The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra broadcasts, The Joe Cook Show, and The Packard Hour. He made several 78 rpm recordings for the RCA Victor Red Seal label. Decca Records released several 78 rpm sides by Conrad Thibault in the 1940s. In 1949 he became emcee for the ABC Television show The Jacques Fray Music Room, holding that position from August through October. In the 1950s he sang for the inauguration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Thibault's repertoire was varied, including baroque arias, spirituals, Wagnerian opera, art songs, Broadway tunes, and patriotic songs. He was known to be personable in concerts, and was expressive with his hands. In his later years, Thibault taught voice in New York at the Manhattan School of Music and in Florida at Palm Beach Atlantic College. In 1987, Thibault died at St. John's Hospital in Far Rockaway, Queens, New York at the age of 83. He was survived by a son.
The lunar eclipse photos were from the evening of September 27, 2015 using a Panasonic DMC-ZS10 point-and-shoot camera. I took about 200 photos but used only 25 for the slide show. I used a tripod and had to adjust the camera constantly to keep the moon framed. I had to adjust the exposure in the manual mode since the automatic exposure did not work well. During the dark side of the eclipse the exposure time was several seconds which is why a tripod was necessary. The light from the moon at maximum eclipse was so dim at times that my viewfinder could not locate it, so there were minutes that I couldn’t take photos. During the brightest exposures of the moon I had to shorten the exposure time to 1/1000 second so that I could reveal the details on the bright moon surface. I don’t have manual focus on this camera so I had to rely on the auto-focus feature which didn’t always work, especially on the dark photos.
It's Only A Paper Moon
Words by Billy Rose, Music by E. Y. Harburg and Harold Arlen
Conrad Thibault, Baritone
Orchestra directed by Ray Sinatra (2nd cousin of Frank Sinatra)
Victor 24424
Recorded October 5, 1933
"It's Only a Paper Moon" is a popular song published in 1933 with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by Yip Harburg and Billy Rose. It was originally titled "If You Believed in Me," but later went by the more popular title "It's Only a Paper Moon." The song was written for an unsuccessful 1932 Broadway play called "The Great Magoo" that was set in Coney Island. Claire Carleton first performed this song on December 2, 1932. It was used in the movie "Take a Chance" in 1933 when it was sung by June Knight and Charles "Buddy" Rogers.
Conrad Thibault (November 13, 1903 – August 1, 1987) was an American baritone vocalist who frequently appeared on radio, recordings, and concert tours. Thibault was born and raised in Northampton, Massachusetts, where he was involved with the church choir. Local resident Calvin Coolidge took notice of him and encouraged him to apply for a scholarship at the Curtis Institute of Music, from which he later graduated. He also graduated from the Juilliard School and was a student of Emilio de Gogorza, who became his mentor. Thibault's professional career began in the late 1920s with the Philadelphia Grand Opera Company. By the early 1930s, he was a regular performer on radio, appearing on such shows as His Master's Voice of the Air, Showboat, The RCA Victor Show, Music in the Air, and as featured soloist with the Ferde Grofé Orchestra. In 1934-1935, he had the singing role of Jack Hamilton on The Gibson Family on NBC radio. In 1946-1947, he was a singer on The American Melody Hour radio program on the Blue Network. He also was heard regularly on The Chicago Theater of the Air, The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra broadcasts, The Joe Cook Show, and The Packard Hour. He made several 78 rpm recordings for the RCA Victor Red Seal label. Decca Records released several 78 rpm sides by Conrad Thibault in the 1940s. In 1949 he became emcee for the ABC Television show The Jacques Fray Music Room, holding that position from August through October. In the 1950s he sang for the inauguration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Thibault's repertoire was varied, including baroque arias, spirituals, Wagnerian opera, art songs, Broadway tunes, and patriotic songs. He was known to be personable in concerts, and was expressive with his hands. In his later years, Thibault taught voice in New York at the Manhattan School of Music and in Florida at Palm Beach Atlantic College. In 1987, Thibault died at St. John's Hospital in Far Rockaway, Queens, New York at the age of 83. He was survived by a son.
The lunar eclipse photos were from the evening of September 27, 2015 using a Panasonic DMC-ZS10 point-and-shoot camera. I took about 200 photos but used only 25 for the slide show. I used a tripod and had to adjust the camera constantly to keep the moon framed. I had to adjust the exposure in the manual mode since the automatic exposure did not work well. During the dark side of the eclipse the exposure time was several seconds which is why a tripod was necessary. The light from the moon at maximum eclipse was so dim at times that my viewfinder could not locate it, so there were minutes that I couldn’t take photos. During the brightest exposures of the moon I had to shorten the exposure time to 1/1000 second so that I could reveal the details on the bright moon surface. I don’t have manual focus on this camera so I had to rely on the auto-focus feature which didn’t always work, especially on the dark photos.
