Music from "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" - 1940s Quiz

Answer: Berkeley Square

Berkeley Square is a park with gardens in the Mayfair area of London. As referred to in the song, there is indeed a Ritz Hotel nearby. Many other recordings of "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" have followed including Nat King Cole's in 1961 and Frank Sinatra's in 1962.

In "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," the song is sung by fictional singer Shy Baldwin (voiced by Darius de Haas) at an Army base where he is doing his first show with Midge (Mrs. Maisel).

Answer: Irving Berlin

"Annie Get Your Gun" opened on Broadway in 1946 based on a fictionalized account of the life of sharpshooter Annie Oakley in "Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show" and her romance with fellow sharpshooter Frank Butler. The show was a big hit, running for over 1,000 performances, becoming Berlin's biggest box office success, and leading to a movie version in 1950.

In "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," fictional singer Shy Baldwin does a wonderful rendition of "They Say It's Wonderful" opening his gig with Midge (Mrs. Maisel) in Las Vegas, as sung by Darius de Haas.

Answer: Brigadoon

Lyricist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe had their first major success with "Brigadoon" which ran for over 500 performances on Broadway and over 600 in London. Frank Sinatra had the highest charting single in the US in 1947. Numerous recording, including several by Nat King Cole, have followed.

In "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," the song is featured in a Miami performance by the fictional singer Shy Baldwin as sung by Darius de Haas.

Answer: The Mills Brothers

The Mills Brothers were a vocal quartet and became the first African-American group to have their own national network radio show starting in 1930. They made over 2,000 recordings selling over five million records. In 1998 they were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.

Answer: I'm Beginning to See the Light

Duke Ellington was born in 1899 and began composing in 1914. He played the piano and was the leader of his jazz orchestra starting in 1923. He began gaining national attention through his appearances at the Cotton Club in Harlem and became one of the most prominent figures in the jazz/swing era. Numerous artists subsequently recorded "I'm Beginning to See the Light" including Peggy Lee, Connie Francis, Frank Sinatra and Bobby Darin.

Answer: Judy Garland and Fred Astaire

"Easter Parade" was released in 1948. Garland and Astaire had previously appeared together in the third "Ziegfeld Follies" movie in 1945 as had Gene Kelly. Kelly was scheduled for the lead in "Easter Parade" but broke his ankle and Astaire was coaxed out of "retirement" to fill the roll.

Answer: coal

The song was written by Merle Travis about the abusive practices of coal mining companies. He recorded and released the song in 1947 scoring a gold record. Tennessee Ernie Ford recorded it in 1955 and it hit number one on the Billboard Country Music chart and subsequently number one on the Pop chart.

"I owe my soul to the company store," referred to the scrip system used by coal companies to pay workers with vouchers rather than cash. The vouchers could only be used at the company-owned store. Workers could borrow from the store but then had to repay the debt with further service, a practice known as debt bondage.

Answer: Frank Sinatra

Tommy Dorsey hired the Pied Pipers in 1939 and Frank Sinatra in 1940. Together, they had over ten hit records from 1940-1942. "Let's Get Away from It All" was subsequently recorded by several artists including Patti Page, Della Reese, Jo Stafford and Rosemary Clooney.

Answer: Richard

"Open the Door, Richard!" became famous as a comedy routine by Dusty Fletcher. Jack McVea, a saxophone player, was responsible for composing the music with others who are credited on the original recording by Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five.

In "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," Shy Baldwin's band does a wonderful rendition in a hotel kitchen using pots and pans as percussion accompaniment.

Answer: Dinah Shore

Dinah Shore failed to secure positions with several big bands so instead went independent and became the top charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She achieved further success in the 1950s in television, primarily as a variety show host.

Multiple artists recorded "Buttons and Bows" in 1948 and four versions reached the top ten on the Billboard pop chart while Gene Autry's recording reached number 17. The song was rated as the 87th best song on the American Film Institute's survey "100 Years...100 Song" survey of music in cinema.