DRATS Sing & Perform "Funny Girl" Anniversary

[RanRan79]

On this day in 1968 DRATS released Funny Girl. It is not a personal favorite of mine, although I do view it as an artistic achievement for the group, particularly Diana Ross. I rarely play it. The most play it got was when the digital EE was released. I found a new respect for most of the cuts, in particular "The Music That Makes Me Dance", "His Love Makes Me Beautiful", and the title cut. Prior to the release, the two songs I ever made it a point to play were "People" and "If A Girl Isn't Pretty". The former song just has a fantastic vocal performance by Diana. The orchestration is great too. The latter is very Motown meets Vegas, and I dig it. I would say "If A Girl Isn't Pretty" is my very favorite from the album.

What is your favorite from the album?

[marybrewster]

I was thrilled when this was finally released physically. Almost like "Free Blinky", many Supremes fans for years had been begging for this release, one of very few that had never been on CD.

While nothing for me personally stands out, I do appreciate very much the effort by the boys to get this album out.

[reese]

I don't play it often but I do appreciate Diana's vocals on it. How much had she grown by this time. Practically each song is a tour de force but my faves are THE MUSIC THAT MAKES ME DANCE, DON'T RAIN ON MY PARADE, and PEOPLE. It is hard to tell that the album was recorded in al of two days.

Too bad it didn't do well but it was a rather cheeky move, being released at the same time as the film's original soundtrack.

[Ollie9]

I don't play it often but I do appreciate Diana's vocals on it. How much had she grown by this time. Practically each song is a tour de force but my faves are THE MUSIC THAT MAKES ME DANCE, DON'T RAIN ON MY PARADE, and PEOPLE. It is hard to tell that the album was recorded in al of two days.

Too bad it didn't do well but it was a rather cheeky move, being released at the same time as the film's original soundtrack.

I remember reading that Bab’s was understandably not particularly amused.

[reese]

I remember reading that Bab’s was understandably not particularly amused.

In this instance, I would agree with her.

[after you]

I much prefer Diana’s version of this album it has more soul more muphhh a more hurried feel to it and her voice is Devine

[after you]

One of my favourite Ross CDs

[marybrewster]

Wasn't this among the worst charting DRATS releases?

[Ollie9]

In this instance, I would agree with her.

Overall i consider Streisand’s a more nuanced performance. Diana’s is far more pop orientated which was to be expected.
That said, it was still a remarkable achievement considering the short time in which Diana had to record it in. It’s a huge shame the album bombed.

[vgalindo]

I much prefer Diana’s version of this album it has more soul more muphhh a more hurried feel to it and her voice is Devine

I like Barbra Streisand’s version. But I love Diana Ross’ versions much more.

[after you]

Who cares if I did not chart she put out so much music that year , this album is a masterpiece where so glad it got the Royal treatment from Andy George and company and besides all that if you don’t have anything good to say don’t say it all

[reese]

Wasn't this among the worst charting DRATS releases?

It peaked at #150, their lowest-charting album of the 60s.

[Ollie9]

It peaked at #150, their lowest-charting album of the 60s.

It’s interesting that by contrast the Streisand soundtrack of Funny Girl was a roaring success reaching #12 USA and #11 in the UK.
In hindsight it was a mistake having the two recordings compete, as good as they both are. There was only ever going to be one winner in this race and that was Barbra Streisand.

[after you]

What an incredible Ross album one of her best this album is a fan favourite even though it lacked chart Sustainability not many can Deliver such joy and happiness through song

[Spreadinglove21]

Diana delivers some of her best recording studio vocals as a Supreme on the album. The arrangements are well done. It's a good album.

But the project itself was crass and tacky. DRATS was one of the top acts in the country and their label decides to issue an album to cash in on the publicity of Funny Girl the movie? No way should Berry and Motown should have been engaging in such foolishness by 1968. That's the trick of a fly by night, shady label.

My hindsight being 20/20 [[ha ha), a better album would have been Diana Ross and the Supremes on Broadway. Sure, put in a couple of Funny Girl songs, but also other Broadway songs, especially from the 60s. Certainly they were already doing that in their live show, Ed Sullivan performances and the next year with GIT on Broadway TV special, so it would have been a better showcase for an act like Diana Ross and The Supremes. Sure an "On Broadway" album may not have been novel in concept, but there's no shame in it, and it would certainly not be viewed as a crass opportunism either.

[Ollie9]

Diana delivers some of her best recording studio vocals as a Supreme on the album. The arrangements are well done. It's a good album.

But the project itself was crass and tacky. DRATS was one of the top acts in the country and their label decides to issue an album to cash in on the publicity of Funny Girl the movie? No way should Berry and Motown should have been engaging in such foolishness by 1968. That's the trick of a fly by night, shady label.

My hindsight being 20/20 [[ha ha), a better album would have been Diana Ross and the Supremes on Broadway. Sure, put in a couple of Funny Girl songs, but also other Broadway songs, especially from the 60s. Certainly they were already doing that in their live show, Ed Sullivan performances and the next year with GIT on Broadway TV special, so it would have been a better showcase for an act like Diana Ross and The Supremes. Sure an "On Broadway" album may not have been novel in concept, but there's no shame in it, and it would certainly not be viewed as a crass opportunism either.

Agree 100%. It was a cheap and unnecessary ploy that backfired. It must must have caused considerable consternation within the industry at large.
It makes me wonder where such an ill conceived idea originated from. Was it Diana with her Streisand obsession, someone at Motown or BG himself.

[RanRan79]

Wasn't this among the worst charting DRATS releases?

The worst. Truth is that Gordy was doing too much. Looking back, my assumption is that he hoped to present Diana in a very showbizzy light, broadcasting that vocally she really could do it "all". But what made him think that the public wanted to hear this? The Reflections lp was a disappointment. The group's non specialty albums were consistent top 10 since WDOLG. Reflections barely broke the top 20. The last two singles flopped. IMO there wasn't time for this "nonsense". The public wanted Supremes music, not Broadway knock offs. Television was the great opportunity to really present to the world the star that was Diana Ross. Gordy should've had the group in the studio for two days recording hit singles. As I said before, the album is ultimately an artistic achievement, but the public never asked for it and quickly rejected it upon release.

[RanRan79]

My hindsight being 20/20 [[ha ha), a better album would have been Diana Ross and the Supremes on Broadway. Sure, put in a couple of Funny Girl songs, but also other Broadway songs, especially from the 60s. Certainly they were already doing that in their live show, Ed Sullivan performances and the next year with GIT on Broadway TV special, so it would have been a better showcase for an act like Diana Ross and The Supremes. Sure an "On Broadway" album may not have been novel in concept, but there's no shame in it, and it would certainly not be viewed as a crass opportunism either.

This is certainly a better option for an album, if done correctly. But at this point the specialty albums should've been a non starter. The group had very good success with this stuff during the Flo era. I think that should've been the end of it. Music was moving in a new direction. Interesting that after the album flopped, there were no more specialty albums. Motown wised up and kept with the traditional pop/r&b albums, the duet albums and the television soundtracks.

[RanRan79]

Agree 100%. It was a cheap and unnecessary ploy that backfired. It must must have caused considerable consternation within the industry at large.
It makes me wonder where such an ill conceived idea originated from. Was it Diana with her Streisand obsession, someone at Motown or BG himself.

I recall reading that Diana had a supposed Streisand obsession. [[Was it Call Her Miss Ross?) I wonder if there's really any truth to it and how, other than maybe the FG album, it manifested itself in her life? I'll be honest, my gut tells me that this was all Gordy hoping to turn Diana into some kind of Black Streisand. I wouldn't be surprised if Diana just wanted to be, well, Diana.

[marybrewster]

Babs could certainly do it all; television, film, Broadway, recording. It very well be that Berry saw Diana as the next Babs; unfortunately Diana wasn't as dimensional. And like mentioned above, I think Diana just wanted to be Diana.

I wonder how Berry took the dismal charting? Certainly the thought that he just release anything and it would hit went out the window. Paired with it being released on the same days as TOTT didn't help.

[sup_fan]

This is certainly a better option for an album, if done correctly. But at this point the specialty albums should've been a non starter. The group had very good success with this stuff during the Flo era. I think that should've been the end of it. Music was moving in a new direction. Interesting that after the album flopped, there were no more specialty albums. Motown wised up and kept with the traditional pop/r&b albums, the duet albums and the television soundtracks.

regardless of the singer, Funny Girl is just not my favorite score. but that's just a personal preference.

i think the objective here was to do something above and beyond just another collection. they still had the very strong Broadway To Hollywood set they could have done. They'd already spotlighted a few general genres and a few specific composers. But with a score, you're now covering all of the songs within that body of work. They collectively add up to telling the overall story and so it provides a unique opportunity for the artist. Sure the R&H collection had a broad range of songs requiring different approaches and all.

[Spreadinglove21]

This is certainly a better option for an album, if done correctly. But at this point the specialty albums should've been a non starter. The group had very good success with this stuff during the Flo era. I think that should've been the end of it. Music was moving in a new direction. Interesting that after the album flopped, there were no more specialty albums. Motown wised up and kept with the traditional pop/r&b albums, the duet albums and the television soundtracks.

It's interesting how much the culture changed between early 67 when the Rodgers and Hart album was released to 68 at the time Funny girl was released. R and H may have been a bit old hat, but still plausible. But by 68 speciality albums were just no longer in it seems.

[Ollie9]

I recall reading that Diana had a supposed Streisand obsession. [[Was it Call Her Miss Ross?) I wonder if there's really any truth to it and how, other than maybe the FG album, it manifested itself in her life? I'll be honest, my gut tells me that this was all Gordy hoping to turn Diana into some kind of Black Streisand. I wouldn't be surprised if Diana just wanted to be, well, Diana.

There were a few scurrilous rumours floating around that Diana has been caught breaking into Bab’s house trying on her wardrobe. I personally have never believed them.
I’m wondering If BG was actually making a statement with the FG album, thinking less of financial reward and more acceptance for black performers.
Here was a woman, debatably as talented as Streisand, but owing to the colour of her skin far less likely to receive the backing of a film studio for a vehicle such as FG.
Diana herself was documented in the 60’s as asking where are the offers for master of ceremonies etc etc. She was more then capable.
That would also explain why two albums were released at the same time.

[JLoveLamar]

Was it Diana with her Streisand obsession,

Can you elaborate? What do you mean by Streissnd obsession?

[JLoveLamar]

Babs could certainly do it all; television, film, Broadway, recording. It very well be that Berry saw Diana as the next Babs; unfortunately Diana wasn't as dimensional.

What do you mean by this? Diana could also do it all. Her choices as an actress might not have been the best, but she certainly would not have pick of the litter scripts Streisand had. [[Not that Streisand has much of a better filmography, even with twice the amount of films!, but she does claim to have turned down some high profile roles like Klute, Julia, They Shoot Horses and Cabaret. The latter I don't believe!)

[sup_fan]

It's interesting how much the culture changed between early 67 when the Rodgers and Hart album was released to 68 at the time Funny girl was released. R and H may have been a bit old hat, but still plausible. But by 68 speciality albums were just no longer in it seems.

1967 was the summer of love. R&H was released in May so just preceding this. that summer was the explosion [[at least at a national level) of the San Francisco and counter culture movement. you also had the horrible assassinations and the major escalation of the Vietnam conflict.


so a lot had happened across the US over the course of 1 year.

[JLoveLamar]

I recall reading that Diana had a supposed Streisand obsession. [[Was it Call Her Miss Ross?) I wonder if there's really any truth to it and how, other than maybe the FG album, it manifested itself in her life? I'll be honest, my gut tells me that this was all Gordy hoping to turn Diana into some kind of Black Streisand. I wouldn't be surprised if Diana just wanted to be, well, Diana.

Y'all are gonna have to say more about this Babs Obsession

[Philles/Motown Gary]

I've loved the DRATS "Funny Girl" album from the first time I played it, and I love it even more today. Diana's voice matured greatly with this recording, and her phrasing was absolutely top-notch. It's no wonder that composer Jules Styne was so impressed. Thanks to Motown, I was exposed to these songs which would have never happened otherwise. As expected, Motown's musical arrangements and production were perfect for my taste. Diana Ross & The Supremes "Sing And Perform Funny Girl" is among my favorite Supremes albums -- in fact, it's among my favorite Motown albums.

[RanRan79]

It's interesting how much the culture changed between early 67 when the Rodgers and Hart album was released to 68 at the time Funny girl was released. R and H may have been a bit old hat, but still plausible. But by 68 speciality albums were just no longer in it seems.

Yeah there was a lot of happenings during that time that changed the world forever. Music followed the direction. I feel like if just a bit more thought had been put into the Love Child album, it could have been bigger. [[I do love it as it is, btw.) The GIT special wasn't the good move it could've been. Looking back, I guess Gordy hadn't quite learned his lesson from the Funny Girl album, because the second duet special should've basically been a TCB pt 2. Certainly some humorous musical numbers and skits could've been incorporated to showcase Diana's versatility without sacrificing quality, which is what happened with the skits on GIT. Nobody wanted to see these two groups doing this. They wanted the Motown Sound as performed by the two acts who were arguably the label's best ambassadors for the sound. I mean, how the hell do you do a follow up special and not have the two groups do "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me"? Seriously? I'd rather listen to the Funny Girl album than watch or listen to GIT. No lie.

[RanRan79]

There were a few scurrilous rumours floating around that Diana has been caught breaking into Bab’s house trying on her wardrobe. I personally have never believed them.

Then you obviously know nothing about Diana Ross. I mean, this is a woman who broke out the windows to her lover's house while he was in there with his wife, his wife! And you think she's above breaking into Bab's house and parading around in the woman's clothes? You Rossers and your rose colored glasses.

[RanRan79]

Y'all are gonna have to say more about this Babs Obsession

It has been written that Diana Ross was obsessed with Barbra Streisand, that she wanted to be what Barbra was. I don't remember much more than that. It could've been a competitive thing.

[JLoveLamar]

Then you obviously know nothing about Diana Ross. I mean, this is a woman who broke out the windows to her lover's house while he was in there with his wife, his wife! And you think she's above breaking into Bab's house and parading around in the woman's clothes? You Rossers and your rose colored glasses.

Y'all make it so easy to sell tabloids. I see why they're still around today.

[Ollie9]

then you obviously know nothing about diana ross. I mean, this is a woman who broke out the windows to her lover's house while he was in there with his wife, his wife! and you think she's above breaking into bab's house and parading around in the woman's clothes? You rossers and your rose colored glasses.

lol.

[RanRan79]

Y'all make it so easy to sell tabloids. I see why they're still around today.

For the first time in 50 years NBC will start it's fall schedule off without any half hour comedies. If your lack of a sense of humor is any indication of the overall lack in the general public, I fear the sitcom, much like the daytime soap opera, is dying a slow death.

[JLoveLamar]

For the first time in 50 years NBC will start it's fall schedule off without any half hour comedies. If your lack of a sense of humor is any indication of the overall lack in the general public, I fear the sitcom, much like the daytime soap opera, is dying a slow death.

I lack a sense of humor, or you suck at telling good jokes? If you were around when NBC premiered it's first show, you should be a lot better than that!

[Jimi LaLumia]

I play the expanded edition of Funny Girl to death...make no mistake, regardless of what the cover says.. it's not a Supremes album, it's a Ross album..and, performance wise, a brilliant one.

[sup_fan]

Yeah there was a lot of happenings during that time that changed the world forever. Music followed the direction. I feel like if just a bit more thought had been put into the Love Child album, it could have been bigger. [[I do love it as it is, btw.) The GIT special wasn't the good move it could've been. Looking back, I guess Gordy hadn't quite learned his lesson from the Funny Girl album, because the second duet special should've basically been a TCB pt 2. Certainly some humorous musical numbers and skits could've been incorporated to showcase Diana's versatility without sacrificing quality, which is what happened with the skits on GIT. Nobody wanted to see these two groups doing this. They wanted the Motown Sound as performed by the two acts who were arguably the label's best ambassadors for the sound. I mean, how the hell do you do a follow up special and not have the two groups do "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me"? Seriously? I'd rather listen to the Funny Girl album than watch or listen to GIT. No lie.

but don't forget that the real gem of GIT was the Leading Lady medley. the ability to show DR off as being a potential film or Broadway star was probably the whole goal of the special. they then just needed another 50 mins of content to wrap around that segment.

But i do agree - you could have taken the LL medley and incorporated it into another concept.

[RanRan79]

I lack a sense of humor, or you suck at telling good jokes? If you were around when NBC premiered it's first show, you should be a lot better than that!

No, it's definitely you lacking a sense of humor. Only the "humor challenged" failed to realize that Ollie was clearly joking about Diana breaking into Streisand's home and wearing her clothes. Only the "humor challenged" would think I was being serious by suggesting Ollie's joke was in fact some kind of truth. Many of us joke around here about the Supremes in the most outrageous situations from time to time and get a chuckle out of it. You taking it so seriously is out of the ordinary. To prevent anymore issues we'll ignore each other going forward, that way you're not offended by my horrible jokes and I'm not offended by your lack of humor. Conversation terminated.

[sup_fan]

I play the expanded edition of Funny Girl to death...make no mistake, regardless of what the cover says.. it's not a Supremes album, it's a Ross album..and, performance wise, a brilliant one.

very true. this was absolutely a solo platform for DR. had they been approaching it as a group effort, they would have identified songs or material that would have allowed some spotlight onto M and C. Even the EE version with just the DRATS vocals is still DR with vocal backup provided by M and C

if you look at the show FG itself, it's unusual is that nearly EVERYTHING is about Fanny. there's very limited song content for anyone else. the show was a Barbra platform just as much as the album was a DR one.

[RanRan79]

I play the expanded edition of Funny Girl to death...make no mistake, regardless of what the cover says.. it's not a Supremes album, it's a Ross album..and, performance wise, a brilliant one.

Whatever it was, the public hated it's guts, despite Diana's fantastic vocal performances.

[RanRan79]

but don't forget that the real gem of GIT was the Leading Lady medley. the ability to show DR off as being a potential film or Broadway star was probably the whole goal of the special. they then just needed another 50 mins of content to wrap around that segment.

But i do agree - you could have taken the LL medley and incorporated it into another concept.

Leading Lady was really the only thing worth my time. She killed that. And yes, it could have been placed on the second special without all the other crap.

[JLoveLamar]

No, it's definitely you lacking a sense of humor. Only the "humor challenged" failed to realize that Ollie was clearly joking about Diana breaking into Streisand's home and wearing her clothes. Only the "humor challenged" would think I was being serious by suggesting Ollie's joke was in fact some kind of truth. Many of us joke around here about the Supremes in the most outrageous situations from time to time and get a chuckle out of it. You taking it so seriously is out of the ordinary. To prevent anymore issues we'll ignore each other going forward, that way you're not offended by my horrible jokes and I'm not offended by your lack of humor. Conversation terminated.

I guess the geriatric would find something like that funny. It was not. Good day, and good life. On ignore you go.

[JLoveLamar]

I remember reading that Bab’s was understandably not particularly amused.

I think I'd probably be pissed, myself. I didn't even know realize both albums came out in the same year!