He Just Keeps Rolling Along
Yesterday I mentioned that the song “Old Man River” had been written for Paul Robeson in the original 1927 Broadway production of Show Boat, but a delay in the produced caused a conflict and he had to drop out. He later played the role in the 1928 production in London, and then re-created the performance for the 1936 movie version.
He’s quite great in it. To me, there are two standards for performing this song – Robeson and William Warfield who played the role in MGM’s 1951 color remake. I can’t choose between them, but they each have (for me) the right level of majesty, sadness and power, performed with a vibrant depth.
Some of the words in this early version will likely sound harsh to today’s ears. Oscar Hammerstein changed them for later editions of the show, but in the original song that he wrote along with music Jerome Kern, this is how it went,
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