SONG OF THE DAY

“Murder, He Says” by Betty Hutton (1943).

WHERE I HEARD IT

There’s a chain of events that took me to this song, and it goes like this: (1) In 2003, I bought a DVD of Spike Jonz’s music video work, which included his video work for Bjork’s song “Oh So Quiet”. (2) I did research on the song back then and found out it was actually a cover of a pretty vintage song by a woman named Betty Hutton. Didn’t know her but the name was saved by one teeny little brain cell. Fast forward to (2) 2007 when I’m at a concert at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. It’s Kristin Chenoweth: Live At The MET for one night only and only three other performers have ever done this, says the program. Betty Hutton being one of them. Name rings a bell, and if she’s special enough to do a rare solo show at the MET, then she’s worthy of at least two brain cells, right? (3) My good friend Mikey brings the Bjork song back into the front of my mind and I share with him that it sounds so vintage because it actually is! I start youtube-ing Betty Hutton to find her version, actually titled “Blow A Fuse” originally, and it’s much more visceral and theatrical than Bjork’s version. I’m intrigued and start looking at other videos on youtube of her. I find this song. A long journey but I found it and it’s great to know it!

INTERESTING FACTS (a la wikipedia)

First, let me say that this website is an incredible compendium of everything Betty; the pictures especially tell the incredible story of her life’s journey as a performer. Here’s what I found that intrigued me from wikipedia:

– Hutton was born as Elizabeth June Thornburg, a daughter of railroad foreman, in Battle Creek, MI. Her father abandoned the family for another woman and they did not hear from or see him again until they received a telegram, in 1939, informing them of his death from suicide. Along with her older sister Marion, Betty was raised by her mother, who took the surname Hutton and was later billed as the actress Sissy Jones.

– The three started singing in the family’s speakeasy when Betty was 3 years old. Related troubles with the police kept the family on the move, and eventually they moved to Detroit. Hutton sang in several local bands as a teenager, and at one point visited New York City hoping to perform on Broadway, where she was rejected.

– A few years later, she was scouted by orchestra leader Vincent Lopez, who gave Hutton her entry into entertainment. In 1939, she appeared in several musical shorts for Warner Bros., and appeared in a supporting role on Broadway in Panama Hattie (starring Ethel Merman) and Two for the Show, both produced by Buddy DeSylva.

– When DeSylva became a producer at Paramount Pictures, Hutton was signed to a featured role in The Fleet’s In (1942), second lead in a Mary Martin film musical, Star Spangled Rhythm (1943), and co-star of Bob Hope in Let’s Face It (1943), and star of The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (1944), Incendiary Blonde (1945), The Perils of Pauline (1947) and over a dozen other films.

– She was billed over Fred Astaire in the 1950 musical Let’s Dance.

– Hutton’s greatest screen triumph came in Annie Get Your Gun (1950) for MGM, which hired her to replace an exhausted Judy Garland in the role of Annie Oakley. Hutton, however, like Garland, was earning a reputation for being extremely difficult.

– In 1944, she signed with Capitol Records, one of the earliest artists to do so, but became unhappy with its management and later signed with RCA Victor.

– Among her many films was an unbilled cameo in Sailor Beware (1952) with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, in which she portrayed Dean’s girlfriend, Hetty Button.

– Her time as a Hollywood star came to an end due to contract disagreements with Paramount following the Oscar-winning The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) and Somebody Loves Me (1952), a biopic of singer Blossom Seeley. The New York Times indicated that her film career ended because of her insistence that her husband at the time, Charles O’Curran, direct her next film; when the studio declined, Hutton broke her contract.

– Hutton’s last completed film was a small one, 1957’s Spring Reunion. She gave an understated, sensitive performance in the drama, but box office receipts seemed to show that the public didn’t accept a subdued Hutton.

– An original musical TV spectacular written especially for Hutton, Satin and Spurs (1954), was an enormous flop with the public and critics, despite being one of the first television programs televised nationally by NBC in compatible color.

– After the 1967 death of her mother in a house fire and the collapse of her last marriage, Hutton’s depression and pill addictions escalated. She divorced her fourth husband, jazz trumpeter Pete Candoli, and declared bankruptcy. Hutton had a nervous breakdown and later attempted suicide after losing her singing voice in 1970. After regaining control of her life through rehab, and the mentorship of a Roman Catholic priest, Father Peter Maguire, Hutton converted to Roman Catholicism and took a job as a cook at a rectory in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. She made national headlines when it was revealed she was working in a rectory.

– In 1974, a well-publicized “Love-In for Betty Hutton” was held at New York City’s Riverboat Restaurant, emceed by comedian Joey Adams, with several old Hollywood pals on hand. The event raised $10,000 (USD) for Hutton and gave her spirits a big boost. Steady work, unfortunately, still eluded her.

– A ninth grade drop-out, Hutton went back to school and earned a Master’s Degree in psychology from Salve Regina University.

– For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Betty Hutton has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 6253 Hollywood Boulevard.

VIDEO OF THE DAY

And here’s a bonus! Her beautiful rendition of Irving Berlin’s “Blue Skies” (audio only):