As Time Goes By

Steyn On-line ^ | February 13, 2022 | Mark Steyn

[Twotone]

Welcome to another presentation from our Serenade Radio series of Steyn's Song of the Week. On the eve of Valentine's Day we tell the story of one of the classic love songs, one that over the decades has itself become one of those fundamental things that apply as time goes by.

To listen to the show, simply click above.

[Twotone]

A very enjoyable audio presentation by Steyn.

[clintonh8r]

I sure miss himin the radio occasionally. Does he still appear on FNC? He should have his own program there.

[shadowlands1960]

On that you can rely...

[Twotone]

He now has his own show on the GB News Network. I think you can sign up for his daily email, even if you don’t join his steyn-on-line club. And he sends out links to all of the stuff he’s doing (which is a LOT!). Frequently goes on Bo Snerdley’s new show. Too much for me to keep up with!

[ShadowAce]

[vaskypilot]

I watch his show on GB news on YouTube.

[clintonh8r]

Thanks!

[kosciusko51]

The wife and I enjoyed that show. RIP Geoffrey Palmer.

[Steven Scharf]

First error of the show. As Time Goes By Was no written for Everybody’s Welcome. Herman Hupfeld had written and sold it to a friend, Beatrice Lillie*, but then had to buy it back from her after he played for the producers of Everybody’s welcome so it could be in the show.

Several years ago I did some research on Herman Hupfeld and “As Time Goes By”. I ended up never doing anything with it, but have had the info on my computer for over 30 years. This is the story of the origins of As Time Goes By directly from Herman Hupfeld:

In 1943 Herman recounted for The New Yorker magazine the early days of this now timeless melody “As Time Goes By”: He took it first to Beatrice Lillie, who told him it wasn’t just her sort of thing but that she liked it so well she’d advance him hundred dollars on it. “Then the most farcical circumstances happened,” he recalled. “I happened to play it for Harold Arlen, and he nearly fainted. He said, ‘Its’s exactly what we need for Frances Williams — we’ve got to, got to, got have it!’ So I rushed back to Bea, and she was sweet as cream. She said, But darling of course take it back.’ So I returned the hundred and the song went into ‘Everbody’s Welcome’ and stopped the show every night. They hollered and screamed. They just simply hollered and screamed, and it stopped the show.

Talk of the Town, The New Yorker (Apr. 24, 1943), at 9, 11.

* He later wrote “Lets Put Out The Light And Go To Sleep” may have been Rudy Vallee sign-off signature on his radio show. Vallee recounts the story that the title originally was suppose to end with the word “bed”. But moments before air time the network censor forced him to change this sexually connotative word to “sleep” to imply that they may be going to bed, but nothing was going to happen between the covers.