BILL MESNIK PRESENTS: THE SUNNY SIDE OF MY STREET - SONGS TO MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD - EPISODE #48: I WENT TO A MARVELOUS PARTY by Noel Coward (Columbia, 1956)

Noel Coward (1899-1973), that epitome of British sophistication, was an invention. He was entirely self educated, having left school at 9 years old to pursue a career on the stage. After a modest success as an actor, he switched to playwriting in 1924 with The Vortex - (in order to write a good part for himself) - and set the theatrical world on fire. The combination of his jaw-dropping verbal dexterity, bravado verging on ballsiness, and tender insight into the frailty of humanity bordered on the supernatural. In the 1920s he became the brightest of “The Bright Young Things,” the Beatles of his era. His life story (too enormous to recount here) encompasses a litany of glittering highs, gut wrenching lows, dramatic intrigues, and an unparalleled output of creative work that would crash a computer. Yet, through it all the manufactured elan, the stylish ease with which he presented himself - as he encapsulated it his: “talent to amuse” never failed him. This parody of Riviera society, recorded towards the end of his career, was written in 1938 for the Broadway revue Set To Music, and originally performed by Beatrice Lillie, a frequent collaborator. What’s amazing to me as I drink it in, is that despite being so specific in subject matter and execution, Coward’s universal appeal is undeniable.