Mad about the Boy
| "Mad About the Boy" | |
|---|---|
| Introduced in the 1932 revue Words and Music | |
|
Song by Joyce Barbour Steffi Duna Norah Howard Doris Hare |
|
| Published | 1932 |
| Writer(s) | Noël Coward |
| Language | English |
| "Mad About the Boy" | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Single by Dinah Washington | |
| from the album Dinah Washington's Mad about the Boy | |
| Released | 1992 |
| Format | CD single, 7" single |
| Recorded | 1952 |
| Genre | Jazz, easy listening, traditional pop |
| Length | 2:47 |
| Label | Mercury |
| Writer(s) | Noël Coward |
| Producer(s) | Quincy Jones |
"Mad About the Boy" is a popular song with words and music by actor and playwright Sir Noël Coward. It was introduced in the 1932 revue Words and Music by Joyce Barbour, Steffi Duna, Norah Howard and Doris Hare. The song deals with the theme of unrequited love for a film star. It was written to be sung by female characters, although Coward also wrote a version, which was never performed, that contained references to the then risqué topic of homosexual love. The song gained new popularity in 1992 when Dinah Washington's rendition was used in the Levi's television advertisement "Swimmer", directed by Tarsem Singh.
The song expresses the adulation of a matinee idol by a number of women as they queue outside a cinema and is sung by several female characters in turn. The adoring fans sing of their love for their hero:
Coward later wrote additional verses for the New York production, to be sung by a male character. The lyrics make explicit reference to homosexual feelings with lines such as:
The lyrics also make camp humorous reference to the supposed effeminacy of the character, who is likened to the contemporary film actress Myrna Loy, and to his repeated unsuccessful attempts at conversion therapy with his psychiatrist. The verses were never performed, as any reference to homosexuality fell foul of the censorship laws of the time, and the new version was banned.
"The boy" was rumoured to be Douglas Fairbanks Jr, who, according to an American newspaper years later, "Noel loved...[but] Doug definitely didn't love him back, although the two men became good friends." Actor Tyrone Power has also been the rumored subject of the song.
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