DESCRIPTION:
Columbia 1237D - Ruth Etting - The Varsity Drag 1927 From the Musical Good News!) Recorded by Ruth Etting on December 15, 1927 in New York City for Columbia Records. Song written by B.G. DeSylva & Lew Brown, Ray Henderson.
Ruth Etting (November 23, 1896 -- September 24, 1978) was an American singing star and actress of the 1920s and 1930s, who had over 60 hit recordings and worked in stage, radio, and film. She is known as "America's sweetheart of song".
Good News is a musical with a book by Laurence Schwab and B.G. DeSylva, lyrics by DeSylva and Lew Brown, and music by Ray Henderson. The story is set in the Roaring Twenties at Tait College, where football star Tom Marlowe falls in love with studious Connie Lane, who is tutoring him so he can pass astronomy and be eligible to play in the big game.
The show opened on Broadway in 1927, the same year as Show Boat, but though its plot was decidedly old-fashioned in comparison to Show Boat's daring storyline, it was also a hit. Good News spawned two films, an unsuccessful 1974 Broadway revival, and a 1993 updated production by Music Theatre of Wichita, which made numerous changes to the score, adding such numbers as "Button Up Your Overcoat", "You're the Cream in My Coffee" and "Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries". It has since been licensed for use by amateur groups. It proved to be DeSylva, Brown, and Henderson's biggest hit out of a string of topical musicals.
MGM released two film versions, the first in 1930 with Bessie Love and Cliff Edwards and the second in 1947 with June Allyson and Peter Lawford. The Railroad Hour broadcast a 45-minute condensed version as its first episode on October 4, 1948.