It's 1981. ALW is at the piano playing Memory. Who did it better, Betty Buckley on Merv Griffin or Elaine Paige at Royal Albert Hall?

[bardtoob]

It's 1981. ALW is at the piano playing Memory. Who did it better, Betty Buckley on Merv Griffin or Elaine Paige at Royal Albert Hall?

Betty Buckley

Betty Buckley: "Memory" (Merv Griffin Show)

Here is a clip from the Merv Griffin show of Betty Buckley singing "Memory" (from Cats) with, of all things, Andrew Lloyd Webber on the piano. According to I...

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Elaine Paige

Elaine Paige & Andrew Lloyd-Webber - Memory -1981 Royal Variety

Elaine Paige's 50th anniversary album 'The Ultimate Collection' out 12 May 2014: http://smarturl.it/elainepaigenewalbumElaine Paige, then the star of Cats, p...

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Why? Figure skating fans arguing about something artistic from 40 years ago, they live for that $#!^

 

[Vagabond]

Elaine Paige, hands down!

Paige, whom I saw in the original West End production, is Grizabella.
Buckley is some Broadway belter.

Or, to put it in 1981 figure-skating terms: Paige is Denise Biellmann; Buckley is Elaine Zayak.

 

[bardtoob]

Paige, whom I saw in the original West End production, is Grizabella.

The original Grizabella is Judy Dench, but she had to withdraw due to injury

In 1981, she was cast in the original London production of Cats as Grizabella and Jennyanydots, before dropping out due to injury.

Judi Dench

Dame Judith Olivia Dench, DBE, is an award-winning English actress, known for her roles in Macbeth, Shakespeare in Love, and the James Bond franchise. She portrays Old Deuteronomy in the 2019 Cats movie. London - 04/1981 - Jennyanydots / Grizabella Cats Movie 2019 - Old Deuteronomy In Britain...

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Buckley is some Broadway belter.

You would have gotten more PCS if you called Betty a Texas Blowhard

Elaine is too much of a pwitty pwitty princess for me. She is perfect on everything except the difficult elements.

In good fun, I am going with Betty . . .

Betty is the Tara ("touch me", oy, the scream) while Elaine is the Michelle

 

[bardtoob]

Talents were tested

Buckley’s talents were tested 13 years later when she was preparing for the role of Grizabella, an old, shunned feline in “Cats.” Her rendition of “Memory” wasn’t landing.

“It was not stopping the show. And everyone knew it was written to stop the show, that Elaine Paige had stopped the show with it in London. I was singing with everything I’d learned from years of lessons, but it wasn’t happening,” she said.

Everyone had a suggestion, but nothing seemed to work. So she turned to Paul Gavert, her voice teacher. He threw a pillow down and told her to get on the floor and hit it.

“When I did that, I started crying, and I heard a voice in my head saying ‘I’m here, too.’ It was that voice inside, the kid that does the work. That was the only one I had not consulted in the whole process. And what that inner being told me was to become aware of the homeless.”

Buckley started watching and following homeless people around the city. When she tried “Memory” again, scant days before opening night, “I was no longer begging, I was sharing with empathy and compassion,” she said.

“And when I finished, there was this breathless silence, and then the house just went nuts.”

'The Old Friends' actress Betty Buckley recalls career - Betty Buckley

In Houston for Alley Theatre’s production of a Horton Foote play, Betty Buckley reveals that intuition played a big part in her career By Everett Evans, Houston Chronicle September 1, […]

www.bettybuckley.com

 

[Vagabond]

The original Grizabella is Judy Dench, but she had to withdraw due to injury

You really ha' thought she'd ought to be dead.

 

[bardtoob]

In 1981 Streisand also had her studio version, which Merv mentions.

Barbra Streisand - Memory (Official Video)

Official video for "Memory" by Barbra Streisand Listen to Barbra Streisand: https://BarbraStreisand.lnk.to/listenYDSubscribe to the official Barbra Streisand...

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[VGThuy]

I never really liked Elaine Paige's voice. Her singing is nice but always has this whiney quality to it that makes me not think of her as the ideal version for most roles...except Grizabella. It's an easy character to play with one hard song to sing at the very end that requires all the self-pitying histrionics one can muster, so Paige is perfect for her. Buckley is a great singer, but her voice is a bit too metallic for my liking. So Paige for Grizabella.

Buckley is some Broadway belter.

I know you meant that to be an insult, but Broadway belters sure are incredible.

ETA: Here's Buckley in full make-up and character at the Tony Awards. It's an abridged version and this particular video cuts off the first part of the ensemble performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mlllRdIfqw

AND here's Paige in full make-up and character for the filmed video performance: https://youtu.be/4-L6rEm0rnY

Keep in mind that in the two above videos, Paige had professional camera-work, lighting, and editing in a performance that was specifically filmed for video with pre-recorded vocals and post-production while Buckley's was a taped live performance meant for the stage and came after a Sunday matinee.

 

[bardtoob]

It's an easy character to play with one hard song to sing at the very end that requires all the self-pitying histrionics one can muster, so Paige is perfect for her.

+5 GOEs

 

[bardtoob]

AND here's Paige in full make-up and character for the filmed video performance: https://youtu.be/4-L6rEm0rnY

In terms of filmed versions, this is the gold standard.

 

[taf2002]

I quickly got tired of Memory long ago, mainly because it was sung so badly by so many singers. And of course because every time you turned around someone was singing it.

 

[allezfred]

“Memory” is the only good song in “Cats”…..

 

[bardtoob]

Memory is basically the "musical" interlude of the Cats stage dance "spectacle".

 

[bardtoob]

@catswintergardentheatre on Instagram: "Original London Grizabella backstage @catswintergardentheatre with OBC Grizabella @blbuckley 😻 #Repost @blbuckley #catsbroadway #originalbroadwaycast #wintergardentheatre #bettybuckley #grizabella #broadway #

45 Likes, 2 Comments - @catswintergardentheatre on Instagram: "Original London Grizabella backstage @catswintergardentheatre with OBC Grizabella @blbuckley 😻 #Repost @blbuckley #catsbroadway #originalbroadwaycast #wintergardentheatre #bettybuckley #grizabella #broadway #obc #elainepaige...

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[bardtoob]

Oh my. Andrew has spoken

American Songbook Association on Instagram: "Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber pays tribute to Betty Buckley for the Americans can Songbook Association and Cabaret Scenes 4th Annual Gala. Beautiful. #tonyawards #playbill #broadwayworld #nytimes #forbes #sunse

865 likes, 33 comments - american_songbook_association on October 10, 2023: "Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber pays tribute to Betty Buckley for the Americans can Songbook Association ..."

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[emason]

I quickly got tired of Memory long ago, mainly because it was sung so badly by so many singers. And of course because every time you turned around someone was singing it.

It’s a tossup for me which song I loathe more: Memory or Send in the Clowns. The thought of either one makes me cringe.