"Can't We Be Friends?": Song history, Commentary, Discography, Performances on Video

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Can't We Be Friends?
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Written: 1929	Music by: Kay Swift	Words by: Paul James (aka James Paul Warburg)	Written for: The Little Show (revue, 1929)
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On the Main Stage at Cafe Songbook

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video before starting another.)

Jim Cullum Jazz Band with guests
singer Catherine Russell and pianist Dick Hyman

performing

"Can't We Be Friends?"

at Pearl Stable, San Antonio, TX, May, 2010, for the Public Radio program "Riverwalk Jazz"

JCJB members: Jim Cullum, cornet; Ron Hockett, reeds; Mike Pittsley, trombone; Jim Turner, piano; Howard Elkins, guitar; Ric Ramirez, bass; Mike Waskiewicz, drums.

More Performances of "Can't We Be Friends?" in the Cafe Songbook
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"Can't We Be Friends?"

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About The Little Show

Other songs written for The Little Show currently included in the Cafe Songbook Catalog of The Great American Songbook:

1. I Guess I'll Have To Change My Plan

2, Moanin' Low

More details about The Little Show at Wikipedia

Howard Dietz. Dancing in the Dark: Words by Howard Dietz. New York: Quadrangle,
The New York Times Book Co., 1974

The Little Show was a revue which, according to Howard Dietz, should not be compared to the large and lavish revues of Ziegfeld and Earl Carroll but rather to something like the topical and witty Garrick Gaities. Comparisons have also been made to the previous decade's intimate Princess Theater shows of Jerome Kern, P. G. Wodehouse and Guy Bolton and the British Charlot Revues. The show was produced by Dwight Deere Wiman and William A. Brady in association with Tom Weatherly, the latter two of whom recruited Dietz in a speakeasy on West 49th Street to do the lyrics and some sketches. George S. Kaufman also wrote sketches and the producers suggested to Dietz that he work with composer Arthur Schwartz for the music. All the songs in the show, with the exception of "Can't We Be Friends? (music by Kay Swift, words by Paul James), "Moanin' Low" (music by Ralph Rainger, words by Howard Dietz) and "A Little Hut in Hoboken" (words and music by Herman Hupfeld) had music by Schwartz and lyrics by Dietz. The Little Show was the first of eleven collaborations for Broadway shows by that songwriting team.

The more well known members of the cast included Fred Allen, Libby Holman and Clifton Webb the last of whom introduced "I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan." The show opened on April, 30, 1929 and ran for 321 performances at The Music Box theater.

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Credits

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Credits for Videomakers of custom videos used on this page:

Jim Cullum Jazz Band and guests—singer Catherine Russell and pianist Dick Hyman: Riverwalk Jazz Radio

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The Cafe Songbook
Record/Video Cabinet:
Selected Recordings of

"Can't We Be Friends?"

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include a music-video
of this page's featured song.
The year given is for when the studio
track was originally laid down
or when the live performance was given.)

Performer/Recording Index
(*indicates accompanying music-video)

Performer 1 (year)
Performer 2 (year)