Garfield Swift - The Most Beautiful Girl in the World

From the Rodgers and Hart 1935 musical "Jumbo," lyric baritone Garfield Swift (1908-1982) sings "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World." Swift was a native of New York City, and performed on radio and television and in concerts and opera in the United States and Europe from the 1930s to the mid-1970's. Swift was a disciple of the famous vocal coach Estelle Liebling in Manhattan and toured in the mid 1940's with the young soprano Beverly Sills and other Liebling students known simply as "The Liebling Singers." He sang in seven languages. Swift was a founding member of the Baltimore Opera Association in the late 1940s and early 1950s and performed major roles in La Traviata, Faust, and Pagliacci with the Baltimore Civic Opera. He performed on network radio during the 1930s and at the National Symphony Orchestra's popular Watergate barge concerts in Washington, D.C. during the next two decades. When he was not performing, Swift, using the Liebling vocal system, coached students at his home studio and at several universities and colleges in the Washington, D.C. area. Swift lived in The Netherlands for many years and appeared frequently on Radio Hilversum with the orchestra led by his good friend, conductor Benedict Silberman and in concerts with French radio and television and the BBC. He also performed with Dutch opera companies. During retirement, Swift and his wife, Elizabeth, operated a country inn, "The Greystone" at Blue Ridge Summit, PA. In his later years, he brought in musicians from the mid-Atlantic states to give concerts at Hagerstown, MD and other nearby communities. He was modest about his artistic accomplishments and kept his recordings on old reel-to-reel tapes and vinyl records in a simple cardboard box in a closet of his bedroom. Most of the work -- gathered and in the process of being posted by family members -- was recorded at least 45-50 years ago. He made scores of appearances for which no recordings are available. His earliest known effort -- the aria "Di Provenza il mar" from Verdi's La Traviata -- was made in the mid 1930s. The work compiled by his family following his death was found to be mostly uncatalogued as to recording dates. places, or venue. The technical quality of some of the recordings leaves a bit to be desired by modern standards due to limitations of recording equipment at the time. Yet, they still make for most enjoyable listening. Swift died at The Greystone on September 18, 1982, after battling many years with cancer

[@gatsbyorchestra2688]

Beautiful. So grateful his lovely singing and this lush orchestration is preserved. Sounds like the original orchestration? And in 3/4, not the usual common meter. This one is definitely now added to our repertoire.

[@railroaded1000]

The lyrics are so inventive it's a miracle. But almost nobody seems to sing it according to a search of KZbin. The version by Sinatra is fabelhaft, short, to the point, a real killer.

[@jacobsimon]

Vic Damone sang it often