Shelly Burch sings "Bill"

[@peteschaffer2217]

Breath-takingly beautiful!

[@lokotasioux]

I love this lady's voice!.....and acting ability.

[@MrJamesesmith]

thanks....just checked out the site. been looking for that version show boat since i saw it on PBS....had the whole thing on tape, but my kids recorded over it.....been looking ever since. thanks again....jim smtih

[@ThienPhuViktorLassley]

awesome voice! you go, mrs. buchanan! LOL

[@robinshallrestoreamends]

Perfect rendition! Has the heart and soul the song needs with a rounded, lifted, floated tone with perfect vibrato. Best version in my opinion and tops Helen Morgan. Shelley is so beautiful as well.

[@berjaboy]

@phanofmusic626 Gee, I don't know. I never bought the DVD from that site. I was just looking because at one time the entire Showboat video was up on KZbin, and of course they pulled it. So I just looked to see if it was available. But again I never bought anything from that site so I'm not sure about its reputation. Sorry.

[@schwanny]

@phanofmusic626 I tried to wrote back to you, but It says we have to be friends.

[@sopranosd]

That's odd, considering the show is called "Showboat".

[@berjaboy]

@MrJamesesmith Also, make sure when searching the site you type in show boat and NOT showboat or show-boat, or you will not get any results...

[@phanofmusic626]

@berjaboy Just wondering, but does the DVD you're talking about have the whole thing without any gaps? Mine gaps right after the second "We'll Be Back with Showboat" and seems to skip the first scene of the second half of the show right after intermission. I checked out the site you mentioned, and it looks pretty legit. I feel a tad ripped off from the one I bought off this other site. :(

[@sunnydayzie1202]

I'm sorry, but nobody has done this better except perhaps Helen Morgan. Ava Gardener's version was pathetic compared to this, and when I saw the show on Broadway in the 1990's it was disappointing after having seen this version. Shelly owns this for sure!

[@rugby8-Philadelphia]

This is good -- but Lonette McKee has way better vocal production and is a much better actress.

[@MWmMorgan]

Sunny is right. I can't listen to Helen singing this without crying.

[@jocelynhamilton7624]

I’m going to second a recommendation for Lonette McKee, whose performance in the production from the mid ‘90s sounds stunning. I have not seen a video, and so cannot attest to the true dramatic quality of her performance, but the sorrow expressed in her phrasing and in the smoky quality of her voice is extremely expressive. I have seen her performance of the song from a television special on the production from the early to mid ‘80s, and it did not have the same depth in my opinion.

[@berjaboy]

@MrJamesesmith Yes, check out the website; The Film Collectors Society of America. Contact info is; By phone: [phone]. Email is available at the site. I never used this site myself, I found it because like you, I was looking into where I could buy this performance myself. Good Luck.

[@sopranosd]

Actually, I'm wrong.

[@dianaaljadeff2983]

An excellent performance better than Ava Gardner in the 1951 and as good as Helen Morgan in the 1936 movie and Constance Towers in the 1966 Lincoln Center revival.

[@keithsmith4780]

Annette Warren dubbed Ava Gardner's songs in the movie. Ms. Burch delivering the song while seated on the piano was a nice tribute to Helen Morgan, who often sang that way, although director James Whale didn't allow her to do so in the 1936 movie.

[@dallasjones8185]

Not even close to Morgan or Gardner.

[@mariomazzi7894]

@@dallasjones8185 The versions that you saw were recorded whereas this is a live version. You really can't compare because chances are we would hear some faults in Morgan's version.

[@dallasjones8185]

She's very pretty, but her voice is tinny, not well suited to this song.

[@lala-gj4oo]

not as good as helen morgan. helen morgan owns this song.

[@neilfunk1857]

This is a vocal mess. Wobbly and one dimensional dynamics. She's a good amateur church-choir singer.

[@sunnydayzie1202]

She's an ill alcoholic. She looks sick. Think Judy Garland at the end of her life still performing. . Its not supposed to be top of Julie's form.