Free to Be… You and Me
Encyclopedia
Free to Be… You and Me, a project of the Ms. Foundation for Women
, is a record album and illustrated book first released in November 1972 featuring songs and stories sung or told by celebrities of the day (credited as "Marlo Thomas
and Friends") including Alan Alda, Rosey Grier, Cicely Tyson, Carol Channing, Michael Jackson, and Diana Ross. An ABC Afterschool Special
using poetry, songs, and sketches, followed two years later in March 1974. The basic concept was to encourage post-1960s gender neutrality, saluting values such as individuality, tolerance, and comfort with one's identity. A major thematic message is that anyone—whether a boy or a girl—can achieve anything.
and Bruce Hart
, with stories and poems directed by Alan Alda
. Proceeds went to the Ms. Foundation for Women
. The album has been published by Arista Records
since 1983 (it was first published by Bell Records) and is still in print today. As of 2006 it sold more than 500,000 copies (a well-received sequel, Free to Be... A Family, was produced in 1988).
Well-known songs include "It's All Right to Cry," sung by football hero Rosey Grier
; the title track by the New Seekers
; "Helping," a Shel Silverstein poem performed by Tom Smothers
; "Sisters and Brothers" by the Voices of East Harlem; and "When We Grow Up" performed by Diana Ross
on the album and by Roberta Flack
and a teenage Michael Jackson
on the special.
Other sketches, some of them animated in the television special, include "Atalanta," co-narrated by Thomas and Alda, a retelling of the ancient Greek legend
of Atalanta
; "Boy Meets Girl" with Thomas and Mel Brooks
providing the voices for puppets, designed, performed and manipulated by Wayland Flowers
, resembling human babies, who use cultural gender stereotypes to try to discover which is a boy and which a girl; "William's Doll", based on Charlotte Zolotow's story about a boy who wants a doll, to the dismay of his father; and "Dudley Pippin" with Robert Morse
and Billy De Wolfe
, based on stories by Phil Ressner.
The children pictured on the original LP jacket were schoolmates of Abigail, Robin, and David Pogrebin, children of Letty Cottin Pogrebin
, then editor of Ms.. Most of the children attended Corlears School.
Films, Inc., and cosponsored by the Ms. Foundation, first aired March 11, 1974, on ABC
, earning an 18.6 rating
/27 share, going on to win an Emmy. 16 mm prints of the special were also struck, and some schoolchildren from the 1970s and 1980s remember seeing the television special, or the filmstrip based on the special, in their school during that period.
The special appeared occasionally on HBO in the 1980s. It was also seen on the cable channel TV Land, yet has not been aired on any network since.
A Region 1 DVD of the television special was released in November 2001, and in 2010, a newly-remastered version was released with a missing scene featuring Dustin Hoffman, and other extras.
Also in 2010, the producers of RiffTrax
, formerly Mystery Science Theater 3000
, released William's Doll as their "riff" on the Phoenix Films, Inc. educational short of the same name, which was itself based upon a Charlotte Zolotow
book that inspired the "William's Doll" track on Free to Be… You and Me.
Ms. Foundation for Women
The Ms. Foundation for Women, a non-profit organization, was founded in 1973 by Gloria Steinem, Patricia Carbine, Letty Cottin Pogrebin and Marlo Thomas. Established at the height of the feminist movement, the Ms...
, is a record album and illustrated book first released in November 1972 featuring songs and stories sung or told by celebrities of the day (credited as "Marlo Thomas
Marlo Thomas
Margaret Julia “Marlo” Thomas is an American actress, producer, and social activist known for her starring role on the TV series That Girl . She also serves as National Outreach Director for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital...
and Friends") including Alan Alda, Rosey Grier, Cicely Tyson, Carol Channing, Michael Jackson, and Diana Ross. An ABC Afterschool Special
ABC Afterschool Special
The ABC Afterschool Special is an American television anthology series that aired on ABC from 1972 to 1996, usually in the late afternoon on week days. Most of the episodes were dramatic presentations of situations, often controversial, of interest to children and teenagers. Several episodes were...
using poetry, songs, and sketches, followed two years later in March 1974. The basic concept was to encourage post-1960s gender neutrality, saluting values such as individuality, tolerance, and comfort with one's identity. A major thematic message is that anyone—whether a boy or a girl—can achieve anything.
Overview
The original idea to create the album was that of Thomas, who wanted to teach her then-young niece Dionne about life, in particular that it is acceptable to refute or reject the blatant gender stereotypes in children's books of that time. The album was produced by Carole Hart, with music produced by Stephen J. LawrenceStephen J. Lawrence
Stephen J. Lawrence is an American composer, living and working in New York City.-Overview :Career overview to date : composed over 250 songs and scores for Sesame Street, resulting in three shared Emmy Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition; composed the title song...
and Bruce Hart
Bruce Hart (songwriter)
Bruce Hart was an American songwriter and screenwriter perhaps best known for composing the lyrics to the theme song to Sesame Street.-Biography:...
, with stories and poems directed by Alan Alda
Alan Alda
Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo , better known as Alan Alda, is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and author. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for his role as Hawkeye Pierce in the TV series M*A*S*H...
. Proceeds went to the Ms. Foundation for Women
Ms. Foundation for Women
The Ms. Foundation for Women, a non-profit organization, was founded in 1973 by Gloria Steinem, Patricia Carbine, Letty Cottin Pogrebin and Marlo Thomas. Established at the height of the feminist movement, the Ms...
. The album has been published by Arista Records
Arista Records
Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
since 1983 (it was first published by Bell Records) and is still in print today. As of 2006 it sold more than 500,000 copies (a well-received sequel, Free to Be... A Family, was produced in 1988).
Well-known songs include "It's All Right to Cry," sung by football hero Rosey Grier
Rosey Grier
Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier is an American actor, singer, Christian minister, and former professional American football player. He was a notable college football player for Pennsylvania State University who earned a retrospective place in the National Collegiate Athletic Association 100th anniversary...
; the title track by the New Seekers
The New Seekers
The New Seekers are a British-based pop group, formed in 1969 by Keith Potger after the break-up of his group, The Seekers. The idea was that the New Seekers would appeal to the same market as the original Seekers, but their music had rock as well as folk influences...
; "Helping," a Shel Silverstein poem performed by Tom Smothers
Tom Smothers
Tom Smothers is an American comedian, composer and musician, best known as half of the musical comedy team The Smothers Brothers, alongside his younger brother Dick.-Early life:...
; "Sisters and Brothers" by the Voices of East Harlem; and "When We Grow Up" performed by Diana Ross
Diana Ross
Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
on the album and by Roberta Flack
Roberta Flack
Roberta Flack is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who is notable for jazz, soul, R&B, and folk music...
and a teenage Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
on the special.
Other sketches, some of them animated in the television special, include "Atalanta," co-narrated by Thomas and Alda, a retelling of the ancient Greek legend
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
of Atalanta
Atalanta
Atalanta is a character in Greek mythology.-Legend:Atalanta was the daughter of Iasus , a Boeotian or an Arcadian princess . She is often described as a goddess. Apollodorus is the only one who gives an account of Atalanta’s birth and upbringing...
; "Boy Meets Girl" with Thomas and Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer. He is best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. He began his career as a stand-up comic and as a writer for the early TV variety show Your Show of Shows...
providing the voices for puppets, designed, performed and manipulated by Wayland Flowers
Wayland Flowers
Wayland P. Flowers, Jr. was an American puppeteer. He was born and raised in Dawson, Georgia. Flowers was best known for the puppet act he created with his puppet Madame...
, resembling human babies, who use cultural gender stereotypes to try to discover which is a boy and which a girl; "William's Doll", based on Charlotte Zolotow's story about a boy who wants a doll, to the dismay of his father; and "Dudley Pippin" with Robert Morse
Robert Morse
Robert Morse is an American actor and singer. Morse is best known for his appearances in musicals and plays on Broadway. He has also acted in movies and television shows. His best known role is that of J. Pierrepont Finch in the 1961 Broadway musical, and 1967 film How to Succeed in Business...
and Billy De Wolfe
Billy De Wolfe
Billy De Wolfe was an American character actor. He was active in films from the mid-1940s until his death in 1974. He was a good friend of Doris Day from the time of their meeting during the filming of Tea for Two until his death...
, based on stories by Phil Ressner.
The children pictured on the original LP jacket were schoolmates of Abigail, Robin, and David Pogrebin, children of Letty Cottin Pogrebin
Letty Cottin Pogrebin
Letty Cottin Pogrebin is an American writer and journalist. She graduated from Brandeis University and became a writer and feminist advocate in the early 1970s. In 1971, she was one of the founding editors of Ms...
, then editor of Ms.. Most of the children attended Corlears School.
Television special
The television special, produced by Free to Be Productions in association with Teru Murakami-Fred WolfFred Wolf
Fred Wolf is an American animator. His works include the 1967 short subject The Box, for which he won an Academy Award; television specials such as The Point! and Free to Be... You and Me, and television series such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, James Bond Jr., and Sarah Ferguson's Budgie the...
Films, Inc., and cosponsored by the Ms. Foundation, first aired March 11, 1974, on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, earning an 18.6 rating
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
/27 share, going on to win an Emmy. 16 mm prints of the special were also struck, and some schoolchildren from the 1970s and 1980s remember seeing the television special, or the filmstrip based on the special, in their school during that period.
The special appeared occasionally on HBO in the 1980s. It was also seen on the cable channel TV Land, yet has not been aired on any network since.
A Region 1 DVD of the television special was released in November 2001, and in 2010, a newly-remastered version was released with a missing scene featuring Dustin Hoffman, and other extras.
TV cast
- Alan AldaAlan AldaAlphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo , better known as Alan Alda, is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and author. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for his role as Hawkeye Pierce in the TV series M*A*S*H...
- Harry BelafonteHarry BelafonteHarold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...
- Mel BrooksMel BrooksMel Brooks is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer. He is best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. He began his career as a stand-up comic and as a writer for the early TV variety show Your Show of Shows...
- Rita CoolidgeRita CoolidgeRita Coolidge is a multiple Grammy Award-winning American vocalist. During the 1970s and 1980s, she charted hits on Billboard's Pop, Country, Adult Contemporary and Jazz charts.-Career:...
- Billy De WolfeBilly De WolfeBilly De Wolfe was an American character actor. He was active in films from the mid-1940s until his death in 1974. He was a good friend of Doris Day from the time of their meeting during the filming of Tea for Two until his death...
- Roberta FlackRoberta FlackRoberta Flack is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who is notable for jazz, soul, R&B, and folk music...
- Rosey GrierRosey GrierRoosevelt "Rosey" Grier is an American actor, singer, Christian minister, and former professional American football player. He was a notable college football player for Pennsylvania State University who earned a retrospective place in the National Collegiate Athletic Association 100th anniversary...
- Michael JacksonMichael JacksonMichael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
- Kris KristoffersonKris KristoffersonKristoffer "Kris" Kristofferson is an American musician, actor, and writer. He is known for hits such as "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night"...
- Shel SilversteinShel SilversteinSheldon Allan "Shel" Silverstein , was an American poet, singer-songwriter, musician, composer, cartoonist, screenwriter and author of children's books. He styled himself as Uncle Shelby in his children's books...
- Tom SmothersTom SmothersTom Smothers is an American comedian, composer and musician, best known as half of the musical comedy team The Smothers Brothers, alongside his younger brother Dick.-Early life:...
- Marlo ThomasMarlo ThomasMargaret Julia “Marlo” Thomas is an American actress, producer, and social activist known for her starring role on the TV series That Girl . She also serves as National Outreach Director for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital...
- Dionne WarwickDionne WarwickDionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
- Cicely TysonCicely TysonCicely Tyson is an American actress. A successful stage actress, Tyson is also known for her Oscar-nominated role in the film Sounder and the television movies The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and Roots....
- Carol ChanningCarol ChanningCarol Elaine Channing is an American singer, actress, and comedienne. She is the recipient of three Tony Awards , a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination...
- The New SeekersThe New SeekersThe New Seekers are a British-based pop group, formed in 1969 by Keith Potger after the break-up of his group, The Seekers. The idea was that the New Seekers would appeal to the same market as the original Seekers, but their music had rock as well as folk influences...
- The Voices of East Harlem
In popular culture
In 2010, the title track from the album, "Free to Be… You and Me" was featured in a television commercial for Target.Also in 2010, the producers of RiffTrax
RiffTrax
RiffTrax are downloadable audio commentaries featuring comedians Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett heckling films in the style of Mystery Science Theater 3000, a TV show in which Nelson was the head writer, and later the host. The RiffTrax are sold online and delivered by digital...
, formerly Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
, released William's Doll as their "riff" on the Phoenix Films, Inc. educational short of the same name, which was itself based upon a Charlotte Zolotow
Charlotte Zolotow
Charlotte Zolotow is an American author, poet, editor, and publisher of many books for children ....
book that inspired the "William's Doll" track on Free to Be… You and Me.
Track listing (New York Cast album)
- "Free To Be... You And Me" - Music by Stephen J. LawrenceStephen J. LawrenceStephen J. Lawrence is an American composer, living and working in New York City.-Overview :Career overview to date : composed over 250 songs and scores for Sesame Street, resulting in three shared Emmy Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition; composed the title song...
, Lyrics by Bruce HartBruce Hart (songwriter)Bruce Hart was an American songwriter and screenwriter perhaps best known for composing the lyrics to the theme song to Sesame Street.-Biography:...
, Performed by The New SeekersThe New SeekersThe New Seekers are a British-based pop group, formed in 1969 by Keith Potger after the break-up of his group, The Seekers. The idea was that the New Seekers would appeal to the same market as the original Seekers, but their music had rock as well as folk influences... - "Boy Meets Girl" - Written by Carl ReinerCarl ReinerCarl Reiner is an American actor, film director, producer, writer and comedian. He has won nine Emmy Awards and one Grammy Award during this career...
and Peter StonePeter StonePeter Hess Stone was an American writer for theater, television and movies.-Life and career:Stone was born in Los Angeles. His mother, Hilda , was a film writer, and his father, John Stone was the writer and producer of many silent films, including Shirley Temple and Charlie Chan movies...
, Performed by Mel BrooksMel BrooksMel Brooks is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer. He is best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. He began his career as a stand-up comic and as a writer for the early TV variety show Your Show of Shows...
and Marlo ThomasMarlo ThomasMargaret Julia “Marlo” Thomas is an American actress, producer, and social activist known for her starring role on the TV series That Girl . She also serves as National Outreach Director for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital... - "When We Grow Up" - Music by Stephen J. LawrenceStephen J. LawrenceStephen J. Lawrence is an American composer, living and working in New York City.-Overview :Career overview to date : composed over 250 songs and scores for Sesame Street, resulting in three shared Emmy Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition; composed the title song...
, Lyrics by Shelly Miller, Performed by Roberta FlackRoberta FlackRoberta Flack is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who is notable for jazz, soul, R&B, and folk music...
and Michael JacksonMichael JacksonMichael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
on the special and Diana RossDiana RossDiana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
on the soundtrack CD. - "Don't Dress Your Cat In An Apron" - Written by Dan GreenburgDan GreenburgDan Greenburg is an American author, screenwriter, humorist, journalist, and playwright.He was born in Chicago, Illinois, got his B.F.A. from the University of Illinois and his M.F.A. from U.C.L.A. His 72 books have been published in 20 languages in 24 countries...
, Performed by Billy De WolfeBilly De WolfeBilly De Wolfe was an American character actor. He was active in films from the mid-1940s until his death in 1974. He was a good friend of Doris Day from the time of their meeting during the filming of Tea for Two until his death... - "Parents Are People" - Music and Lyrics by Carol HallCarol HallCarol Hall is an American composer and lyricist, born in Abilene, Texas.Hall is best known for composing the music and lyrics for the Broadway stage musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas...
, Performed by Harry BelafonteHarry BelafonteHarold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...
and Marlo ThomasMarlo ThomasMargaret Julia “Marlo” Thomas is an American actress, producer, and social activist known for her starring role on the TV series That Girl . She also serves as National Outreach Director for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital... - "Housework" - Written by Sheldon HarnickSheldon HarnickSheldon Harnick is an American lyricist best known for his collaborations with composer Jerry Bock on hit musicals such as Fiddler on the Roof....
, Performed by Carol ChanningCarol ChanningCarol Elaine Channing is an American singer, actress, and comedienne. She is the recipient of three Tony Awards , a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination... - "Helping" - Written by Shel SilversteinShel SilversteinSheldon Allan "Shel" Silverstein , was an American poet, singer-songwriter, musician, composer, cartoonist, screenwriter and author of children's books. He styled himself as Uncle Shelby in his children's books...
, Performed by Tom SmothersTom SmothersTom Smothers is an American comedian, composer and musician, best known as half of the musical comedy team The Smothers Brothers, alongside his younger brother Dick.-Early life:... - "Ladies First" - Performed by Marlo ThomasMarlo ThomasMargaret Julia “Marlo” Thomas is an American actress, producer, and social activist known for her starring role on the TV series That Girl . She also serves as National Outreach Director for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital...
(based on a Shel SilversteinShel SilversteinSheldon Allan "Shel" Silverstein , was an American poet, singer-songwriter, musician, composer, cartoonist, screenwriter and author of children's books. He styled himself as Uncle Shelby in his children's books...
poem about a girl whose insistence on always getting to "go first" simply because she is a girl ends up making her the chosen meal of hungry tigers) - "Dudley Pippin And The Principal" - Written by Phil Ressner, Performed by Billy De WolfeBilly De WolfeBilly De Wolfe was an American character actor. He was active in films from the mid-1940s until his death in 1974. He was a good friend of Doris Day from the time of their meeting during the filming of Tea for Two until his death...
, Bobby MorseRobert MorseRobert Morse is an American actor and singer. Morse is best known for his appearances in musicals and plays on Broadway. He has also acted in movies and television shows. His best known role is that of J. Pierrepont Finch in the 1961 Broadway musical, and 1967 film How to Succeed in Business...
, and Marlo ThomasMarlo ThomasMargaret Julia “Marlo” Thomas is an American actress, producer, and social activist known for her starring role on the TV series That Girl . She also serves as National Outreach Director for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital... - "It's All Right To Cry" - Music and Lyrics by Carol HallCarol HallCarol Hall is an American composer and lyricist, born in Abilene, Texas.Hall is best known for composing the music and lyrics for the Broadway stage musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas...
, Performed by Rosey GrierRosey GrierRoosevelt "Rosey" Grier is an American actor, singer, Christian minister, and former professional American football player. He was a notable college football player for Pennsylvania State University who earned a retrospective place in the National Collegiate Athletic Association 100th anniversary... - "William's Doll" - Music by Mary RodgersMary RodgersMary Rodgers is an American composer of musicals and an author of children's books. She is a daughter of composer Richard Rodgers and his wife, Dorothy Rodgers, as is her sister, Linda Rodgers Emory...
, Lyrics by Sheldon HarnickSheldon HarnickSheldon Harnick is an American lyricist best known for his collaborations with composer Jerry Bock on hit musicals such as Fiddler on the Roof....
, Performed by Alan AldaAlan AldaAlphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo , better known as Alan Alda, is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and author. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for his role as Hawkeye Pierce in the TV series M*A*S*H...
and Marlo ThomasMarlo ThomasMargaret Julia “Marlo” Thomas is an American actress, producer, and social activist known for her starring role on the TV series That Girl . She also serves as National Outreach Director for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital...
(based on the children's book of the same nameWilliam's DollWilliam's Doll is a 1972 children's picture book by Charlotte Zolotow about a boy who wants a doll even though dolls typically are considered a toy only for girls...
, about a boy whose family is perplexed by his desire for a doll to care for) - "Sisters And Brothers" - Music by Stephen J. LawrenceStephen J. LawrenceStephen J. Lawrence is an American composer, living and working in New York City.-Overview :Career overview to date : composed over 250 songs and scores for Sesame Street, resulting in three shared Emmy Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition; composed the title song...
, Lyrics by Bruce HartBruce Hart (songwriter)Bruce Hart was an American songwriter and screenwriter perhaps best known for composing the lyrics to the theme song to Sesame Street.-Biography:...
, Performed by Sisters and Brothers - "My Dog Is A Plumber" - Written by Dan GreenburgDan GreenburgDan Greenburg is an American author, screenwriter, humorist, journalist, and playwright.He was born in Chicago, Illinois, got his B.F.A. from the University of Illinois and his M.F.A. from U.C.L.A. His 72 books have been published in 20 languages in 24 countries...
, Performed by Dick CavettDick CavettRichard Alva "Dick" Cavett is a former American television talk show host known for his conversational style and in-depth discussion of issues...
. - "AtalantaAtalantaAtalanta is a character in Greek mythology.-Legend:Atalanta was the daughter of Iasus , a Boeotian or an Arcadian princess . She is often described as a goddess. Apollodorus is the only one who gives an account of Atalanta’s birth and upbringing...
" - Written by Betty Miles, Performed by Alan AldaAlan AldaAlphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo , better known as Alan Alda, is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and author. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for his role as Hawkeye Pierce in the TV series M*A*S*H...
and Marlo ThomasMarlo ThomasMargaret Julia “Marlo” Thomas is an American actress, producer, and social activist known for her starring role on the TV series That Girl . She also serves as National Outreach Director for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital... - "Grandma" - Written by Carole Hart, Performed by Diana SandsDiana SandsDiana Sands was an American dramatic actress, perhaps most famous for her portrayal of Beneatha Younger, the sister of Sidney Poitier's character in the original film version of Lorraine Hansberry's Raisin in the Sun...
- "Girl Land" - Music by Mary RodgersMary RodgersMary Rodgers is an American composer of musicals and an author of children's books. She is a daughter of composer Richard Rodgers and his wife, Dorothy Rodgers, as is her sister, Linda Rodgers Emory...
, Lyrics by Bruce HartBruce Hart (songwriter)Bruce Hart was an American songwriter and screenwriter perhaps best known for composing the lyrics to the theme song to Sesame Street.-Biography:...
, Performed by Jack CassidyJack CassidyJohn Joseph Edward “Jack” Cassidy was an American actor of stage, film and screen.His frequent professional persona was that of an urbane, super-confident egotist with a dramatic flair, much in the manner of Broadway actor Frank Fay...
and Shirley JonesShirley JonesShirley Mae Jones is an American singer and actress of stage, film and television. In her six decades of television, she starred as wholesome characters in a number of well-known musical films, such as Oklahoma! , Carousel , and The Music Man... - "Dudley Pippin And His No-Friend" - Written by Phil Ressner, Performed by Bobby MorseRobert MorseRobert Morse is an American actor and singer. Morse is best known for his appearances in musicals and plays on Broadway. He has also acted in movies and television shows. His best known role is that of J. Pierrepont Finch in the 1961 Broadway musical, and 1967 film How to Succeed in Business...
and Marlo ThomasMarlo ThomasMargaret Julia “Marlo” Thomas is an American actress, producer, and social activist known for her starring role on the TV series That Girl . She also serves as National Outreach Director for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital... - "Glad To Have A Friend Like You" - Music and Lyrics by Carol HallCarol HallCarol Hall is an American composer and lyricist, born in Abilene, Texas.Hall is best known for composing the music and lyrics for the Broadway stage musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas...
, Performed by Marlo ThomasMarlo ThomasMargaret Julia “Marlo” Thomas is an American actress, producer, and social activist known for her starring role on the TV series That Girl . She also serves as National Outreach Director for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital... - "I'd Rather Be The Sun" - Performed by Dionne WarwickDionne WarwickDionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
- "Love Goes Around in a Circle" - Performed by Kris KristoffersonKris KristoffersonKristoffer "Kris" Kristofferson is an American musician, actor, and writer. He is known for hits such as "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night"...
, Rita CoolidgeRita CoolidgeRita Coolidge is a multiple Grammy Award-winning American vocalist. During the 1970s and 1980s, she charted hits on Billboard's Pop, Country, Adult Contemporary and Jazz charts.-Career:...
& Cast
External links
- Free To Be Foundation website
- FTB Foundation on Youtube has several videos available for viewing