Born in Gillespie, Illinois, to Navyman-turned-coalminer Homer Keel and his wife, Grace Osterkamp Keel, young Harry spent his childhood in poverty. After his father's death in 1930, he and his mother moved to California, where he graduated from Fallbrook High School at the age of 17 and took various odd-jobs until finally settling at Douglas Aircraft Company, where he became a traveling representative.
At the age of twenty, he was overheard singing by his landlady, Mom Rider, and was encouraged to take vocal lessons. One of his musical heroes was the great baritone Lawrence Tibbett and Howard would later say that finding out that his own voice was a basso cantante was one of the greatest disappointments of his life. Nevertheless, his first public performance came in the summer of 1941 when he played the role of Samuel the Prophet in Handel's oratorio Saul and David (singing a duet with bass-baritone George London).
Just a couple years after this, in 1943, Harold met and married his first wife, actress Rosemary Cooper. In 1945 Harold briefly understudied for John Raitt in the Broadway hit Carousel, before being assigned to Oklahoma! by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. It was during this time, he accomplished a feat that has never been duplicated. He performed the leads in both shows on the same day.
In 1947 Oklahoma! became the first American musical, post-war, to travel to London, England, and Harold went with it. Opening night , 30th April, at the Drury Lane Theatre, the capacity audience (which included the Queen) demanded fourteen encores. Harold Keel was hailed as the next great star and was the toast of the West End.
During the London run, the marriage of Harold and Rosemary ended in divorce, and Harold fell in love with a young member of the show's chorus, dancer Helen Anderson. They married in January 1949 and, a year later, Harold - now called Howard - became a father for the first time to daughter Kaija.
While living in London, Keel made his film debut as Howard Keel at the British Lion studio in Elstree, in The Small Voice (1948), released in the US as Hideout, playing an escaped convict, holding up a playwright and his wife in their English country cottage.
Additional Broadway credits include Saratoga, No Strings, and Ambasador. He appeared at The Muny in St. Louis, MO as General Waverly in White Christmas (2000), Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady (1996); Emile de Becque in South Pacific (1992), and Adam in Seven Brides For Seven Brothers (1978).
From London's West End, Howard ended up at MGM making his film musical debut as Frank Butler in Annie Get Your Gun.
Howard's MGM career was to be a frustrating business. MGM never seemed to know quite what to do with him and, outside of plum roles in the films Show Boat, Kiss Me, Kate and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, he was forced into a stream of worthless musicals and B-films. On loan-out at Warner Bros., he played Wild Bill Hickok in Calamity Jane, a highly popular, Oscar-winning musical filmed in 1953, starring Doris Day in one of her most famous screen roles. This was Warner's answer to Annie Get Your Gun, and the film that produced the smash hit number, "Secret Love".
There were two more children born to Howard and Helen, daughter Kirstine in 1952 and son Gunnar in 1955. Soon after, Howard was released from his contract and returned to his first love, the stage.
Sadly, as America's taste in entertainment changed, finding jobs became harder and harder for Howard. The 1960s held little chance for career advancement with a round of nightclub work, b-Westerns and summer stock. Under the strain, Howard began to drink heavily, and his marriage to Helen crumbled. They divorced in 1970.
But 1970 proved to be fortuitous for Howard after all. He was set up on a blind date with airline stewardess Judy Magamoll who was twenty-five years his junior and had never even heard of him. They were married in December 1970 and his drinking problem soon ceased.
By 1980 he had had enough of struggling to find work and he moved his family to Oklahoma, intending to join an oil company. They had barely settled there when Howard was called back to California to appear with Jane Powell on an episode of The Love Boat. While he was there, he was told that the producers of the smash hit television series Dallas wanted to talk to him. After several cameo appearances, Howard joined the show permanently as the dignified, if hot tempered, oil baron Clayton Farlow and his career reached heights it had never seen before.
With his renewed fame, Howard began his first solo recording career at age sixty-four, as well as a wildly successful concert career in the UK. He released an album in 1984 called "With Love", that sold poorly, thus indicating that though the American public were happy to see him as a supporting actor on hit TV show, they were not prepared for a full resumption of his previous stardom.
Even after Dallas he continued to sing, and kept his voice in remarkable shape. In 1994, he and Judy moved to Palm Desert, CA. The Keels were always active in charity events, helping their community and were well loved amongst the residents. In particular, Howard and Judy attended the annual Howard Keel Golf Classic at Mere Golf Club in Cheshire, England, which raised money for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). He attended for many years, up until the year of his death.
Howard died at his home in Palm Desert on November 7, 2004, six weeks after being diagnosed with colon cancer. He is survived by Judy, his wife of thirty-four years, his four children, ten grandchildren and a great-granddaughter. He was cremated and his ashes scattered at various favorite places including Mere Golf Club, Liverpool John Lennon Airport, and in Tuscany, Italy.
Sobbin' Women
Howard Keel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Who lived in the Roman days.
It seems that they all went swimmin′
While their men was off to graze.
Well, a Roman troop was ridin' by
And saw them in their "me oh my",
So they took 'em all back home to dry.
Least that′s what Plutarch says.
Them a woman was sobbin′, sobbin', sobbin′
Fit to be tied.
Ev'ry muscle was throbbin′, throbbin'
From that riotous ride.
Oh they cried and kissed and kissed and cried
All over that Roman countryside
So don′t forget that when you're takin' a bride.
Sobbin′ fit to be tied
From that riotous ride!
They never did return their plunder
The victor gets all the loot.
They carried them home, by thunder,
To rotundas small but cute.
And you′ve never seens so,
They tell me, such downright domesticity.
With a Roman baby on each knee
Named "Claudius" and "Brute"
Oh yes!
Them a women was sobbin', sobbin′, passin' them nights.
While the Romans was goin′ out hobbin', nobbin′
Startin' up fights.
They kept occupied by sewin' lots of little old togas
For them tots and sayin′ "someday women folk′ll have rights."
Passin' all o′ them nights.
Just sewin'!
While the Romans had fights.
"Hey listen to this"
Now when their men folk went to fetch ′em
Them women would not be fetched.
It seems them Romans ketch 'em
That their lady friends stay ketched.
Now let this be because it′s true,
A lesson to the likes of you,
Treat 'em rough like them there Romans do
Or else they'll think you′re tetched.
Oh yes!
Them a women was sobbin′, sobbin',
Sobbin′ buckets of tears
On account o' old dobbin′,
Dobbin' really rattled their ears.
Oh they acted angry and annoyed
But secretly they was overjoyed
You must recall that when corralin′ your streets
Oh, oh, oh, oh them poe little dears.
Oh yes
Them a women was sobbin', sobbin', sobbin′ Oh yeah
Weepin′ a ton Then sobbin' women
Just remember what Robin, Robin, Robin Oh yeah
Hood woulda done. Them sobbin women.
We′ll be just like them three merry men
And make 'em all merry once again.
And though they′ll be a sobbin' for a while
Oh yes!
We′re gonna make them sobbin' women smile!
Howard Keel's song Sobbin' Women is a humorous depiction of the women's plight in the Roman times. The song is a narration of how a group of women had gone for a swim while their men had gone to graze, only to be captured by the Romans. The women were taken back to the Roman camp where they were made to dry their clothes, and thus began their sobbing. The song goes on to describe how the women were kept captive and were forced to sew little togas for their children, and with a "Roman baby on each knee" named "Claudius" and "Brute." Despite their sobbing, the women seemed to be overjoyed secretly, and the song ends with a resolution to make the "sobbin' women smile again."
The song's lyrics employ humorous language to depict the women's misery in a lighthearted way. The reference to Plutarch gives a more historical tone to the lyrics, though the story seems to be more of legend than fact. The song's message is clear; men should treat women well, or else they will sob like the women in the song. The song mentions the three merry men who vow to make the sobbin' women smile again, which adds to the humor.
Line by Line Meaning
Tell ya ′bout them sobbin' women
Let me give you some information about these women who cry a lot.
Who lived in the Roman days.
These women lived during the time of the Romans.
It seems that they all went swimmin′
Apparently, these women enjoyed swimming.
While their men was off to graze.
While their husbands were out tending to livestock.
Well, a Roman troop was ridin' by
A group of Roman soldiers came upon them.
And saw them in their "me oh my"
They were surprised at what they saw.
So they took 'em all back home to dry.
The Romans took the women back to their homes.
Least that′s what Plutarch says.
According to Plutarch's recording of history.
Oh yes!
Absolutely, this really happened.
Them a woman was sobbin′, sobbin', sobbin′
These women were crying uncontrollably.
Fit to be tied.
They were extremely upset.
Ev'ry muscle was throbbin′, throbbin'
Their bodies were physically affected by their distress.
From that riotous ride.
Because of the events that took place.
Oh they cried and kissed and kissed and cried
They were emotional and expressing their feelings.
All over that Roman countryside
Everywhere they went within Roman territory.
So don′t forget that when you're takin' a bride.
This should serve as a reminder to treat women with respect.
Sobbin′ fit to be tied
Crying uncontrollably out of extreme emotion.
From that riotous ride!
Because of the intense experience they had.
They never did return their plunder
They didn't take anything from the Romans.
The victor gets all the loot.
The Romans took whatever they wanted as the winners.
They carried them home, by thunder,
The soldiers took the women by force.
To rotundas small but cute.
To small, attractive buildings.
And you′ve never seens so,
According to those who witnessed it.
They tell me, such downright domesticity.
It was a very domestic setting.
With a Roman baby on each knee
There were children in the home.
Named "Claudius" and "Brute"
The children were given traditional Roman names.
Oh yes!
Really, it's true.
Them a women was sobbin', sobbin′, passin' them nights.
The women cried on and off through the nights.
While the Romans was goin′ out hobbin', nobbin′
While the Romans were socializing and making connections.
Startin' up fights.
They were also very belligerent.
They kept occupied by sewin' lots of little old togas
The women occupied themselves by sewing clothes for their children.
For them tots and sayin′ "someday women folk′ll have rights."
While they sewed, they discussed the hope for future women's rights.
Passin' all o′ them nights.
They spent their nights this way.
Just sewin'!
Their only activity during the long nights was sewing.
While the Romans had fights.
The Roman soldiers were busy fighting battles.
"Hey listen to this"
Listen to what I'm about to tell you.
Now when their men folk went to fetch ′em
If their husbands went to retrieve them.
Them women would not be fetched.
The women didn't want to leave.
It seems them Romans ketch 'em
It appears the women were caught by the Romans.
That their lady friends stay ketched.
And they wanted their female friends to stay caught too, as captives.
Now let this be because it′s true,
This should be taken seriously, because it's the truth.
A lesson to the likes of you,
Learn something from this story.
Treat 'em rough like them there Romans do
Treat women harshly like the Romans did.
Or else they'll think you′re tetched.
Or else they'll think you're crazy.
Oh yes!
Certainly.
Them a women was sobbin′, sobbin',
These women cried a lot.
Sobbin′ buckets of tears
They cried so much they filled buckets with tears.
On account o' old dobbin′,
Because of something related to an old horse named Dobbin.
Dobbin' really rattled their ears.
Dobbin must have caused a real disturbance.
Oh they acted angry and annoyed
They put up a front of frustration and anger.
But secretly they was overjoyed
But inside, they were actually happy.
You must recall that when corralin′ your streets
Remember this when dealing with women.
Oh, oh, oh, oh them poe little dears.
Oh, those poor little women.
Oh yes
Absolutely.
We′re gonna make them sobbin' women smile!
We will bring joy to these women who cry so often.
Writer(s): Johnny Mercer, Gene De Paul
Contributed by Austin T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.