No other performer embodies the spirit of the Great White Way more than the iconic Ethel Merman.

After sky-rocketing to fame in 1930 singing “I Got Rhythm” in the Gershwin musical Girl Crazy, Merman became the darling of such legendary songwriters as George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter and Jule Styne. During her career, which spanned more than 50 years, she starred in leading roles in a whopping 13 original musicals, nearly all of them hits. Among the iconic roles she created were Reno Sweeney in "Anything Goes", Annie Oakley in "Annie Get Your Gun" and Mama Rose in "Gypsy".

In this On And Off The Record podcast, the first in a series of eight programs dedicated to the great women of musical theater, Adriaan Fuchs explores the life and career of the one-and-only Ethel Merman.