If you haven’t sung this song in the shower or in your car or while white girl wasted, then you totally should! This is music. There’s no Nicki Minaj or Foxy Brown or Lil Kim professing their “love” with lyrics and an outfit that leave little to the imagination. It’s Effie, played by Jennifer Holliday, pouring her heart out in song to her manager Curtis who’s ready to kick her to the curb in the musical “Dreamgirls.” Holliday brought down the house with this signature song “And I Am Telling You (I’m Not Going)” and also earned herself a Tony award for her performance in the original Broadway run in 1981.
Since then, “And I Am Telling You (I’m Not Going)” has been covered by artists everywhere. It was a popular song to make it or have Sandman sweep you off stage on “It’s Showtime at the Apollo.” Teen pop star Charice has covered it, and we all know Jennifer Hudson sang her way to an Oscar as Effie in the film version of “Dreamgirls” released in 2006.
I found this excerpt from the original “Dreamgirls.” The entire video is 8:34 long so if you’re antsy and want to skip the buildup to the song, then head to about 3:30 in the video, although I think it was delightful to watch in entirety.
Throwback Fridays are my weekly tribute (sometimes more like bi-weekly) to classic music and artists predominantly from the 70s, 80s, and early 90s- all music genres. Some posts tell my personal connection to the song while other posts tell more of a brief history of the song and artist. They are great if you’re looking to broaden your music collection and mix things up on your iPod. CLICK HERE to be taken to all of my Throwback Friday posts.
I’ll never forget the first time I watched this. It was a compilation video of highlights from the Tony awards. The fact that it was on video, will tell you a little bit about how long ago this was. I was in awe of her raw power and commitment the the story behind the song. A good production will make you forget you’re in a theatre, this is just spectacular, good find, thanks for posting! =o)
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