Shy Baldwin's Songs On 'Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' Will Take You Back In Time

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is an excellent example of a period comedy. The costumes are delightful; the sense of New York Jewish life of the era is spot on. But with the show's move to take Midge on tour in Season 3, there's a new facet in town for the show to dive into — the music of the late 1950s, early 1960s, as Midge opens for singer Shy Baldwin. But though many of the crooning tunes of the time are well known, Shy Baldwin's songs on Marvelous Mrs. Maisel seem unfamiliar. Are they the real deal? Warning: Spoilers for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel follow.

It would not have been out of place for Shy Baldwin to sing recognizable hits from the era. Many of the touring artists of the day did not write their own material. With TV not yet ubiquitous, and nothing like MTV to fill the hours with original songs, an artist like Baldwin would have filled his live shows with as many standards of the era as his own material. (Think, for instance, of Frank Sinatra, who sang hundreds of covers in his career.)

But in this case, the show did create original songs for actor Leroy McClain's fictional Baldwin to sing. (For the record, McClain doesn’t actually do his own singing, he’s lipsyncing to vocals performed by Obie award-winner Darius de Haas.) One Last Angel In Heaven," which is the opening number in the USO show, is an original, as is "That Night In Barkley Square." The songs in Vegas are originals too, including "(Falling in Love is) Wonderful." On the other hand, Reggie's song in Vegas, "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby," is a 1943 song by Louie Johnson.

Where did these songs come from? According to Showbiz411, the Palladinos had them commissioned for the new season:

So the Palladinos got a songwriting team of composer Curtis Moore and lyricist Tom Mizer to pen original tunes that sound just like they’re from 1960. McClain – who’s playing Aretha Franklin’s brother Cecil in the new Respect movie shooting in Atlanta – doesn’t actually sing. So Shy Baldwin’s voice is supplied by gifted Broadway singer Darius de Haas. The result is magic. Plus all the girls in the Silver Belles actually do their own singing.

Even better, there's enough original material that was created for the new season to fill an entire album. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Season 3 album dropped on Dec. 13, 2019 and, apart from McClain’s tracks as Baldwin, it also features various classic musical artists from the season like Peggy Lee, Debbie Reynolds, and Nina Simone.

Check out the tracklist and listen to the album below:

• “One Less Angel” - Shy Baldwin
• “Manhattan” - Blossom Dearie
• “Fly Me To The Moon” - Julie London, Gregory Porter
• “The Everlasting Hills Of Oklahoma” - Sons of the Pioneers
• “Pennies From Heaven” - Louis Prima
• “Loco Amor” - Pedrito Martinez
• “Til There Was You” - Peggy Lee
• “Good Morning/Singing In The Rain” - Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor
• “Anything Goes” - Helen Merrill
• “Bottle Of Pop” - The Silver Belles
• “Dream A Little Dream Of Me” - Doris Day
• “Feeling Good” - Nina Simone
• “Love Is Here To Stay” - Blossom Dearie
• “No One Has To Know” - Shy Baldwin

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel has been renewed for Season 4. Unfortunately, there’s no word on whether or not Shy Baldwin and his team will be back. As fans will recall, Midge was fired at the end of Season 3 by Shy’s manager Reggie, after Midge made ill-advised jokes about Baldwin’s sexuality when she opened for him at the Apollo.

Currently, neither McClain's Shy nor Stertling K Brown's Reggie are confirmed to be returning for future seasons, but, if they do, let’s hope there’s new music in store.