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My Fair Lady (Broadway cast recording)

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My Fair Lady
Cast recording by
the original Broadway cast
ReleasedApril 2, 1956 (1956-04-02)
RecordedMarch 24, 1956 (1956-03-24)
StudioColumbia 30th Street, New York City
GenreShow tunes
Length53:44
LabelColumbia Records
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

The Broadway cast recording of the musical My Fair Lady was first released April 2, 1956 by Columbia Records,[2] with songs by Lerner and Loewe, conducted by Franz Allers, starring Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews. Columbia president Goddard Lieberson provided the $375,000 needed to stage the show in return for the rights to the cast recording.[2]

A commercial success, the album became the first LP record to sell 1 million copies.[3] The album topped US Billboard 200 charts for fifteen weeks at different times in 1956 (eight consecutive weeks), 1957, 1958, and 1959.[1]

After the musical transferred to London in April 1958, the album spent 19 consecutive weeks atop the UK charts, the biggest-selling album of the year.[4] The musical's renewed success sent Andrews, Harrison, and the London cast to the recording studio in 1959 to capture the score in stereo: the London cast recording shares all the same principals as the Broadway cast.

Columbia first released the Broadway album on compact disc in 1988, followed by numerous subsequent reissues.[5] As of 2023, the original cast recording remains among the longest-charting albums in the U.S., with 480 weeks on the Billboard 200.[6]

Track listing

[edit]
Side one
No.TitlePerformed byLength
1."Overture" / "Why Can't the English?"Rex Harrison, Robert Coote and Julie Andrews3:09
2."Wouldn't It Be Loverly?"Julie Andrews and Ensemble3:55
3."With a Little Bit of Luck"Stanley Holloway, Gordon Dilworth, Rod McLennan and Chorus3:55
4."I'm an Ordinary Man"Rex Harrison4:38
5."Just You Wait"Julie Andrews2:41
6."The Rain in Spain"Rex Harrison, Julie Andrews, Robert Coote and Ensemble2:39
7."I Could Have Danced All Night"Julie Andrews, Philippa Bevans and Ensemble3:28
Side two
No.TitlePerformed byLength
1."Ascot Gavotte"Chorus3:13
2."On the Street Where You Live"John Michael King2:56
3."You Did It"Rex Harrison, Robert Coote, Philippa Bevans and Ensemble4:25
4."Show Me"Julie Andrews and John Michael King2:10
5."Get Me to the Church on Time"Stanley Holloway, Gordon Dilworth, Rod McLennan and Chorus2:42
6."A Hymn to Him"Rex Harrison3:28
7."Without You"Julie Andrews2:01
8."I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face"Rex Harrison5:14

Chart positions

[edit]
Chart Year Peak
position
Billboard 200[7] 1956 1
UK Albums Chart[4] 1958 1
  • returned to number 1 on Billboard 200 at different times during 1957, 1958 and 1959.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Ruhlmann, William. "Album overview and Review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-09-08.
  2. ^ a b "Background information". Masterworks Broadway. 2002-05-28. Archived from the original on 2012-11-14. Retrieved 2012-09-08.
  3. ^ "LP's 54% of Pop Sales - Lieberson". Variety. March 12, 1958. p. 1. Retrieved October 1, 2021 – via Archive.org.
  4. ^ a b "The Official Charts Company - Original Soundtrack - My Fair Lady". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  5. ^ "CD issue". Rate Your Music. Retrieved 2012-09-08.
  6. ^ Young, Simon (2023-03-03). "Here are the 20 longest-charting albums in the history of the Billboard 200". louder. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
  7. ^ "My Fair Lady - Charts and Awards". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 12 April 2012.