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]
| My Fair Lady | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Cast recording by the original Broadway cast | |
| Released | April 2, 1956 |
| Recorded | March 24, 1956 |
| Studio | Columbia 30th Street, New York City |
| Genre | Show tunes |
| Length | 53:44 |
| Label | Columbia Records |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
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][deprecated source] As of 2023[update], 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| No. | Title | Performed by | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Overture" / "Why Can't the English?" | Rex Harrison, Robert Coote and Julie Andrews | 3:09 |
| 2. | "Wouldn't It Be Loverly?" | Julie Andrews and Ensemble | 3:55 |
| 3. | "With a Little Bit of Luck" | Stanley Holloway, Gordon Dilworth, Rod McLennan and Chorus | 3:55 |
| 4. | "I'm an Ordinary Man" | Rex Harrison | 4:38 |
| 5. | "Just You Wait" | Julie Andrews | 2:41 |
| 6. | "The Rain in Spain" | Rex Harrison, Julie Andrews, Robert Coote and Ensemble | 2:39 |
| 7. | "I Could Have Danced All Night" | Julie Andrews, Philippa Bevans and Ensemble | 3:28 |
| No. | Title | Performed by | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ascot Gavotte" | Chorus | 3:13 |
| 2. | "On the Street Where You Live" | John Michael King | 2:56 |
| 3. | "You Did It" | Rex Harrison, Robert Coote, Philippa Bevans and Ensemble | 4:25 |
| 4. | "Show Me" | Julie Andrews and John Michael King | 2:10 |
| 5. | "Get Me to the Church on Time" | Stanley Holloway, Gordon Dilworth, Rod McLennan and Chorus | 2:42 |
| 6. | "A Hymn to Him" | Rex Harrison | 3:28 |
| 7. | "Without You" | Julie Andrews | 2:01 |
| 8. | "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" | Rex Harrison | 5:14 |
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- ^ a b Ruhlmann, William. "Album overview and Review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-09-08.
- ^ a b "Background information". Masterworks Broadway. 2002-05-28. Archived from the original on 2012-11-14. Retrieved 2012-09-08.
- ^ "LP's 54% of Pop Sales - Lieberson". Variety. March 12, 1958. p. 1. Retrieved October 1, 2021 – via Archive.org.
- ^ a b "The Official Charts Company - Original Soundtrack - My Fair Lady". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ^ "CD issue". Rate Your Music. Retrieved 2012-09-08.
- ^ Young, Simon (2023-03-03). "Here are the 20 longest-charting albums in the history of the Billboard 200". louder. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
- ^ "My Fair Lady - Charts and Awards". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 12 April 2012.