Stage Door Records is kicking off 2017 with two generous helpings of rare show music: a two-fer celebrating the legacy of Meredith Willson's 1957 Broadway classic The Music Man, and the original London cast recording of Drake's Dream, starring Manfred Mann's Paul Jones!

In 1957, composer-bandleader Meredith Willson crafted one of the most enduring Broadway musicals of all time when he wrote book, music and lyrics for the nostalgic The Music Man.  To mark the sixtieth anniversary of this Tony Award-winning classic which originally starred Robert Preston and Barbara Cook, Stage Door has paired two albums: 1959's audio documentary ...And Then I Wrote The Music Man and the 1958 The Music from Meredith Willson's The Music Man, conducted by Willson himself.  Both were originally issued on Capitol Records, home to the show's original cast album.

...And Then I Wrote The Music Man features Willson, at the piano, joined by his wife Rini as they tell and comment on the musical's story and perform its songs in an intimate setting.  Following the release of the album in 1959, the Willsons toured the United States to bring this album to life for appreciative live audiences who just couldn't get enough of Professor Harold Hill, Marian the Librarian, and the trouble in River City.  Stage Door is reissuing the original stereo album on one CD paired with Willson's 16-song instrumental album of his score.  Two bonus tracks have also been appended: a 1962 promotional interview with Shirley Jones, who portrayed Marian Paroo in Warner Bros.' big-screen adaptation, and Jones' performance of "Being in Love" (which replaced "My White Knight" in the film).

The Meredith Willson two-fer is a limited edition of 500 copies in Stage Door's Collector's Series, and is packaged in a mini-LP sleeve with a liner notes/credits insert.  It's available now directly from the label, and on February 24 from Amazon.

Drake's Dream is available now.  The musical by librettist Simon Brett and composer-lyricists Lynne and Richard Riley chronicled the famous voyage of the 16th century English sea captain and navigator Sir Francis Drake.  His dream, of course, was to circumnavigate the world, and in fact, he not only led the second-ever circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition (between 1577 and 1580) but was the first to complete the voyage as a captain while leading the expedition for the entire circumnavigation.  His life wasn't without its controversies, however, as Drake had partaken in slave trading and piracy.   The rock-inflected musical premiered at Worthing's Connaught Theatre on October 26, 1977 under the direction of Nicolas Young, and then transferred to London's Shaftesbury Theatre for a limited season opening on December 7, 1977.  Onetime Manfred Mann lead vocalist Paul Jones had the lead role of Sir Francis Drake, and his co-stars included David Burt as Thomas Doughty, Earl Jordan as The King of Ternate, Caro Gurney as Queen Elizabeth I, and Janet Shaw as Mary Drake.

The production received mixed reviews, and was subsequently revised by Ken Hill when it transferred to the Westminster Theatre in February 1978.  Its original cast recording was made prior to the West End opening at the Shaftesbury, and it has been remastered from the original tapes for this Stage Door Records CD premiere.  You can sample a track now at Stage Door's website!  Both titles can be ordered below from Amazon.com!

Meredith Willson, ...And Then I Wrote The Music Man /The Music from Meredith Willson's The Music Man (Stage Door Records 2380, 2017) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. Rock Island
2. Ya Got Trouble
3. Piano Lesson
4. Goodnight My Someone
5. Seventy-Six Trombones
6. Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little/Goodnight, Ladies
7. My White Knight
8. Marian the Librarian
9. The Sadder But Wiser Girl for Me
10. Shipoopi
11. Lida Rose
12. Will I Ever Tell You
13. Till There Was You
14. Iowa Stubborn
15. Goodnight My Someone
16. Gary, Indiana
17. Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little
18. Sincere
19. Shipoopi
20. Lida Rose/Will I Ever Tell You
21. Seventy-Six Trombones
22. Till There Was You
23. Marian the Librarian
24. It's You
25. Wells Fargo Wagon
26. Piano Lesson
27. The Sadder-But-Wiser Girl for Me
28. My White Knight
29. Shirley Jones Interview (1962) (Bonus Track)
30. Being in Love - Shirley Jones (Bonus Track)

Tracks 1-13 from ...And Then I Wrote The Music Man, Capitol ST 1320, 1959
Tracks 14-28 from The Music from Meredith Willson's The Music Man, Capitol T-991, 1958

Original London Cast Recording, Drake's Dream (President Records PTLS 1068, 1979 - reissued Stage Door Records 9048, 2017) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. At The Court Of Queen Elizabeth
2. I've Always Had A Dream
3. Let's Get Going
4. Take A Little Time
5. When The Winds Command Us Away
6. She Plays A Dangerous Game
7. Between Today And Tomorrow
8. Sedition
9. Waiting Isn't Easy
10. Gold
11. Nova Albion
12. God Of The Waters
13. Spice Of Life
14. Oh Lord Protect Us
15. Fa La La
16. Sailing Around
17. Finale