When Meredith Willson's The Music Man made its Broadway bow on December 19, 1957 at The Majestic Theatre (today the home of Phantom of the Opera), the composer-lyricist-librettist had already enjoyed a long and prolific career.  Willson, born in Mason City, Iowa - the inspiration for The Music Man's River City - had played flute and piccolo in the orchestras of John Philip Sousa and Arturo Toscanini; became the musical director of NBC Radio in Hollywood; received Academy Award nominations for the music of the films The Great Dictator and The Little Foxes; and penned standards including "May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You" and "It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas."  Willson spent some eight years crafting The Music Man, and was vindicated when it picked up six Tony Awards including Best Musical and ran for 1,375 performances.  His next musical, though, wouldn't quite take so long to create.

With Richard Morris contributing the book and Dore Schary on board as director, The Unsinkable Molly Brown opened on November 3, 1960 at the Winter Garden (where, coincidentally, the hit revival of The Music Man currently plays).  Tammy Grimes starred as the real-life Gold Rush-era heroine (1867-1932) who survived the sinking of the Titanic.  It played for a respectable 532-performance run and inspired a 1964 big-screen adaptation with Debbie Reynolds in the title role as well as numerous revivals, most recently in New York with Beth Malone as Molly.  An original cast album was recorded by Capitol Records.  The label - hoping for the same kind of return its rival Columbia Records had made on My Fair Lady with its big investment - invested almost half of the show's entire budget.

On January 6, 2023, Stage Door Records will celebrate The Unsinkable Molly Brown with a deluxe 2-CD set comprising four distinct programs of the musical's songs.  The Original Demo Recordings and More! opens with the fully-orchestrated album of demos performed by veteran studio singers Sandy Stewart and Bernie Knee (or Nee, as he was sometimes credited).  They're accompanied by the orchestra of Elliot Lawrence.  The disc then continues with another clutch of demos performed by Meredith Willson himself along with wife Rini and baritone Harve Presnell who opened the musical opposite Grimes as Molly's husband,  J.J. "Leadville Johnny" Brown.  This album includes the cut song "Read the Label on the Bottle."

The second CD is dedicated to pop cover recordings of Meredith Willson's tuneful and rousing, Americana-laced score.  It begins with the complete stereo album presentation of Andre Kostelanetz's album of the Molly Brown score, originally released on Columbia Records and rendered with the conductor's trademark inventive, lush arrangements.  The album has been sourced from a reel-to-reel tape.  Stage Door then rounds up fourteen pop covers of the show's standout numbers including Dinah Shore's "I Ain't Down Yet," Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians' "Belly Up to the Bar, Boys," Aretha Franklin's "Are You Sure," Gordon MacRae's "Dolce Far Niente," Nat "King" Cole's "If I Knew," and The Four Preps' "I've Already Started In."  Most of these were issued on Capitol Records; it was commonplace in the era for the label recording the cast album to promote the score via the label's other artists.  Eagle-eyed readers will notice that a Molly Brown song was featured on every Capitol single in their catalogue numbered 4476 through 4483, and they're all happily reprised here.  (Capitol wasn't done yet, though! Later singles still featured Willson's songs, including Les Baxter's "Dolce Far Niente" on Capitol 4489.)

Stage Door's premiere CD release of these rare recordings is limited to just 500 units and includes a colorful 12-page booklet with new liner notes by George Dansker.  The Unsinkable Molly Brown: The Original Demos and More! is made possible due to current U.K. public domain laws.  It's scheduled for release on January 6, 2023 but copies are already shipping directly from the label.

Meredith Willson, The Unsinkable Molly Brown: The Original Demo Recordings and More! (Stage Door Records STAGE 9096, 2023) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Stage Door Records)

CD 1

Studio Demo Recordings

1. I Ain't Down Yet - Elliot Lawrence Orchestra and Chorus
2. Belly Up to the Bar, Boys - Elliot Lawrence Orchestra and Chorus
3. I've Already Started In - Sandy Stewart
4. I'll Never Say No - Bernie Knee
5. Bea-u-ti-ful People of Denver - Elliot Lawrence Orchestra and Chorus
6. Are You Sure - Sandy Stewart
7. Chick-a-Pen - Bernie Knee and Sandy Stewart
8. Bon Jour (The Language Song) - Bernie Knee and Sandy Stewart
9. If I Knew - Bernie Knee
10. Keep-a-Hoppin' - Elliot Lawrence Orchestra and Chorus
11. Dolce Far Niente - Elliot Lawrence Orchestra and Chorus

Composer Demo Recordings - Meredith Willson, Rini Willson, and Harve Presnell

12. I Ain't Down Yet
13. Belly Up to the Bar, Boys
14. Colorado, My Home
15. I've Already Started In
16. I'll Never Say No
17. My Own Brass Bed
18. Read the Label on the Bottle
19. Bon Jour (The Language Song)
20. If I Knew
21. One Day at a Time
22. Dolce Far Niente
23. Are You Sure
24. Colorado, My Home (Finale)

Bonus Tracks

24. Colorado, My Home (Echo Test) - Harve Presnell
25. I Ain't Down Yet - Iva Withers

CD 2

Andre Kostelanetz and His Orchestra Play the Music from Meredith Willson's 'The Unsinkable Molly Brown' (Columbia CS 8376, 1960)

1. I Ain't Down Yet
2. I'll Never Say No
3. Chick-a-Pen
4. Are You Sure
5. I've Already Started In
6. Belly Up to the Bar, Boys
7. Dolce Far Niente
8. Keep-a-Hoppin'
9. Leadville Johnny Brown Soliloquy
10. Bea-u-ti-ful People of Denver
11. Colorado, My Home

Pop Cover Recordings

12. I Ain't Down Yet - Dinah Shore (Capitol single 4476, 1960)
13. Belly Up to the Bar, Boys - Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians (Capitol single 4477, 1960)
14. I've Already Started In - The Four Preps (Capitol single 4478, 1960)
15. I'll Never Say No - Janice Harper (Capitol single 4482, 1960)
16. Are You Sure - Aretha Franklin (Columbia single 4-41985, 1961)
17. If I Knew - Nat "King" Cole (Capitol single 4481, 1960)
18. Dolce Far Niente - Gordon MacRae (Capitol single 4483, 1960)
19. Keep-a-Hoppin' - Jack Marshall's Music (Capitol single 4480, 1960)
20. Molly Brown Medley - The Manhattans (Capitol single 4591, 1961)
21. I Ain't Down Yet - The Manhattans (Capitol single 4591, 1961)
22. Are You Sure - Tex Williams (Capitol single 4479, 1960)
23. Dolce Far Niente - The Four Aces (ABC-Paramount single 45-10166, 1960)
24. I Ain't Down Yet - Art Mooney and His Orchestra with Chorus (MGM single K12957, 1960)
25. Are You Sure - Lori Parker (Coral single 9-62257, 1961)