The life of French chanteuse Edith Piaf (1915-1963) has been dramatized on stage and screen numerous times over the years, from Pam Gems' play Piaf (productions of which have starred Jane Lapotaire, Elaine Paige, Elena Roger, and Caroline O'Connor) to writer-director Olivier Dahan's film La Vie en Rose (starring Marion Cotillard). This Friday, March 22, Stage Door Records will reissue a well-received Piaf tribute for the very first time on CD.  Edith Piaf, Je Vous Aime..., devised and produced by star Libby Morris, enjoyed a run in London's West End in 1977 where it was recorded for Pye Records by Norman Newell.  The double-album cast recording now arrives in beautifully remastered form.

Canadian actress-singer Morris (whose credits include 1969's As Dorothy Parker Once Said in the West End, a 1972 Winnipeg production of Mame, and the 1975 South African production of Gypsy) hit upon the notion of a tribute to the late Piaf.  She enlisted American lyricist Fran Landesman ("Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most," "The Ballad of the Sad Young Men") to pen new English lyrics; Peter Reeves and Ronnie Bridges provided additional lyrics, too.

Morris was inspired by her experience having seen Piaf perform onstage in the 1950s.  She wrote in the original LP's liner notes, "The images of these wonderful numbers started to formulate in my mind yet again, and the idea came to me then and there. Why not present a musical revue of these songs on stage...to be sung by a group of people representing different facets of the Piaf persona; and sung in a dramatic, theatrical style - with movement, lighting and so on? Present Piaf through her music, and mostly in English, so that these memorable songs will have a wider understanding and appeal. This could be a way of making her live again, and getting her out of those plastic covered anthologies. So - after a very long time, lots of collating, coordinating and coaxing - I devised EDITH PIAF, je vous aime...a musical tribute to an artist I adored."  The show, of course, features such Piaf standards as "La Vie en Rose" and "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien (No Regrets)."

The small cast also included Maureen Scott (Hello, Dolly!, Annie Get Your Gun), Peter Reeves (Ann Veronica, Sugar Babies), and Clifton Todd (Maggie, Kismet).  The production, directed by John Heawood with musical direction by Chuck Mallett (who arranged the songs alongside Frank Stafford), opened in February 1977 at the King's Head Theatre in London.  It transferred in June to the Shaftesbury Theatre in the West End, today the home of the musical adaptation of Mrs. Doubtfire, for a limited engagement through July.  Following the London stand, Morris brought the production to South Africa and Canada; she reprised her performance thirteen years later, in 1990, at London's intimate May Fair Theatre.

Stage Door's 2CD reissue of Edith Piaf, Je Vous Aime..., part of the label's Cast Album Masters Series, has been remastered from the original Pye tapes.  The eight-page booklet has Morris' original liner notes plus cast photos and production artwork.  It's available Friday at Amazon but is already shipping directly from Stage Door's website.  You'll find the track listing and order links below; as an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Edith Piaf, Je Vous Aime...: Original London Cast Recording (Pye LP NSPD 503, 1977 - reissued Stage Door STAGE 9101, 2024) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Stage Door Records)

CD 1

1. OVERTURE: MY LOST MELODY / HYMNE A L'AMOUR / LA VIE EN ROSE / LES TROIS CLOCHES
2. UNDER THE PARIS SKIES (Sous Le Ciel de Paris) - Full Company
3. LITTLE SPARROW OF PARIS (Toujours Aimer) - Full Company
4. MY FRIEND JOHN (La Goulante de Pauvre Jean) - Clifton Todd, Libby Morris, Maureen Scott / MILORD - Maureen Scott
5. THE ACCORDIONIST (L'Accordeoniste) - Peter Reeves
6. IN AMSTERDAM (C'est a Hambourg) -Libby Morris
7. LOVERS IN PARIS (Les Amants de Paris) - Maureen Scott, Peter Reeves, Clifton Todd
8. IT'S LOVELY, LOVING YOU (Il Fait Bon t'Aimer) - Clifton Todd
9. IF YOU LOVE ME, I WON'T CARE (Hymnne a l'Amour) - Libby Morris
10. LA VIE EN ROSE (Louiguy / Piaf) - Libby Morris
11. LOVE IS LIKE CHAMPAGNE (Mon Manege a Moi) - Maureen Scott
12. I HOPE (Faut Pas Qu'il Se Figure) - Libby Morris
13. AN EXCEPTIONAL SPRING (Il y avait) - Maureen Scott, Clifton Todd
14. STRANGE TOWN (La Ville Inconnue) - Peter Reeves
15. BESIDE MY LEGIONNAIRE (Mon Legionnaire) - Maureen Scott
16. THE CROWD (La Foule) - Libby Morris, Peter Reeves
17. THE DEVIL WHO DANCED (La Diable de la Bastille) - Libby Morris
18. IN A WORLD OF OUR OWN (Les Gens) - Peter Reeves
19. THE RIGHT TO LOVE (Le Droit D'Aimer) - Libby Morris and Company
20. LA VIE, L'AMOUR - Full Company

CD 2

1. PADAM, PADAM - Full Company
2. I DON'T CARE (Je m'en Fous Pas Mal) - Maureen Scott
3. GYPSY BOY (Le Gitan et la Fille) - Clifton Todd
4. SONG OF CATHERINE (La Chanson de Catherine) - Peter Reeves
5. POOR, LOST LOUISE (Margot Coeur Gros) - Peter Reeves, Clifton Todd
6. LES FLONFLONS DU BAL - Libby Morris
7. BRAVO FOR THE CLOWN (Bravo Pour le Clown) - Full Company
8. MY LOST MELODY - Libby Morris and Full Company
9. TWO PEOPLE KISS (Dans leur Baiser) - Clifton Todd
10. THE LOVERS (Les Amants d'un Jour) - Peter Reeves
11. PLEASE GOD (Mon Dieu) - Maureen Scott
12. IN THE WAITING ROOM (La Salle d'Attente) - Libby Morris, Maureen Scott
13. HANDS (Les Mains) - Peter Reeves
14. THE WHITE SHIRTS (Les Blouses Blanches) - Libby Morris
15. CRI DU COEUR - Libby Morris
16. THE WAY LOVES GOES (A quoi ca sert l'amour) - Libby Morris, Clifton Todd
17. NON, JE NE REGRETTE RIEN - Full Company
18. LA VIE L'AMOUR (Reprise) - Full Company