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Hey, Look Me Over! Lucille Ball, Anthony Perkins, Aretha Franklin, Bobby Darin Featured on "Lost Broadway 1960"

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Lost Broadway 1960

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Stage Door Records is turning back the clock - 60 years, to be precise - with the latest volume in its Lost Broadway series. Lost Broadway 1960, out now in the U.K. and this Friday, April 3, in the U.S., once again spotlights the lesser-known shows that played the Great White Way that year (in both the 1959-1960 and 1960-1961 seasons). So while there's no mention of Bye Bye Birdie, Camelot, or Oliver!, you will hear tracks from Wildcat, Do Re Mi, and Christine. (The Unsinkable Molly Brown is featured here, though it's still a somewhat recognizable title today from its film adaptation starring the Oscar-nominated Debbie Reynolds as well as a recent off-Broadway revival starring Beth Malone.) The format follows that of the label's past releases, with the first disc dedicated to cast album performances and the second to pop covers.

There's plenty of theatrical royalty here among the songwriters (Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh, Meredith Willson, Frank Loesser, Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, Jule Styne, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green) while the performers - both from Broadway and Hollywood - are a starry lot (Lucille Ball, Maureen O'Hara, Tammy Grimes, Anthony Perkins). The featured musicals on CD 1, with their writers and original runs indicated, are:

  • Do Re Mi (Garson Kanin/Jule Styne/Betty Comden & Adolph Green (December 26, 1960 - January 13, 1962)
  • Wildcat (N. Richard Nash/Cy Coleman/Carolyn Leigh) (December 16, 1960 - June 3, 1961)
  • Greenwillow (Lesser Samuels/Frank Loesser) (March 8, 1960 - May 28, 1960)
  • Christine (Pearl S. Buck/Charles K. Peck, Jr./Sammy Fain/Paul Francis Webster) (April 28, 1960 - May 8, 1960)
  • The Unsinkable Molly Brown (Richard Morris/Meredith Willson) (November 3, 1960 - February 10, 1962)
  • Tenderloin (George Abbott/Jerome Weidman/Jerry Bock/Sheldon Harnick) (October 17, 1960 - April 23, 1961)
  • Send Me No Flowers (*) (Norman Barasch/Carroll Moore/Will Lorin/George Weiss) (December 5, 1960 - January 7, 1961)
  • Vintage '60 (Various Writers) (September 12, 1960 - September 17, 1960)

(*) play with music

The second disc has pop covers from all but the last two of the above-mentioned shows, performed by a "Who's Who" of the day's greatest singers including Perry Como, Rosemary Clooney, Jack Jones, Nancy Wilson, Eddie Fisher, Vic Damone, Gordon MacRae, Bobby Darin, Jo Stafford, and more. But the centerpiece of this disc may well be the complete studio cast recording of Bud Freeman and Leon Pober's musical Beg, Borrow, or Steal. It opened on February 10, 1960 and closed on February 13 at Broadway's Martin Beck Theatre (today the Al Hirschfeld). While Beg, Borrow, or Steal wasn't recorded, its earlier incarnation as Clara survives and appears in full on CD here.

Lost Broadway 1960 is a fine sampler of the hidden gems from a classic Broadway season. While most of the first disc has been readily available on CD before, there are exceptions (the Send Me No Flowers tracks with the play's original star, David Wayne, and the two cuts from producer David Merrick's Vintage '60 revue featuring Fay DeWitt). The second disc has some more familiar selections (such as Bobby Darin's "Artificial Flowers") but also some rare singles from artists including Leslie Uggams, Gordon MacRae, and Johnny Desmond.

The set is packaged with a 12-page booklet. This set is made possible via current U.K. public domain laws. It's available now in the U.K. and on Friday, April 3, in North America.  (Note that Amazon U.K. is currently not shipping this item outside of the United Kingdom due to COVID-19 but Stage Door Records is still shipping worldwide.) You can peruse the track listing and order links below!

Various Artists, Lost Broadway 1960 (Stage Door Records STAGE 9071, 2020) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Stage Door Records)

CD 1: Original Broadway Cast Recordings

  1. FIREWORKS - John Reardon, Nancy Dussault

(from 'Do Re Mi')

  1. WHAT'S NEW AT THE ZOO? - Nancy Dussault

(from 'Do Re Mi')

  1. MAKE SOMEONE HAPPY- John Reardon

(from 'Do Re Mi')

  1. HEY, LOOK ME OVER! - Lucille Ball, Paula Stewart

(from 'Wildcat')

  1. WILDCAT - Lucille Ball

(from 'Wildcat')

  1. TALL HOPE - Bill Walker, Swen Swenson, Ray Mason, Charles Braswell

(from 'Wildcat')

  1. THE MUSIC OF HOME - Bruce MacKay, Anthony Perkins

(from 'Greenwillow')

  1. SUMMERTIME LOVE - Anthony Perkins

(from 'Greenwillow')

  1. NEVER WILL I MARRY - Anthony Perkins

(from 'Greenwillow')

  1. FARAWAY BOY - Ellen McCown

(from 'Greenwillow')

  1. I NEVER MEANT TO FALL IN LOVE - Morley Meredith, Maureen O'Hara

(from 'Christine')

  1. FREEDOM CAN BE A MOST UNCOMFORTABLE THING - Nancy Andrews

(from 'Christine')

  1. CHRISTINE - Morley Meredith

(from 'Christine')

  1. I LOVE HIM - Maureen O'Hara

(from 'Christine')

  1. I AIN'T DOWN YET - Tammy Grimes, Sterling Clark, Bill Starr, Bob Daley

(from 'The Unsinkable Molly Brown')

  1. BELLY UP TO THE BAR BOYS - Tammy Grimes, Joseph Sirola, Company

(from 'The Unsinkable Molly Brown')

  1. DOLCE FAR NIENTE / I MAY NEVER FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU - Mitchell Gregg, Tammy Grimes

(from 'The Unsinkable Molly Brown')

  1. LITTLE OLD NEW YORK - Eileen Rodgers, Lee Becker, Company

(from 'Tenderloin')

  1. ARTIFICIAL FLOWERS - Ron Husmann

(from 'Tenderloin')

  1. MY GENTLE YOUNG JOHNNY - Eileen Rodgers

(from 'Tenderloin')

  1. SEND ME NO FLOWERS - David Wayne

(from 'Send Me No Flowers')

  1. JEALOUS JUDY - David Wayne

(from 'Send Me No Flowers')

  1. LONDON TOWN - Fay DeWitt

(from 'Vintage '60')

  1. THE ALL AMERICANS - Fay DeWitt

(from 'Vintage '60')

CD 2:

'CLARA' STUDIO CAST RECORDING (Commentary Records CNT02, 1960)

  1. OVERTURE - Orchestra
  2. WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO TONIGHT? - Betty Garrett, The Sad Apples [LISTEN]
  3. ROOTLESS - Jimmie Komack
  4. I CAN'T STOP TALKING - Betty Garrett, Jimmie Komack
  5. IT AIN'T GONNA BE EASY - Johnny Standley, Sid Tomack
  6. AVALON BALLROOM / GOING HOME BLUES - Orchestra
  7. IT'S ALL IN YOUR MIND - Betty Garrett, Jimmie Komack
  8. NO ONE KNOWS ME - Betty Garrett [LISTEN]
  9. YOU GOT SOMETHING TO SAY - Johnny Standley, Sid Tomack, Betty Garrett
  10. THINK - Betty Garrett, Jimmie Komack [LISTEN]
  11. LITTLE PEOPLE - Johnny Standley, Sid Tomack
  12. IT'S NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE - Betty Garrett, Jimmie Komack

Covers and Rarities:

  1. CORDUROY ROAD - Jack Jones

( from 'Wildcat')

  1. HEY, LOOK ME OVER! - The Swe-Danes

(from 'Wildcat')

  1. WHAT TAKES MY FANCY - Rosemary Clooney

( from 'Wildcat')

  1. SUMMERTIME LOVE - Eddie Fisher

(from 'Greenwillow')

  1. NEVER WILL I MARRY - Nancy Wilson

(from 'Greenwillow')

  1. FARAWAY BOY - Della Reese

(from 'Greenwillow')

  1. I NEVER MEANT TO FALL IN LOVE - Johnny Desmond

(from 'Christine')

  1. HAPPY IS THE WORD - Jo Stafford

(cut from 'Christine')

  1. CHRISTINE - Vic Damone

(from 'Christine')

  1. I'M JUST A LITTLE SPARROW - Leslie Uggams

(from 'Christine')

  1. ARE YOU SURE? - Aretha Franklin

(from 'The Unsinkable Molly Brown')

  1. DOLCE FAR NIENTE - Gordon MacRae

(from 'The Unsinkable Molly Brown')

  1. ARTIFICIAL FLOWERS - Bobby Darin

(from 'Tenderloin')

  1. LITTLE OLD NEW YORK - The Pastors

(from 'Tenderloin')

  1. TOMMY, TOMMY, TOMMY - June Christy, Jonah Jones

(from 'Tenderloin')

  1. MAKE SOMEONE HAPPY - Perry Como

(from 'Do Re Mi')

  1. WHAT'S NEW AT THE ZOO? - Pinky & Perky with Tony Tanner

(from 'Do Re Mi')

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Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with Real Gone Music, has released newly-curated collections produced by Joe from iconic artists such as Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Chet Atkins, and many others. He has contributed liner notes to reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, and Andy Williams, and has compiled releases for talents including Robert Goulet and Keith Allison of Paul Revere and the Raiders. Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray. Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

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Comments

  1. Many thanks for covering this Lost Broadway series. If I hadn't seen it here, I'd have missed them. Listening to the 1960 CDs now-- the songs from "Clara" are delightful.

    Reply

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