Albums of the 50s: About the best-selling records of the decade…
Содержание
The main albums of the 50s - what are they? Yes, yes, today we have collected the best-selling records of the 50s in the UK, which were a resounding success among listeners! Basically, these are albums with soundtracks from films and musicals that were popular at that time ... Actually - let's get acquainted with them!
Carousel (1956)
This album is a huge soundtrack to the Henry King film of the same name! Speaking about the film, it is worth emphasizing that it is a fantastic musical drama based on the events of 1945 ... Gordon Macrae and Shirley Jones played the main roles in the film. It is noteworthy that 2 songs - "You're a Queer One, Julie Jordan" and "Blow High, Blow Low", - written specifically for the film, were eventually excluded from it ... And all because it was important for the producers to keep the duration exactly 128 minutes. Fortunately, the tracks were included in the soundtrack album.
The beauty of the album is that it also includes the full version of "Carousel Waltz" that can be heard at the very beginning of the movie. Since the composition lasts about 8 minutes, it had to be cut... Actually, the vast majority of the tracks from the film Carousel had a similar fate. The soundtrack album was first released on vinyl in 1956 by Capitol Records. True - only in mono (stereo recordings became a reality only by 1958). A large team of professionals worked on the recording of the tracks: Nelson Riddle, Earl Hagen, Gus Levene, as well as the orchestrator Edward B. Powell (responsible for "If I Loved You") and others.
The King and I (1957)
This great album belongs to The Mastersounds. So, the legendary professionals of those years worked on the recording: vibraphonist Buddy Montgomery, pianist Richie Crabtree, bassist Monk Montgomery and drummer Benny Bart... The amazing atmospheric performance is the merit of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II! The album is full of tracks from the musical The King. It was recorded and released in 1957 on the World Pacific label.
This record has found huge success among listeners! It was received warmly by critics. Here is what they wrote in the Allmusic review:
“The Mastersounds have a unique ability to turn music into pure jazz… At the same time, they always keep the melody in mind during their solos. The results of their efforts cause respect and admiration at the same time! Their The King and I will be a godsend for fans of quartet sound and score…”
In total, the album included 8 tracks, including "Getting to Know You", "My Lord and Master" and "Shall We Dance".
My Fair Lady (1958)
“My Fair Lady” is exactly the romanticized name given to his album by the legendary jazz pianist Oscar Peterson! Released in 1958, this record includes compositions written by the author duo Lerner and Lowe. All tracks are featured in the musical My Fair Lady. After the album's release, critics wrote:
"...Oscar Peterson and his team of assistants brought these melodies to life, added energy to life... Overall, 'My Fair Lady' is a pretty enjoyable album to listen to!"
Among the tracks from My Fair Lady are: "On the Street Where You Live", "Show Me", "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face", "The Rain in Spain" and others.
My Fair Lady is also a legendary musical based on George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion (1913), with lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Lowe. The story revolves around a beautiful young lady named Eliza Doolittle: she takes speech lessons from phonetics professor Henry Higgins so that in society she will be accepted as a true lady. It is worth noting that Rex Harrison and beauty Julie Andrews took part in the original Broadway and London shows.
In general, the production was a wild success both among the audience and among the critics! My Fair Lady also set the record for the longest run of any show on Broadway! As a result, "My Fair Lady" was described as "an incredibly beautiful musical" ...
South Pacific (1959)
As you might guess from the album's title alone, South Pacific is the original soundtrack to the 1958 film of the same name. The film was directed by Joshua Logan. The main roles were played by Juanita Hall, charming Mitzi Gaynor, Rossano Brazzi and others. By the way: most of the songs from the album were performed by experienced singers, not film actors. In fact, only Mitzi Gaynor and Ray Walston (who played on the original national tour and the original London production) were the only two lead singers to sing themselves on both the film and the album.
Among the popular songs are: "There's Nothing Like A Dame", "Happy Talk", "Bali Ha'i" ...
The soundtrack record was a wild success on both sides of the Atlantic! The album topped both the United States and the UK! What's more: South Pacific held the lead for a whopping seven months! This made it the fourth largest circulation in history ... If you believe the official data, then in 2006 about 2 million copies of the album were sold (and this is only in the UK)! By the way: the album will enjoy huge popularity throughout the 1960s ...
