An album musical is a type of recording that sounds like an
original cast album
A cast recording is a recording of a stage musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording or OCR, as the name implies, features the voices of the sho ...
but is created specifically for the recording medium and is a complete entertainment product in itself, rather than just promoting or reflecting an existing or planned
musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...
production or
revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre, theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketch comedy, sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural pre ...
. Although there has been no one term consistently used to describe this type of recording, the genre predates the use of the term "
concept album
A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...
" by several decades, dating back to the era of 78-rpm records with such original works as
Gordon Jenkins' ''
Manhattan Tower'' (1946, expanded in 1956),
''The Letter'', (1959) starring
Judy Garland
Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Possessing a strong contralto voice, she was celebrated for her emotional depth and versatility across film, stage, and concert performance. ...
, and
Stan Freberg
Stan Freberg (born Stanley Friberg; August 7, 1926 – April 7, 2015) was an American actor, author, comedian, musician, puppeteer, radio personality and advertising creative director.
His best-known works include " St. George and the Dragonet ...
's ''
Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America, Volume One: The Early Years'' (1961). On most contemporary concept albums, the performers or bands sing as themselves, whereas on an album musical the performers are playing characters in a story.
Some original album musicals have later been expanded into staged musicals, including ''
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
''You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown'' is a 1967 musical with music and lyrics by Clark Gesner and (in a 1999 revision) Andrew Lippa. It is based on the characters created by cartoonist Charles M. Schulz in his comic strip ''Peanuts''. The musical ...
'' (which was specifically labeled an "Original Album Musical") and, beginning in the late 1960s, such notable
rock musical
A rock musical is a musical theatre work with rock music. The genre of rock musical may overlap somewhat with album musicals, concept albums and song cycles, as they sometimes tell a story through the rock music, and some album musicals and concep ...
s as
Tim Rice
Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English songwriter. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ''Jesus C ...
,
Björn Ulvaeus
Björn Kristian Ulvaeus (; born 25 April 1945) is a Swedish musician, singer, songwriter, and producer best known as a member of the musical group ABBA. He is also the co-composer of the musicals ''Chess (musical), Chess'', ''Kristina från Duve ...
and
Benny Andersson
Göran Bror Benny Andersson (; born 16 December 1946) is a Swedish musician, composer and producer best known as a member of the pop group ABBA and co-composer of the musicals ''Chess (musical), Chess'', ''Kristina från Duvemåla'', and ''Mamm ...
's ''
Chess
Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...
'' and
The Who
The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...
's
''Tommy''. Although
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...
and
Tim Rice
Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English songwriter. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ''Jesus C ...
may have been anticipating later stage productions when they recorded their two-LP albums of ''
Jesus Christ Superstar
''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Life of Jesus in the New Testament, Gospels' accounts of Passion of Jesus, the Passion, the work interprets ...
'' and ''
Evita'', at the time of their initial release they were, in essence, album musicals.
Recordings
The album musical as a distinct type of recording was popularized by composer/conductor
Gordon Jenkins who created a set of 78 rpm records in 1946 called ''Manhattan Tower'' and
later expanded the dialogue and music in 1956 to take advantage of the longer playing time of
LP records. Although ''Manhattan Tower'' was performed in concert halls, Las Vegas, on television (with
Ethel Waters
Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896 – September 1, 1977) was an American singer and actress. Waters frequently performed jazz, swing, and pop music on the Broadway stage and in concerts. She began her career in the 1920s singing blues. Her no ...
,
Cesar Romero
César Julio Romero Jr. (February 15, 1907 – January 1, 1994) was an American actor. He was active in film, radio, and television for almost 60 years. His wide range of screen roles included Latin lover (stereotype), Latin lovers, historical ...
and
Phil Harris) and later re-recorded on separate record albums by both
Patti Page
Clara Ann Fowler (November 8, 1927 – January 1, 2013), better known by her stage name Patti Page, was an American singer. Primarily known for Pop music, pop and Country music, country music, she was the top-charting female vocalist and b ...
and
Robert Goulet
Robert Gérard Goulet (November 26, 1933 October 30, 2007) was an American‐Canadian singer and actor of French-Canadian ancestry. Goulet was born and raised in Lawrence, Massachusetts, until age 13, and then spent his formative years in Canad ...
, it was never actually presented as a stage musical. Jenkins later created the album musicals ''
California: A Musical Narrative'', ''
Seven Dreams'', and ''The Letter'' starring
Judy Garland
Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Possessing a strong contralto voice, she was celebrated for her emotional depth and versatility across film, stage, and concert performance. ...
.
In 1954,
David Lippincott, a
jingle
A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meanings that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...
writer at
McCann-Erickson
McCann, formerly McCann Erickson, is an American global advertising agency network, with offices in over 120 countries. McCann is part of McCann Worldgroup, along with several other agencies, including direct digital marketing agency MRM//McCa ...
, an
advertising agency
An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generall ...
, wrote the music and lyrics for an album musical called ''
The Body in the Seine'', featuring Broadway performers
Alice Pearce and
George S. Irving, among others, in the hope of finding a book writer to expand his score into a Broadway musical. Because of the limited release of the album, ''The Body in the Seine'' is one of the rarest album musicals.
A 1957 MGM recording, ''Frankie and Johnny,'' with music by
Robert Cobert and lyrics by
Dion McGregor, featured Danny Scholl (''
Top Banana''), Joan Coburn (''
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes''), Nat Frey (''
Damn Yankees
''Damn Yankees'' is a 1955 musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., d ...
'') and MGM recording artist Mary Mayo. Also in the cast were
Frank Aletter (''
Bells Are Ringing''),
Peggy Cass
Mary Margaret "Peggy" Cass (May 21, 1924 – March 8, 1999) was an American actress, comedian, game show panelist, and announcer.
As an actress, Cass is best known for originating the role of Agnes Gooch in the 1956 stage and 1958 film ver ...
(''
Auntie Mame
''Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade'' is a 1955 novel by American author Patrick Dennis chronicling the madcap adventures of a boy, Patrick, growing up as the Ward (law), ward of his Aunt Mame Dennis, the sister of his dead father.
The book i ...
'') and William Lanteau (''
Newhart
''Newhart'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from October 25, 1982, to May 21, 1990, with a total of 184 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons. The series stars Bob Newhart and Mary Frann as an author and his wife, respe ...
''). The recording, which features dialogue and songs, is a complete musical drama with orchestrations by Philip J. Lang. It is unrelated to the 1966 movie starring
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
.
A 1959 album musical called ''Clara'', featuring Broadway performers
Betty Garrett (''
Call Me Mister'') and
James Komack
James Komack (August 3, 1924 – December 24, 1997) was an American television producer, director, screenwriter, and actor. He is best known for producing several hit television series, including '' The Courtship of Eddie's Father'', ''Chico and ...
(''
Damn Yankees
''Damn Yankees'' is a 1955 musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., d ...
''), was subsequently expanded into a Broadway musical called ''
Beg, Borrow or Steal'' that played five performances at the
Martin Beck Theater in February 1960. Betty Garrett, repeating her role from the record, was joined on stage by her husband,
Larry Parks
Samuel Lawrence Klusman Parks (December 13, 1914 – April 13, 1975) was an American stage and film actor. His career arced from bit player and supporting roles to top billing, before it virtually ended when he admitted to having been a memb ...
,
Biff McGuire and
Eddie Bracken
Edward Vincent Bracken (February 7, 1915 – November 14, 2002) was an American actor. Bracken came to Hollywood prominence for his comedic lead performances in the films '' Hail the Conquering Hero'' and '' The Miracle of Morgan's Creek'' b ...
.
One of the best-selling album musicals of the early 1960s was ''
Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America, Volume One: The Early Years'', released in 1961 on
Capitol Records
Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...
and billed as "An Original Musical Review Created Specifically For Stereo" (or "For Records," in the
monaural
Monaural sound or monophonic sound (often shortened to mono) is sound intended to be heard as if it were emanating from one position. This contrasts with stereophonic sound or ''stereo'', which uses two separate audio channels to reproduce so ...
version).
Stan Freberg
Stan Freberg (born Stanley Friberg; August 7, 1926 – April 7, 2015) was an American actor, author, comedian, musician, puppeteer, radio personality and advertising creative director.
His best-known works include " St. George and the Dragonet ...
's extravagant musical comedy dealt with the birth of the United States of America in satiric terms and featured original songs, sketches and even dancing (tap-dancing Indians). Freberg had planned to release at least two follow-up albums, but he was approached by producer
David Merrick
David Merrick (born David Lee Margulois; November 27, 1911 – April 25, 2000) was an American theatrical producer who won a number of Tony Awards.
Life and career
Born David Lee Margulois to Jewish parents in St. Louis, Missouri, Merrick grad ...
with an offer to move the work to
Broadway. By the time the proposed production was cancelled, Freberg had moved on to other projects and ''Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America, Volume Two'' was not released until 1996, with several of the surviving cast members from the original album, along with several new performers.
In 1963, ''
The Ballad Of Fanny Hill'', a
double-record set subtitled "An Original Musical
Monodrama
A monodrama is a theatrical or operatic piece played by a single actor or singer, usually portraying one character.
In opera
In opera, a monodrama was originally a melodrama with one role such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau's '' Pygmalion'', which w ...
Based Upon the Book ''
Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure'' by John Cleland," was released on Fax Records, a label noted primarily for its suggestive comedy LPs. Although authorship credit on the LP jacket is given to "Charles Sydney" and "Gerald Coates," the recording, which featured the
bawdy
Ribaldry or blue comedy is humorous entertainment that ranges from bordering on indelicacy to indecency. Blue comedy is also referred to as "bawdiness" or being "bawdy". Like any humour, ribaldry may be read as conventional or subversive. Ribald ...
humor of the novel, was actually the product of
lyricist
A lyricist is a writer who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment.
Royalties
A lyricist's income derives ...
Sid Kuller and
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and def ...
/
musical director Gerald Dolin. The
solo
Solo or SOLO may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Characters
* Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character
* Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''Star Wars Legends'' continuity
* Kylo Ren (Ben Solo), a ''Star Wars'' character
* Napoleon Solo, fr ...
performer is the
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...
ous Julie Hamilton.
Clark Gesner's album musical, ''
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
''You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown'' is a 1967 musical with music and lyrics by Clark Gesner and (in a 1999 revision) Andrew Lippa. It is based on the characters created by cartoonist Charles M. Schulz in his comic strip ''Peanuts''. The musical ...
'', which had been released on
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
's children's label Leo Records as an "Original Album Musical," was successfully expanded into a long-running
Off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
musical in 1967. MGM also released the
Original Cast Recording
A cast recording is a recording of a stage musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording or OCR, as the name implies, features the voices of the sho ...
of the stage show.
Melvin Van Peebles
Melvin Van Peebles (born Melvin Peebles; August 21, 1932 – September 21, 2021) was an American actor, filmmaker, writer, and composer. He worked as an active filmmaker into the early 2020s. His feature film debut, ''The Story of a Three-Day Pa ...
' darkly comic and explicit 1970 album, ''
Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death'', became a
Tony-nominated
Broadway musical in October 1971, interpolating material from two of Van Peebles' other albums, ''
Brer Soul'' and ''
As Serious as a Heart-Attack'', as well. A number of popular
rock musical
A rock musical is a musical theatre work with rock music. The genre of rock musical may overlap somewhat with album musicals, concept albums and song cycles, as they sometimes tell a story through the rock music, and some album musicals and concep ...
s (or "
rock opera
A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...
s") began as original album musicals, including ''
Jesus Christ Superstar
''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Life of Jesus in the New Testament, Gospels' accounts of Passion of Jesus, the Passion, the work interprets ...
'', ''
Evita'',
''Chess'',
''The Who's Tommy'',
''The War of the Worlds'', ''
The Wall
''The Wall'' is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 30 November 1979 by Harvest/ EMI and Columbia/ CBS Records. It is a rock opera which explores Pink, a jaded rock star, as he constructs a psychologic ...
'' and ''
American Idiot
''American Idiot'' is the seventh studio album by the American rock band Green Day, released on September 21, 2004, by Reprise Records. The album was produced by Rob Cavallo in collaboration with the group. Recording sessions for ''American ...
''.
An interesting variation on the album musical is ''A Complete Authentic Minstrel Show'' released in both
monaural
Monaural sound or monophonic sound (often shortened to mono) is sound intended to be heard as if it were emanating from one position. This contrasts with stereophonic sound or ''stereo'', which uses two separate audio channels to reproduce so ...
and
stereo
Stereophonic sound, commonly shortened to stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configurat ...
in 1958 on the budget label, Somerset Records. The album is a compilation of classic songs and jokes featured in American
minstrel show
The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of theater developed in the early 19th century. The shows were performed by mostly white actors wearing blackface makeup for the purpose of portraying racial stereotypes of Afr ...
s, a form of entertainment that was popular during the later 19th and early 20th centuries. Because of the often negative
stereotype
In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalization, generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can ...
s of
African-American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
s, the genre quickly lost public favor with the birth of the
civil rights movement. Although the recorded material is not original, the fact that the album simulates a live stage performance (without actually be derived from such a performance) makes it a form of album musical.
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...
released two minstrel show recordings of its own a few years later called ''Gentlemen, Be Seated!'' and its sequel, ''Gentlemen, Be Seated! (Again)''. Similar albums were created that simulate old
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...
and
burlesque
A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects. shows.
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...
's ''
Joe's Garage
''Joe's Garage'' is a three-part rock opera released by American musician Frank Zappa in September and November 1979. Originally released as two separate albums on Zappa Records, the project was later remastered and reissued as a triple album ...
'' (1979) and ''
Thing-Fish'' (1984) were album musicals. The material of ''Thing-Fish'' was presented as an "original cast recording"; Zappa had intended to stage it as a play, but was unable to find financing, and it was subsequently staged after his death, as was ''Joe's Garage''. ''Joe's Garage'' was a satire of music censorship in the form of an anti-music government propaganda play, while ''Thing-Fish'' encompassed conspiracy theories surrounding AIDS and satire of Broadway tropes, racial stereotypes, homosexuality, political correctness and feminism.
A more recent album musical is
Hungarian-American composer and playwright Bálint Varga and lyricist Lia Barcellona Tamborra's ''d'ILLUSION: The Houdini Musical'' (2020), inspired by the life of illusionist/stunt performer
Harry Houdini
Erik Weisz (March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926), known professionally as Harry Houdini ( ), was a Hungarian-American escapologist, illusionist, and stunt performer noted for his escape acts.
Houdini first attracted notice in vaudeville in ...
(played by Julian R. Decker). All of the participating actors, voice talents and musicians recorded their parts remotely from all over the world while quarantined inside their homes due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
and its
impact on the performing arts.
See also
*
Concept album
A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
Sinatra: The Singer is You (on Gordon Jenkins)IBDB: ''Beg, Borrow or Steal''
Musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film
Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...
Musicals