(1957 Version) |
| Album Notes Music composed by Leonard Bernstein. Lyrics written by Stephen Sondheim. Principal cast: Carol Lawrence (Maria); Larry Kert (Tony); Chita Rivera (Anita); Mickey Calin (Riff); Ken Le Roy (Bernardo). Original cast recorded at Columbia 30th Street Studio, New York, New York on September 29, 1957. Includes liner notes by Martin Charnin and Nicholas Deutsch. All tracks have been digitally remastered. This is part of Columbia Records' Columbia Broadway Masterworks series. Record buyers who had not seen the show that opened on Broadway in 1957, could hardly believe their ears when this dramatic, early stereo album reached the stores soon afterwards. Classical composer Leonard Bernstein and newcomer Stephen Sondheim's spellbinding score combined exquisite ballads such as "Maria" and "Tonight" with streetwise numbers such as "Gee, Officer Krupke" and the exhilarating "America." Carol Lawrence, Larry Kert and Chita Rivera led the superb young cast, and the album stayed for 120 weeks in the US chart but faired poorly on its UK release. In 1991 it was inducted into the NARAS Hall of Fame. |