Hello Dolly! Soundtrack CD

Music and lyrics written by Jerry Herman.
Principal Cast: Carol Channing (Mrs. Dolly Gallagher Levi); Mary Jo Catlett (Ernestina); Igors Gavon (Ambrose Kemper); Jan LaPrade, Bonnie Mathis (Horse); David Burns (Horace Vandergelder); Alice Playten (Ermengarde); Charles Nelson Reilly (Cornelius Hackl); Jerry Dodge (Barnaby Tucker); Eileen Brennan (Irene Molloy); Sondra Lee (Minnie Fay); Ken Ayers (Court Clerk); Amelia Haas (Mrs. Rose); David Hartman (Rudolph); Gordon Connell (Judge).
Producers: Andy Wiswell, Hugh Mendl, George R. Marek.
Compilation producer: Daniel Guss.
Principally recorded at Webster Hall, New York, New York on January 19, 1964. Includes liner notes by Daniel Guss.
This is part of RCA's "Broadway Deluxe Collector's" series.
Principal cast includes: Barbra Streisand (Dolli Levi), Walter Matthau, Michael Crawford, Tommy Tune, Louis Armstrong.
All music written by Jerry Herman.
Composer/Lyricist: Jerry Herman.
Recording information: Voice Works Sound Studios, New York, NY (01/19/1964); Webster Hall, New York, NY (01/19/1964).
Editor: Steven Garrin.
The movie version of Hello, Dolly! was considered to be something of a disappointment, which may help explain why the soundtrack album is one of the few records Barbra Streisand is associated with that hasn't even gone gold. Streisand's wild miscasting is less apparent on record than on film, however, and she sings effectively. The album also features Louis Armstrong, who had a hit with the title song (not this version) and, in a small part, Michael Crawford, later in the award-winning Phantom of the Opera. On the other hand, Walter Matthau can't sing. ~ William Ruhlmann
This is the recording of the all-Black cast that took over the show more than three years into its run, with Pearl Bailey and Cab Calloway in the lead roles. Though less accomplished than the original, it is notable for Bailey's individual interpretation of Dolly. Bailey was sadly underrecorded during her career, and this is a highlight of what little there is. ~ William Ruhlmann
Jerry Herman's musical (with book by Michael Stewart) based on Thornton Wilder's The Matchmaker was one of the last great old-style musicals and a massive hit. Even today, its songs (including the title track, "Before the Parade Passes By," and "So Long Dearie") are so memorable most people can hum them. Herman used a turn-of-the-century, major-chord, big-melody approach, effectively kidded and overcome by Carol Channing in the title role. It's precisely because Channing doesn't quite have the range for these melodies that she's able to express the character so well (an effect lost in the Barbra Streisand movie version, though Streisand has no trouble expressing character in other ways). And the supporting cast, including Charles Nelson Reilly, Eileen Brennan, and David Burns, is ideal. ~ William Ruhlmann
Carol Channing had her greatest Broadway role (to date) in this hit Broadway show, and her scatty style and unmistakable squeaky voice came over perfectly on this album. The many highlights from Jerry Herman's stunning score included the tender 'It Only Takes A Moment' and 'Put On Your Sunday Clothes', but it was the title number, a good old-fashioned rouser, that won the Grammy for song of the year - in the middle of the beat boom! The album itself lingered for 58 weeks in the US Top 40, peaking at number 1.
Few Broadway musicals have proven as timeless as Hello, Dolly! (1964). On this 2003 Deluxe Version, not only has the 1964 Original Cast Recording been sonically overhauled -- utilizing top-shelf digital remastering -- but also significantly augmented with six supplementary recordings and ten-minutes-worth of recollections from a 2003 interview with Carol Channing. The centerpiece is the David Merrick adaptation of Thornton Wilder's The Matchmaker (1956). When coupled with Gower Champion's impeccable direction and choreography, as well as Jerry Herman's equally memorable score,