MY FAIR LADY - Original Soundtrack
YEAR: 1964
LABEL: CBS
TRACK LISTING: Overture, Why Can't the English?, Wouldn't It Be Loverly, I'm Just an Ordinary Man, With A Little Bit of Luck, Just You Wait, The Rain In Spain, I Could Have Danced All Night, Ascot Gavotte, On the Street Where You Live, You Did It, Show Me, Get Me To the Church On Time, A Hymn To Him, Without You, I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face
BONUS TRACKS: (from the later CD version): Servants Chorus, Ascot Gavotte (Reprise), Intermission, Transylvanian March, Embassy Waltz, Just You Wait (Reprise), Finale, Exit Music
IMPRESSIONS: I always associate this movie with Christmas because back around 1980 for a few years the pay channel "Prism" would show it at Christmastime. I was given the vinyl LP of this soundtrack by my friend Ed Jacoby. A few years later, I was involved in my high school production of MY FAIR LADY along with my friend Paul (who is now an award-winning acting coach/director/casting agent) who played the role of Alfred P. Doolittle so I have a definite soft spot for the musical. I don't like hardly any Broadway musicals so this is one of the few. Purists will no doubt scoff at this point because I've got the film soundtrack up here instead of the "real" Broadway soundtrack album with Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews. Well, I actually own both. And while the 1956 original Broadway cast recording does have the wonderful performance by Julie Andrews (who was screwed out of the movie role but got her revenge by winning the Oscar for MARY POPPINS), truth be told Rex Harrison's performance of the songs is better in the film version than the Broadway recording. Doubtless this derives from the fact that he had that many more performances under his belt to hone his song delivery for the movie. That being said, BOTH versions are excellent . . . but I'm not going to be redundant and post BOTH albums of the exact same songs here. At least not anytime soon!
MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: Why Can't the English?. Wouldn't It Be Loverly, I'm Just an Ordinary Man, With A Little Bit of Luck, Just You Wait, I Could Have Danced All Night, Ascot Gavotte, On the Street Where You Live, Get Me To the Church On Time, A Hymn To Him, I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face
FACT SHEET: MY FAIR LADY is the original 1964 soundtrack album to the film. It features Rex Harrison, Marni Nixon, Audrey Hepburn (spoken dialogue), Wilfrid Hyde-White, Stanley Holloway, Bill Shirley (dubbing Jeremy Brett's singing), Mona Washbourne and Gladys Cooper. The Warner Bros. orchestra is conducted by Andre Previn. The film is based on the George Bernard Shaw play "PYGMALION" and won eight Academy Awards.
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