There is a glut of Broadway romance in record stores Jan. 25.
The Decca Broadway label is releasing a compilation disc of called "Broadway's Greatest Love Songs" Jan. 25, the same day RCA is releasing an album called "Broadway in Love."
Drawing on recordings from its vault, Decca is offering classic and contemporary love songs from the musical stage, ranging from musical comedies (On Your Toes, Guys and Dolls) to modern mega-musicals (Jesus Christ Superstar, Les Miserables).
The CD includes 20 songs with stars including John Raitt, Julie Andrews, Ethel Merman and others.
Decca was the label that released what is recognized as the first major commercial original cast recording, Oklahoma!. The new Decca compilation includes:
• "People Will Say We're In Love" from Oklahoma! (Alfred Drake and Joan Roberts)
• "If I Loved You" from Carousel (John Raitt and Jan Clayton)
• "They Say It's Wonderful" from Annie Get Your Gun (Ethel Merman and Ray Middleton)
• "I've Never Been in Love Before" from Guys & Dolls (Robert Alda and Isabel Bigley)
• "Hello, Young Lovers" from The King & I (Gertrude Lawrence)
• "A Little Bit in Love" from Wonderful Town (Edie Adams)
• "There's a Small Hotel" from On Your Toes (Bobby Van and Kay Coulter)
• "I Say Hello" from Destry Rides Again (Dolores Gray)
• "Love Makes the World Go 'Round" from Carnival (Anna Maria Alberghetti)
• "She Loves Me" from She Loves Me (Daniel Massey)
• "Dulcinea" from Man of La Mancha (Richard Kiley)
• "I Don't Know How to Love Him" from Jesus Christ Superstar (Yvonne Elliman)
• "Time Heals Everything" from Mack and Mabel (Bernadette Peters)
• "Memory" from Cats (Betty Buckley)
• "Suddenly, Seymour" from Little Shop of Horrors (Ellen Greene, Lee Wilkof, Jennifer Leigh Warren, Sheila Kay Davis, Leilani Jones)
• "I Know Him So Well" from Chess (Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson)
• "On My Own" from Les Miserables (Francis Ruffelle)
• "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" from The Phantom of the Opera (Sarah Brightman)
• "The Last Night of the World" from Miss Saigon (Lea Salonga and Simon Bowman)
• "Almost a Love Song" from Victor/Victoria (Julie Andrews and Michael Nouri)
Did we mention that the romantic Cole Porter score of Kiss Me, Kate, the revival cast recording, is also being released (by DRG) Jan. 25?
-- By Kenneth Jones
