Wicked’s Cast Album Wins Grammy Award

By Kenneth Jones
13 Feb 2005

After a loss to Avenue Q at the Tony Awards, Stephen Schwartz had reason to celebrate when Wicked was named Best Musical Show Album at the 47th Grammy Awards.

The Grammy went to Schwartz, who was not only the composer/lyricist of the smash musical set in the land of Oz, but also produced the Decca Broadway recording. The other nominees in the Best Musical Show Album category were:

  • Assassins, Tommy Krasker, producer; Stephen Sondheim, composer-lyricist; The Broadway Cast Recording With Neil Patrick Harris, Michael Cerveris and Others on the PS Classics label.

  • Avenue Q - The Musical, Jay David Saks, producer; Robert Lopez & Jeff Marx, composers/lyricists; original Broadway Cast Recording with Rick Lyon, Jennifer Barnhart and others; on the Victor label.

  • The Boy From Oz, Phil Ramone, producer; Peter Allen and others, composer/lyricist; Original Broadway Cast Recording With Hugh Jackman and Others; on the Decca Broadway label.

  • Wonderful Town, Hugh Fordin, producer; Leonard Bernstein, composer; Betty Comden & Adolph Green, lyricists; The New Broadway Cast Recording With Donna Murphy on the DRG Theater label.

    The awards go to album producer(s), and to the lyricist(s) and composer(s) of 51 percent or more of a new score.

    In the field of Traditional Pop in the category of Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album(for albums containing 51 percent or more playing time of vocal tracks), the Rod Stewart's "Stardust...The Great American Songbook Volume III" on J Records triumphed over "Only You" (Harry Connick) on the Columbia label; "Count Your Blessings" (a disc of holiday songs by Barbara Cook) on the DRG label; "Ultimate Mancini" (Monica Mancini) on Concord Records and "Just For a Thrill" ( Ronnie Milsap) on the Image Music Corp.

    In the category of Best Spoken Word Album For Children (for albums consisting of predominantly spoken word vs. music or song), "The Train They Call the City of New Orleans" (Tom Chapin on Live Oak Media) beat fellow nominees "The Best Halloween Ever" (Elaine Stritch on Harper Children's Audio); "Carnival of the Animals" (John Lithgow on Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers); "The Emperor's New Clothes" (Peter Schickele on Newport Classic); "Green Eggs and Ham and Other Servings of Dr. Seuss" (Various Artists, John McElroy, producer, on Listening Library) and "The Story of Classical Music" (Marin Alsop on Naxos Audio Books).

    In the category of Best Opera Recording, Mozart: Le Nozze Di Figaro (Harmonia Mundi) won over Monteverdi: L'Orféo (Virgin Classics); Montsalvatge: El Gato Con Botas (Columna Música); ; Purcell Dido And Aeneas (Virgin Classics) and Scarlatti, A.: Griselda (Harmonia Mundi).

    The Grammys celebrate excellence in the recording industry.

    The above nominees are for recordings released during the eligibility year Oct. 1, 2003 through Sept. 30, 2004.

    The nominees were announced Dec. 7, 2004.

    The Grammy Award winners were announced on CBS in a broadcast from the Staples Center in Los Angeles Sunday Feb. 13. Visit www.grammy.org.