This is the first time that one of the label's vintage restorations – which have included Strike Up the Band, Life Begins at 8:40, Kitty's Kisses and Fine and Dandy – has made the Billboard Cast Album chart.
PS Classics co-founder Tommy Krasker told Playbill.com, "We knew initial interest was high, but it’s incredibly gratifying to see that borne out in first-week sales. This is a score folks should have had the opportunity to hear 65 years ago; I think Duke and Nash would be surprised, yet very pleased, to learn that folks are still eager to sample it today. And in terms of PS Classics, if sales hold up, I hope it will allow us to continue these vintage restorations on a more regular basis."
The recording of Sweet Bye and Bye features Danny Burstein, Philip Chaffin, Jim Stanek, Heidi Blickenstaff, Graham Rowat, Michele Ragusa, Telly Leung, Sara Jean Ford, and in the leading role originated by Dolores Gray, Tony Award nominee Marin Mazzie. The disc includes guest appearances by Broadway's Rebecca Luker, Fred Applegate, John Cullum, Georgia Engel, Joel Hatch and Edward Hibbert.
Krasker had previously told Playbill.com, "I think [Sweet Bye and Bye] represents Duke and Nash at the very height of their creative powers. It was Duke's first attempt to write an 'integrated' musical score in the style popularized by Oklahoma!, and you can tell he brought his full talents and background and passion to bear on the project; the music is challenging and virtuosic yet deeply romantic in a way I've never quite seen in any other Broadway score I've studied."
The track listing follows: 1. Prologue
2. Sweet Bye and Bye
3. "Scientists' Scene"
4. Born Too Late
5. "Pope's Entrance"
6. Ham That I Am
7. "Solomon at Futurosy"
8. Yes, Yes
9. As You Were Saying
10. Factory Ballet
11. Diana
12. Too Enchanting
13. I Says to Him
14. Let's Be Young
15. Round About
16. Executives Anonymous
17. Knife's Recitative
18. Our Parents Forgot to Get Married
19. My Broker Told Me So
20. Just Like a Man
21. Utility Polka
22. It's Good
23. Where Is Bundy?
24. The Sea-gull and the Ea-gull
25. Eskimo Bacchante
26. Sweet Bye and Bye (Reprise)
For more about PS Classics, visit PSClassics.com.
