Although the release date of the Footloose cast album is Feb. 16, New York stores such as Virgin had the disc and cassette tape, on QVC’s Q Records label, as early as the week of Feb. 8, thrilling New York fans of the Broadway teen pop musical.

Initially, the recording was expected to be out by the end of January.

Specialty store Footlight Records in Greenwich Village did not have the disc as of Feb. 12, so finding the album may be a chore if NYC Footloose fans need an immediate fix. The Virgin Times Square store was stocked with the musical's disc and cassettes.

The cast of Footloose, lead by Jeremy Kushnier, cut loose in The Hit Factory recording studio in New York Nov. 2, 1998, to put the Dean Pitchford-Tom Snow score on record.

There are no guest-star bonus tracks or special "remixes" on the disc, said Footloose publicist Amy Jacobs (Nov. 3, 1998). Tommy Krasker, whose previous credits include the Roxbury studio recordings of Strike Up the Band, Girl Crazy and others, served as co-producer, with Snow. Snow and lyricist-book writer Dean Pitchford were on hand with the company for the recording of such Footloose classics (originated in the 1984 film) as "Let's Hear It For the Boy," "Almost Paradise," "Holding Out for a Hero" and the title song. Among new songs written for the musically fleshed-out stage version are "Learning to Be Silent," "Mama Says," I Confess" and "On Any Sunday."

The musical opened Oct. 22, 1998, at the Richard Rodgers Theatre after a tryout at Washington DC's Kennedy Center. A national tour is crossing the country.