| Howard Sings Ashman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Compilation album by | |
| Released | November 11, 2008 |
| Recorded | 1984–1991 |
| Genre | Musical theater |
| Label | PS Classics |
| Producer | Steve Nelson |
Howard Sings Ashman is a two-disc album compiled by PS Classics as part of their Songwriter Series. The album features Howard Ashman singing selections from his musicals, including God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1979), Little Shop of Horrors (1982), Smile (1986), The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991) and Aladdin (1992). [1]
The album is produced with the assistance and cooperation of Howard's sister Sarah Ashman Gillespie, and his life partner William Lauch. [2] According to PS Classics website, the album "captures the diverse and memorable accomplishments of one of the geniuses of the contemporary American musical theatre." [1]
The album consists of private demo recordings of Howard Ashman. The first disc has 18 tracks which feature Howard's works with Alan Menken, including hits from shows Little Shop of Horrors , The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast , deleted songs from Aladdin , songs from lesser known musical called God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater , individual tracks from Diamonds (with Jonathan Sheffer) and a song from the unfinished musical Babe. [3]
The second disc, a bonus CD, features 15 complete demo tracks from Ashman's collaboration with Marvin Hamlisch, the musical Smile , with Ashman and Hamlisch singing the songs. Smile was a short-lived musical about a teen beauty pageant and did not have a cast album. William Ruhlmann, in his review on AllMusic wrote of Smile: "...the score comes off as witty and appealing, even with two adult men portraying a bunch of teenage girls." [3]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Da-Doo (from Little Shop of Horrors )" | Howard Ashman, Alan Menken | 1:26 |
| 2. | "Bad (a song cut from film version of Little Shop of Horrors)" | Ashman, Menken | 2:38 |
| 3. | "The Rosewater Foundation (from God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater )" | Ashman, Menken | 3:34 |
| 4. | "Mushari's Waltz [Magical Moment] (from God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater)" | Ashman, Menken | 2:56 |
| 5. | "Cheese Nips (from God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater )" | Ashman, Menken | 2:30 |
| 6. | "Growing Boy (from Babe)" | Ashman, Menken | 3:52 |
| 7. | "The Straw Boater Rag (from Diamonds)" | Ashman, Jonathan Sheffer | 3:54 |
| 8. | "Sheridan Square" | Ashman, Menken | 4:44 |
| 9. | "Part of Your World (from The Little Mermaid )" | Ashman, Menken | 3:07 |
| 10. | "Under the Sea (from The Little Mermaid )" | Ashman, Menken | 3:20 |
| 11. | "Poor Unfortunate Souls (from The Little Mermaid )" | Ashman, Menken | 5:11 |
| 12. | "Les Poissons (from The Little Mermaid )" | Ashman, Menken | 2:00 |
| 13. | "Arabian Nights (from Aladdin )" | Ashman, Menken | 3:34 |
| 14. | "Bakkak, Omar, Aladdin, Kassim (deleted song from Aladdin )" | Ashman, Menken | 2:14 |
| 15. | "Call Me a Princess (deleted song from Aladdin )" | Ashman, Menken | 3:42 |
| 16. | "Gaston (from Beauty and the Beast )" | Ashman, Menken | 3:45 |
| 17. | "Be Our Guest (from Beauty and the Beast)" | Ashman, Menken | 4:42 |
| 18. | "Beauty and the Beast (from Beauty and the Beast )" | Ashman, Menken | 2:17 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Typical High School Senior (from Smile )" | Ashman, Marvin Hamlisch | 5:13 |
| 2. | "Welcom to Santa Rosa" | Ashman, Hamlisch | 4:57 |
| 3. | "Disneyland" | Ashman, Hamlisch | 2:58 |
| 4. | "Shine" | Ashman, Hamlisch | 7:34 |
| 5. | "Postcard 2 - What Was I Thinking?" | Ashman, Hamlisch | 1:36 |
| 6. | "Nerves" | Ashman, Hamlisch | 2:03 |
| 7. | "Young and American" | Ashman, Hamlisch | 9:36 |
| 8. | "Tonight (Act One Finale)" | Ashman, Hamlisch | 4:34 |
| 9. | "Act 2 Opening / Do It For Me" | Ashman, Hamlisch | 4:03 |
| 10. | "Ted Farley Sequence" | Ashman, Hamlisch | 2:39 |
| 11. | "Smile" | Ashman, Hamlisch | 6:46 |
| 12. | "We Wish We Were You" | Ashman, Hamlisch | 3:21 |
| 13. | "In Our Hands" | Ashman, Hamlisch | 5:12 |
| 14. | "Pretty as a Picture (Finale)" | Ashman, Hamlisch | 7:54 |
| 15. | "Big Bob's Song" | Ashman, Hamlisch | 3:30 |
*"Bad" is an unused song for the 1986 movie, Little Shop Of Horrors. It was replaced by "Mean Green Mother from Outer Space". The song did not make it past the demo stage, but the sequence was storyboarded for the film
Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated musical romantic fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is based on the 1756 fairy tale of the same name by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, while also containing ideas from the 1946 French film also of the same name directed by Jean Cocteau. The film was directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise and produced by Don Hahn, from a screenplay by Linda Woolverton.
The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is loosely based on the 1837 Danish fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen. The film was written and directed by John Musker and Ron Clements and produced by Musker and Howard Ashman, who also wrote the film's songs with Alan Menken. Menken also composed the film's score. Featuring the voices of René Auberjonois, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Jodi Benson, Pat Carroll, Paddi Edwards, Buddy Hackett, Jason Marin, Kenneth Mars, Ben Wright and Samuel E. Wright, The Little Mermaid tells the story of a teenage mermaid princess named Ariel, who dreams of becoming human and falls in love with a human prince named Eric, which leads her to make a magic deal with the sea witch, Ursula, to become human and be with him.
Jodi Marie Benson is an American actress and singer. She is best known for providing the voice of Ariel in Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid and throughout other films, including its sequel, prequel, and television series spin-off, as well as many other Disney works going up to the present day of the 2020s. Benson also filled in for Paige O'Hara as the voice of Belle in House of Mouse and voiced the character Barbie in the second and third films of the Toy Story franchise (1999–2010), and in the Toy Story Toons short Hawaiian Vacation (2011). For her contributions to Disney, Benson was named a Disney Legend in 2011.
Howard Elliott Ashman was an American playwright, lyricist and stage director. He is most widely known for his work on feature films for Walt Disney Animation Studios, for which Ashman wrote the lyrics and Alan Menken composed the music. Ashman has been credited as being a main driving force behind the Disney Renaissance. His work included songs for Little Shop of Horrors, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin. Tim Rice took over to write the rest of the songs for the latter film after Ashman's death in 1991.
Alan Irwin Menken is an American composer, pianist, music director, and record producer, best known for his scores and songs for films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Menken's music for The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), and Pocahontas (1995) has each won him two Academy Awards. He also composed the scores and songs for Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Newsies (1992), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Hercules (1997), Home on the Range (2004), Enchanted (2007), Tangled (2010), and Disenchanted (2022), among others. His accolades include winning eight Academy Awards — becoming the second most prolific Oscar winner in the music categories after Alfred Newman, a Tony Award, eleven Grammy Awards, seven Golden Globe Awards, and a Daytime Emmy Award. Menken is one of nineteen people to have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony.
Smile is a musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch and book and lyrics by Howard Ashman. It was originally produced on Broadway in 1986. The musical is based loosely on the 1975 comedy film of the same title, from a screenplay by Jerry Belson.
On the Record is a jukebox musical revue featuring many classic songs from a variety of live action and animated films and television series produced by Walt Disney Pictures, Broadway musical plays produced by Walt Disney Theatrical, and even Disneyland attractions. This theatrical celebration of 75 years of Disney music tells the story of four singers recording a greatest hits album in a magical recording studio. After opening in Cleveland in 2004, the production toured for nine months, visiting 24 cities in the United States before closing in Denver in mid-2005.
Aladdin: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack for the 1992 Disney animated feature film, Aladdin. The album was released by Walt Disney Records on CD and cassette tape on October 27, 1992. The soundtrack was intertwined with demos, work tapes and unreleased masters, as well as original scores in 1994 in a four-disc box set entitled The Music Behind the Magic: The Musical Artistry of Alan Menken, Howard Ashman & Tim Rice. A remastered reissue with altered lyrics and new artwork was released on March 27, 2001. A special edition reissue featuring two previously released demos and new artwork was released on September 28, 2004. The Legacy Collection: Aladdin was released on September 9, 2022, to coincide with the 30th anniversary of Aladdin.
"Part of Your World" is a song written by lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken for Disney's animated feature film The Little Mermaid (1989). Performed by American actress and singer Jodi Benson in the titular role as Ariel, a mermaid princess, "Part of Your World" is a power ballad in which the main character expresses her strong desire to become human; its lyrics use placeholder names in lieu of several human-related terms that would be unfamiliar to a mermaid. The film's theme song is later reprised by Ariel after she rescues Eric, a human prince with whom she has fallen in love, from drowning.
The Little Mermaid: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the 1989 Disney animated feature film, The Little Mermaid. It contains the songs from the film written by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, as well as the film's score composed by Alan Menken. The score was orchestrated by Thomas Pasatieri. The album has achieved multi-platinum sales and won the Grammy Award for Best Recording for Children. The album includes recordings of the music that won the Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television, the Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Song and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score.
Beauty and the Beast: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the official soundtrack album to the 1991 Disney animated feature film, Beauty and the Beast. Originally released on October 22, 1991, by Walt Disney Records, the album's first half – tracks 2 to 9 – generally contains the film's musical numbers, all of which were written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Howard Ashman, while its latter half – tracks 10 to 14 – features its musical score, composed solely by Menken. While the majority of the album's content remains within the musical theatre genre, its songs have also been influenced by French, classical, pop and Broadway music. Credited to Various Artists, Beauty and the Beast: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack features performances by the film's main cast – Paige O'Hara, Richard White, Jesse Corti, Jerry Orbach, Angela Lansbury, Robby Benson and David Ogden Stiers – in order of appearance. Additionally, the album features recording artists Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson, who perform a pop rendition of the film's theme song of the same name, which simultaneously serves as the soundtrack's only single.
Ultimate Disney Princess is a three-disc compilation album set consisting of a wide range of popular Disney songs, mainly those sung by or related to the Disney Princesses.
The Disney Renaissance was a period from 1989 to 1999 during which Walt Disney Feature Animation returned to producing critically and commercially successful animated films. These were mostly musical adaptations of well-known stories, similar to the films produced during the era of Walt Disney from the 1930s to 1960s. The resurgence allowed Disney's animated films to become a powerhouse of successes at the domestic and foreign box office, earning much greater profits than most of the Disney films of previous eras.
The Music Behind the Magic: The Musical Artistry of Alan Menken, Howard Ashman & Tim Rice is a four-disc box set highlighting the creative evolution behind the music of Disney's The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. Released on November 22, 1994 on Walt Disney Records, the set includes work tape recordings, demos, previously released final recordings, and unreleased master recordings of songs and score cues.
Daniel Troob is an American arranger and orchestrator best known for his contributions to the Disney blockbusters of the 1990s & 2000s. He won Drama Desk awards for Big River (1985) and Rodgers & Hammersteins' "Cinderella" (2013).
"Belle" is a song written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Howard Ashman for Walt Disney Pictures' animated film Beauty and the Beast (1991). Originally recorded by American actress and singer Paige O'Hara and American actor Richard White, "Belle", a mid-tempo French and classical music-inspired song, incorporates both Broadway and musical theatre elements. The film's first song and opening number, "Belle" appears during Beauty and the Beast as a large scale operetta-style production number that introduces the film's heroine Belle, considered a book-loving nonconformist by the townspeople of the village, who has grown weary of the provincial life in which she is supposed to live, and Gaston, the film's narcissistic villain who wishes to desire her hand in marriage despite Belle's repeated rejections.
"Proud of Your Boy" is a song written by lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken. Originally intended for Disney's animated film Aladdin (1992), the song was omitted when Aladdin's mother was written out of the story. After being discarded, "Proud of Your Boy" remained largely undiscovered by audiences until Walt Disney Records released Ashman and Menken's demo on a compilation album in 1994, after which it gradually gained popularity. The song was eventually restored for the film's stage musical adaptation in 2011, originally performed and recorded by American actor Adam Jacobs. Lyrically, "Proud of Your Boy" is about a young man promising his mother that he will change his mischievous ways and ultimately make her proud.
Walt Disney Records: The Legacy Collection is a compilation album series produced and released by Walt Disney Records.
Kurt Vonnegut's God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater is a 1979 musical that marked the first collaboration of composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman. Based on Kurt Vonnegut's 1965 novel of the same name, the musical tells the story of Eliot Rosewater, a millionaire who develops a social conscience and creates a foundation to improve the lives of the citizens of an impoverished Indiana town.
Howard is a 2018 American documentary film written and directed by Don Hahn about the life of songwriter Howard Ashman. It received positive reviews from critics.