South Pacific (original Broadway cast recording)

For the soundtrack to the 1958 film, see South Pacific (soundtrack).

"South Pacific (1949 album)" redirects here. For the album featuring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Ella Fitzgerald and Evelyn Knight, see South Pacific (Decca album).

South Pacific
Cast recording by Mary Martin, Ezio Pinza with the original Broadway cast
Released	May 9, 1949 (1949-05-09)
Recorded	April 18–19, 1949
Studio	30th Street Studio
Genre	Show tunes
Label	Columbia Masterworks

South Pacific, credited to Mary Martin and Ezio Pinza with the original Broadway cast, ^[4] is the album containing the original studio cast recording of the 1949 musical South Pacific . It was released by Columbia in the same year, on May 9. ^[5]

The album was released as a set of seven 10-inch 78-rpm shellac records (cat. no. MM-850). ^{[6] [ better source needed ]} It was also made available on LP (cat. no. ML-4180). ^[10] According to The Complete Book of 1940s Broadway Musicals, that was the "first Broadway musical issued on the new LP format". ^[11]

Recording

The album was recorded in Columbia's 30th Street Studio on April 18 and 19, 1949. ^[12]

Reception

The album spent a total of 69 weeks at number one on Billboard's popular albums chart. ^{[12] [A]}

Track listing

12" LP (Columbia Masterworks ML 4180)

Side 1

No.	Title	Artist(s)	Length
1.	"Overture"
2.	"Dites Moi"	Barbara Luna
3.	"A Cock-eyed Optimist"	Mary Martin
4.	"Twin Soliloquies" ("Wonder how it feels")	Ezio Pinza, Mary Martin
5.	"Some Enchanted Evening"	Ezio Pinza
6.	"Bloody Mary"	Men's Chorus
7.	"There Is Nothin' like a Dame"	Men's Chorus
8.	"Bali Ha'i"	Juanita Hall

Side 2

No.	Title	Artist(s)	Length
1.	"I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair"	Mary Martin and Girls' Chorus
2.	"A Wonderful Guy"	Mary Martin and Girls' Chorus
3.	"Younger than Springtime"	William Tabbert
4.	"Happy Talk"	Juanita Hall
5.	"Honey Bun"	Mary Martin
6.	"Carefully Taught"	William Tabbert
7.	"This Nearly Was Mine"	Ezio Pinza
8.	"Finale"	Mary Martin, Ezio Pinza, with Barbara Luna

Charts

Chart (1949–1951)	Peak position
US Billboard Best-Selling Popular Record Albums [6] US Billboard Best Selling Pop Albums (from July 22, 1950, onwards)	1

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [13] Original Cast	Gold	2,000,000 [14]
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Notes

1. ^A – In 1950, Billboard split its "Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" chart into two: one for 33⅓-rpm albums and one for 45-rpm albums. So that is 69 weeks for the "Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" and "Best Selling Pop Albums – Best Selling 33⅓ R.P.M." charts combined.

References

1. The album cover.
2. "Saturday Review". Saturday Review Associates. July 1955.
3. Look. Cowles Communications. 1955.
4. ^{[1] [2] [3]}
5. "South Pacific - Original Broadway Cast Recording 1949". The Official Masterworks Broadway Site. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
6. "Best-Selling Popular Record Albums". Billboard . 11 June 1949. p. 29.
7. The New Records. H.R. Smith Company. June 1949.
8. "Billboard". 22 October 1949.
9. "Billboard". 26 November 1949.
10. ^{[7] [8] [9]}
11. The Complete Book of 1940s Broadway Musicals. Rowman & Littlefield. 2 February 2015. ISBN   978-1-4422-4528-0.
12. "South Pacific - 1949 Original Broadway Production". Rodgers & Hammerstein | The Official Website. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
13. "American album certifications – Soundtrack – South Pacific". Recording Industry Association of America.
14. "Columbia Gives Stereo-Like touch To All-Time LP Hits Including "South Pacific"" (PDF). Cash Box . June 16, 1962. p. 38. Retrieved February 13, 2022. ... the B'way original-cast recording of "South Pacific," starring Mary Martin and the late Ezio Pinza, which has sold over 2 million copies since its release in 1949.