The Body in the Seine

Last updated
The Body in the Seine
Body In The Seine.jpg
Soundtrack album
Released1954 (1954)
Genre Musical theatre
Producer David M. Lippincott

The Body in the Seine is an original "album musical" created by songwriter David M. Lippincott and given a limited release in 1954. Because of its rarity, many collectors of original cast albums consider it "the holy grail" of recordings. [1]

Although The Body in the Seine (subtitled "A Musical Tour de Force Through Paris") sounds like the cast album of a Broadway musical, it actually was complete in itself, with no accompanying stage show. Lippincott, was working as a jingle writer (Coke, Fig Newton, etc.) at McCann-Erickson, a New York advertising agency, [2] when he released this collection of twelve songs, hoping to find an experienced writer who would create a book to accompany his tunes. A note on the back of the album read: "Help Wanted. Musical score requires immediate services of bright, clever "book." Must be mature, sophisticated and willing to travel."

What makes The Body in the Seine interesting to collectors of Broadway cast albums is the theatrical performers assembled for the recording, including Alice Pearce, George S. Irving, Barbara Ashley and future U.S. Congressman, Jim Symington. The album's orchestrators, Joseph Glover and Ralph Norman Wilkinson, were both experienced music arrangers, and Buster Davis, who conducted the orchestra and chorus, had worked on such Broadway musicals as High Button Shoes, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Top Banana and Make a Wish.

Track listing

  1. Opening: See The World
  2. A Lady Like You
  3. Chacun à son Goût
  4. You Really Didn't Have To Do That
  5. But Wonderful
  6. Love On The Left Bank's A Wild, Wild Thing
  7. The Body in the Seine
  8. A Little Change of Scene
  9. Where Do I Go From Here?
  10. Dirge
  11. Why Can't You Be You?
  12. Finale: What The Hell Is So Wide About the World?

Related Research Articles

Soundtrack

A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film, video, or television presentation; or the physical area of a film that contains the synchronized recorded sound.

<i>Company</i> (musical) 1970 musical comedy

Company is a 1970 musical comedy with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by George Furth. The original production was nominated for a record-setting 14 Tony Awards, and won six.

Jim Steinman American musician, composer, lyricist, record producer, and playwright

James Richard Steinman is an American composer, lyricist, record producer, and playwright. He has also worked as an arranger, pianist and singer. His work has included songs in the adult contemporary, rock and roll, dance, pop, musical theater and film score genres. Beginning his career in musical theater, Steinman's most notable work in the area includes lyrics for Whistle Down the Wind and music for Tanz der Vampire.

<i>Annie Get Your Gun</i> (musical) 1946 musical by Irving Berlin

Annie Get Your Gun is a musical with lyrics and music by Irving Berlin and a book by Dorothy Fields and her brother Herbert Fields. The story is a fictionalized version of the life of Annie Oakley (1860–1926), a sharpshooter who starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West, and her romance with sharpshooter Frank E. Butler (1847–1926).

William Finn

William Alan Finn is an American composer and lyricist. He is best known for his musicals, which include Falsettos, for which he won the 1992 Tony Awards for Best Score and Best Book, A New Brain (1998), and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (2005).

<i>Youre a Good Man, Charlie Brown</i> Musical comedy based on Charles Schulzs Peanuts

You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown is a 1967 musical comedy with music and lyrics by Clark Gesner, based on the characters created by cartoonist Charles M. Schulz in his comic strip Peanuts. The musical has been a popular choice for amateur theatre productions because of its small cast and simple staging.

A cast recording is a recording of a stage musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording or OCR, as the name implies, features the voices of the show's original cast. A cast recording featuring the first cast to perform a musical in a particular venue is known, for example, as an "original Broadway cast recording" (OBCR) or an "original London cast recording" (OLCR).

<i>Do Re Mi</i> (musical)

Do Re Mi is a musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and a book by Garson Kanin, who also directed the original 1960 Broadway production. The plot centers on a minor-league con man who decides to go (somewhat) straight by moving into the legitimate business of juke boxes and music promotion. The musical was headlined by the comedy couple of Phil Silvers and Nancy Walker, both of whom were Tony nominated. Popular songs introduced included "Cry Like the Wind" and "Make Someone Happy".

Andrew Lippa

Andrew Lippa is an American composer, lyricist, book writer, performer, and producer. He is a resident artist at the Ars Nova Theater in New York City.

<i>Thing-Fish</i> 1984 studio album by Frank Zappa

Thing-Fish is an album by Frank Zappa, originally released as a triple album box set on Barking Pumpkin Records in 1984. It was billed as a cast recording for a proposed musical of the same name, which was ultimately not produced by Zappa, but later performed partially in 2003, ten years after his death.

<i>On the Record</i> (musical)

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.

Sh-K-Boom Records American independent record label

Sh-K-Boom Records is an independent record label and producer of recorded and live entertainment, which was founded in 2000 by husband and wife Kurt Deutsch and Sherie Rene Scott with the mission of bridging the gap between pop music and theater. In 2004 Sh-K-Boom created their second imprint, Ghostlight Records, dedicated to the preservation of traditional musical theater, spurred by the popular release of their first-ever show cast recording, Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years. Together the two labels have over 150 albums in their catalogues. The company has also produced over 50 live concerts as part of their Sh-K-Boom Room Concert Series, and are currently developing new and innovative projects for the stage and screen.

The term studio recording means any recording made in a studio, as opposed to a live recording, which is usually made in a concert venue or a theatre, with an audience attending the performance.

An album musical is a type of recording that sounds like an original cast album but is created specifically for the recording medium and is complete entertainment product in itself, rather than just promoting or reflecting an existing or planned musical theatre production or revue. Although there has been no one term consistently used to describe this type of recording, the genre predates the use of the term "concept album" by several decades, dating back to the era of 78-rpm records with such original works as Gordon Jenkins' Manhattan Tower and The Letter (1959) starring Judy Garland, and Stan Freberg's Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America, Volume One: The Early Years (1961). On most contemporary concept albums, the performers or bands sing as themselves, whereas on an album musical the performers are playing characters in a story.

<i>Mame</i> (film soundtrack) 1974 soundtrack album by Various Artists

Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture Mame is the soundtrack from the 1974 Warner Bros. movie adaptation of the Broadway musical Mame. The album features music and lyrics by Jerry Herman and retains all but one song, "That's How Young I Feel," from the original Broadway musical and adds a new song, "Loving You."

<i>Here Lies Love</i> 2010 soundtrack album by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim

Here Lies Love is a concept album and rock musical made in collaboration between David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, about the life of the former First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos along with the woman who raised her—Estrella Cumpas—and follows Marcos until she and her family were forced to leave the Philippines. The album features 22 guest vocalists and was released on 5 April 2010, under Nonesuch Records and Todomundo in several formats, including a deluxe double-Compact Disc set with a DVD of music videos from the album and a 120-page book.

<i>The Book of Mormon</i> (musical) religious satire musical

The Book of Mormon is a musical comedy with music, lyrics, and book by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone.

<i>The Book of Mormon: Original Broadway Cast Recording</i> 2011 cast recording by Andrew Rannells, Josh Gad, Rory OMalley, Nikki M. James, and Original Broadway Cast

The Book of Mormon: Original Broadway Cast Recording contains the songs from the American musical The Book of Mormon, with music, lyrics, and book by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone. It was recorded by the musical's original Broadway cast and released on May 17, 2011 to digital outlets. The album saw a physical release on June 7, 2011, in a deluxe package with liner notes provided by former The New York Times theatre critic Frank Rich, as well as full lyrics and a synopsis of the musical. The Book of Mormon was named best musical theater album at the 2012 Grammy Awards.

<i>Bombshell</i> (<i>Smash</i> album) Soundtrack album from the American series Smash

Bombshell is the second soundtrack album by the cast of the American musical television series Smash. It was released by Columbia Records on February 12, 2013. and sold 16,000 copies in its first week. As of the week ending March 3, 2013, it has sold 26,000 copies.

<i>School of Rock</i> (musical)

School of Rock is a rock musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Glenn Slater and a book by Julian Fellowes. Based on the 2003 film of the same name, written by Mike White, the musical follows Dewey Finn, an out-of-work rock singer and guitarist who pretends to be a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school. After identifying the musical talent in his students, Dewey forms a band of fifth-graders, in an attempt to win the upcoming Battle of the Bands contest.

References