Movie Musicals on Record: A Directory of Recordings of Motion Picture Musicals, 1927-1987

by Richard C. Lynch

Overview

This discography provides a comprehensive listing of the songs from motion picture musicals, and the singers who performed them on commercially available albums. Covering the period from The Jazz Singer in 1927 to Three Amigos in 1987, and including 666 albums and 6,500 song titles, the book is a companion volume to Lynch's Broadway on Record (Greenwood Press, 1987), arranged in a similar format. While the scope is primarily American, albums of some foreign films that became popular in this country have been included. The entries are listed alphabetically by film title with the name of the company that produced it and the year it was first released. Remakes of musicial films are listed chronologically, and the original label and number are given, as well as information on the most recent reissue.

This thoroughly researched reference offers easy access to a wealth of information on the subject of recorded songs from motion picture musicals and assists the user in identifying many little-known facts, such as the names of the title-song singers, names of singers who dubbed the voices of the stars, and additional composers and lyricists where there were several contributors to the film's score. Also provided is a complete guide to recording availability and type, and major composer, lyricists, and musical conductor credits are given, with an alphabetical list of cast members who sing on the recording. An exhaustive source for students and scholars of film history, film music, and popular culture, this book will be a valuable addition to all university and public libraries.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313265402
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	06/26/1989
Series:	Discographies: Association for Recorded Sound Collections Discographic Reference , #32
Pages:	455
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

RICHARD CHIGLEY LYNCH was Assistant Curator of the Billy Rose Theatre Collection of the New York Public Library. He compiled Musicals! A Directory of Musical Properties Available for Production, Broadway on Record: A Directory of New York Cast Recordings of Musical Shows, 1931-1986, and is a regular contributor to Show Music.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Discography
Chronology of Films
Performer Index
Technical Index

Editorial Reviews

Author of the very useful directory Musicals! ( LJ 6/15/84) and of the discography Braodway on Record (Greenwood, 1987), Lynch defines movie musicals as feature-length films where musical pieces relate to the plot. Consequently, he excludes concert documentaries, dance films , and filmed operas. He lists commercially marketed recordings alphabetically , appending to each its own lists of technical credits (composer, lyricist, musical director), casts, and musical numbers with performers. A chronological list of the films is also presented, as are two indexes: one for performer and one for technical credits. The great omission is a song index; for that, users are referred to other sources. For larger collections, this would be a worthy supplement; for those finding Broadway on Record useful, a companion.-- Bonnie Jo Dopp, District of Columbia P.L.

Library Journal

Covering the period from The Jazz singer in 1927 to Three amigos in 1987, and including 666 albums and 6,500 song titles, the book is a companion volume to Lynch's Broadway on record (Greenwood, 1987) which is arranged in a similar format. While the scope is primarily American, albums of some foreign films that became popular in this country have been included. The entries are listed alphabetically by film title with the name of the company that produced it and the year it was first released. Remakes of musical films are listed chronologically, and the original label and number are given, as well as information on the most recent reissue. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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