My Fair Lady (London cast recording)

The album features the performances of the original Broadway cast, including Rex Harrison, Julie Andrews, and Stanley Holloway. The musical, composed by Frederick Loewe with lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, was a success on Broadway. The original London cast recording, which moved into the Drury Lane Theatre in April 1958, is very similar to the Broadway version.^[2] The production was conducted by Cyril Ornadel, and the recording was produced by Goddard Lieberson.^[3]

The stereo version of the album, recorded in London with the original cast, was released as Columbia OS 2015 and was praised for its high-quality sound and packaging.^[4] It was completed in London in February 1959, featuring the original New York cast, and was noted for opening up a new market for the original cast LP.^[5]

The recording was later reissued in various formats, including a compact disc (CD) version in 1998 by Columbia Legacy, which included bonus tracks such as "The Embassy Waltz" and extensive liner notes with memorabilia and previously unpublished photos.^[2]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]

Billboard wrote that the album is "splendid" and it "greatly fulfills all expectations" adding that "worth waiting for".^[4] The Dispatch wrote "if you have the original monophonne recording of the Broadway show you will want the stereo counterpart which Laeberson recorded in 1959.^[6] Cash Box magazine pointed out that the recording retained all the "original charm and wit" of the musical.^[5]Sunday Herald wrote that "Ornadel conducts with conviction and the recording is topnotch" and "a real triumph for its producer".^[3]

The album spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard chart Best-Selling Stereophonic LPs in 1959.^[7][8][9] Starting May 25, 1959, separate charts were listed for albums in mono and stereo formats, called Best-Selling Monophonic LPs and Best-Selling Stereophonic LPs, respectively.^[10] In 1962, the album peaked at number 49 on the Cash Box chart.^[11]

It was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in the 1960s,^[12][13] and later 3× Platinum in November 21, 1986.

Credits adapted from the liner notes of My Fair Lady original cast recording.^[14]

• Book and Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
• Music by Frederick Loewe
• Musical arrangements by Robert Russell Bennett and Phil Lang
• Musical Director, Cyril Ornadel

Cast

• Julie Andrews
• Rex Harrison
• Stanley Holloway
• Robert Coote
• Betty Woolf
• Leonard Weir