Orson Welles discography

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Mercury Theatre original cast recording for Caesar (Columbia Masterworks Records M-325, 1939)

This is a comprehensive list of all of the commercially released recordings made by Orson Welles. Welles is heard on many recordings that were not intended for commercial release and for which he was not compensated.[1]:339

While every attempt has been made to provide a complete listing of Welles's commercial recordings in the order of their release, it would be folly to assume that such a list could ever be compiled with certainty.

Miles Kreuger, 1985[1]:340

Release date Original recording date Title Format Label Notes
1938 April 1938 The Cradle Will Rock Seven 12" 78 rpm records Musicraft Records (Musicraft 18) Slightly abridged version of Welles's 1937 Mercury Theatre production with narration by Marc Blitzstein
First original cast recording ever made[2]:342[3]:251
1939 March 1, 11, 21 & 25, 1938[1]:340[2]:349 The Tragedy of Julius Caesar Five 12" 78 rpm records Columbia Masterworks Records (M-325)[4] Highlights from the Mercury Theatre stage production featuring original cast members
Incidental music by Marc Blitzstein
Cast: Orson Welles (Brutus), Joseph Holland (Caesar), George Coulouris (Marcus Antonius), Martin Gabel (Cassius), Hiram Sherman (Casca), John Hoystradt (Decius Brutus), John A. Willard (Trebonius,[1]:340 Volumnius)[5]
Released with Twelfth Night on Pearl CD in 1998[5]
1939 July 27, 28 & 29, August 23 & 25, September 7 & 14, 1938 The Merchant of Venice Twelve 12" 78 rpm records Columbia Masterworks Records (C-6)[6] First of four releases in the Mercury Text Records series, phonographic recordings of William Shakespeare plays as adapted by Welles and Roger Hill in The Mercury Shakespeare
Music by Elliott Carter, singing by Adelyn Colla-Negri, guitar by Julius Wexler
Cast: Orson Welles (Narrator, Shylock, Prince of Morocco), Joseph Holland (Antonio), Eric Mansfield (Salarino), Norman Lloyd (Salanio, Launcelot Gobbo), Edgar Barrier (Bassanio, Prince of Arragon), Guy Kingsley (Lorenzo), Sidney Smith (Gratiano), Brenda Forbes (Portia), Sarah Burton (Nerissa), Erskine Sanford (Old Gobbo, The Duke), Virginia Welles (Jessica), George Duthie (Tubal), Richard Wilson (Salerio, Stephano), William Alland (Balthazar)[7]
1939 June 14, 16 & 17, 1938[2]:349 Twelfth Night Ten 12" 78 rpm records Columbia Masterworks Records (C-7)[6] Mercury Text Records
Music by Marc Blitzstein
Cast: Orson Welles (Narrator, Malvolio), LeRoi Operti (Feste), George Coulouris (Orsino), William Alland (Curio), Richard Wilson (Calentine), Jane Gordon (Viola), John A. Willard (Sea Captain), Eustace Wyatt (Sir Toby Belch), Elizabeth Farrar (Maria), Will Geer (Sir Andrew Aguecheek), Phyllis Joyce (Olivia), Guy Kingsley (Sebastian), Erskine Sanford (Antonio), John Straub (Fabian), Edgerton Paul (Priest)[7]
1939 June 28, 29 & 30, 1939[1]:340 Julius Caesar Eleven 12" 78 rpm records Columbia Masterworks Records (C-10)[6] Mercury Text Records
Music by Bernard Herrmann
Cast: Orson Welles (Narrator, Marcus Antonius, Caius Cassius), Edgar Barrier (Julius Caesar, Octavius Caesar), Walter Ash (M. AEmil Lepidus), John Berry, (Publius, Popilius Lena, Volumnius), George Coulouris (Marcus Brutus), Everett Sloane (Casca, Artemidorus), Guy Kingsley (Cinna the Conspirator, Lucius), Arthur Kennedy (Trebonius, Flavius, Titinius, Clitus), Erskine Sanford (Ligarius, Pindarus), Richard Baer (Decius Brutus, Cinna the Poet), Seymour Milbert (Metellus Cimber), William Alland (Marullus, Young Cato), Virginia Welles (Calpurnia), Margaret Curtis (Portia), Stephen Roberts (Lucilius, Messala)[8]
1940 April 17, 18, 20, 23, 24 & 26, 1940[9] Macbeth Nine 12" 78 rpm records Columbia Masterworks Records (C-33)[6] Mercury Text Records
Music by Bernard Herrmann
Cast: William Alland (Narrator, Donalbain), Orson Welles (Macbeth), Fay Bainter (Lady Macbeth), Robert Warrick (Banquo), Erskine Sanford (Duncan, The Porter, Siward, Seyton), George Coulouris (Macduff, Angus, The Doctor), Edith Barrett (Lady Macduff, Gentlewoman), Edgar Barrier (Malcolm), Sam Edwards (Fleance, Macduff's son), Richard Wilson (Lennox), Richard Baer (Ross, Young Siward),[9][10]
1945 August 23, 1944[1]:341 The Song of Songs (Which Is Solomon's) 12" 78 rpm record Decca Records (29157) Welles reads a fragmentary wedding idyll from the Bible[11]
1945 August 31 & September 9, 1944; August 20, 1945[1]:341 In the American Tradition Three 12" 78 rpm records Decca Records (A-394) Welles reads Thomas Jefferson's first inaugural address (March 4, 1801), Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address (March 4, 1865), Woodrow Wilson's address to the Peace Conference in Paris (January 25, 1919), Franklin Delano Roosevelt's first war address before Congress (January 6, 1942)[12]
1946 August 21, 1945[1]:341 The Happy Prince Two 10" 78 rpm records Decca Records (DA-420) Welles's adaptation of the story by Oscar Wilde[13]
Music by Bernard Herrmann, conducted by Victor Young
Cast: Orson Welles, Bing Crosby, Lurene Tuttle[1]:341
"It wasn't released for a year because neither of us would take first billing. In the end, they had to toss a coin just to get the thing out." (Orson Welles)[2]:188
1946 (April) August 30 & 31, September 8, 9, 11 & 13, 1944, September 19, 1945[1]:341 No Man Is an Island Five 12" 78 rpm records Decca Records (A-439) Welles reads a collection of immortal speeches on the interdependence of man
Authors include John Brown, Lazare Carnot, John Donne, Patrick Henry, Abraham Lincoln, Pericles, Daniel Webster, Émile Zola[1]:341[14]
1951 Abraham Lincoln LP record Decca Records (DL 8515)[1]:342 Writings by and about Abraham Lincoln, read by Welles, Carl Sandburg, Walter Huston and Agnes Moorehead
Music by Lehman Engle and Victor Young[15]
1953 June 1939 Julius Caesar Two LP records Entree (EL 52) Reissue of Columbia Masterworks Records C-10[1]:342
1958 August 1944–September 1945 No Man Is an Island LP Record Decca Records (DL 9060) Reissue of Decca Records A-439[16]
1959 A Lincoln Treasury LP record Decca Records (DL 9065)[1]:342 Reissue of material from Decca Records DL 8515
Includes The Lonesome Train, a drama in folk music form with Burl Ives, narrated by Earl Robinson[1]:342[17]
1964 (December) April 1938 The Cradle Will Rock LP record American Legacy Records (T1001) Limited-edition reissue of Musicraft Records 18[2]:342[3]:251
1967 June 1939 Julius Caesar Two LP records Lexington (LE 7570/7575) Reissue of Columbia Masterworks Records C-10[1]:342
1969 1969 The Begatting of the President LP record Mediarts Records (41-2) Satire of Richard M. Nixon written by Myron Roberts, Lincoln Haynes and Sasha Gilien, narrated by Welles[18]
1972 1969 The Begatting of the President LP record United Artists (UAS-5521) Reissue of Mediarts Records 41-2[1]:342
1976 Great American Documents LP record Columbia Masterworks (USA 1776) Readings by Welles, Henry Fonda, Helen Hayes and James Earl Jones; music by the New York Philharmonic conducted by Leonard Bernstein[1]:343[19]
Winner, Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Recording[20]
1976 October 18, 1966[21] Blitzstein: The Airborne Symphony LP record Columbia Masterworks (M34136) Commissioned in 1943 by the United States Army, officially dedicated to the Eighth Air Force
A history of human flight narrated by Welles, who performed the same role at the work's acclaimed premiere April 1, 1946[22]
Leonard Bernstein conducting the New York Philharmonic[1]:343[23][24]
William Jonson conducting the Choral Art Society
Andrea Velis, tenor
Recorded at Philharmonic Hall, Lincoln Center[21]
1979 The Gift of Christmas: Army of Stars LP record The Salvation Army (KM 4395) Narration by Welles, music by the Roger Wagner Chorale and Sinfonia Orchestra[25]
1982 1982 Battle Hymns LP record Liberty Records Welles narrates the track "Dark Avenger" by Manowar.[26]
1983 1982 "Defender" LP record Music for Nations Welles narrates the single by Manowar. The song was remade in 1987 and the narration was reused and tweaked.[27][28]
1983 The Gift of Christmas: Army of Stars LP record The Salvation Army (KM 11576) Music and readings by Welles, James Stewart, William Conrad, Greer Garson, Michael Landon, The Roger Wagner Chorale[29]
1984 1984 I Know What It Is To Be Young 7" single record Max Records (43057) Song by Jerry Abbott, lyrics read by Welles, music by The Ray Charles Singers and the Nick Perito Orchestra[30]
1984 1984 I Know What It Is To Be Young 12" single record GNP Crescendo Records (GNPS 1206) [31]
1984 1984 I Know What It Is To Be Young 7" single record Indisc (DIS 7738) [31]
1984 1984 I Know What It Is To Be Young 7" single record Splash Records (SP 29) [31]
1985 1984 I Know What It Is To Be Young 7" single record GNP Crescendo Records (GNP 834S ) [31]
1987 1982 Fighting the World CD Atco Records Welles narrates the track "Defender" by Manowar. The song is a remake of the single version that was released in 1983 and where the narration was used originally.[32]
1987 1976 Tales of Mystery and Imagination CD Mercury Records Welles narrates two tracks on the 1987 remixed version of The Alan Parsons Project album: specifically on "A Dream Within a Dream", and on the extended prelude of "The Fall of the House of Usher".[33]
1988 1984 I Know What It Is To Be Young 12" single record Compagnia Generale del Disco (INT 15367) [31]
1996 1984 I Know What It Is To Be Young Audiocassette
CD single
GNP Crescendo Records (GNPD 1407) [31][34]
1998 April 1938 Marc Blitzstein: Musical Theatre Premières Two CDs Pearl (GEMS 0009) Reissue of The Cradle Will Rock (Musicraft Records 18)
Includes No for an Answer (1941), Dusty Sun (1946), The Airborne Symphony (1946, narrated by Robert Shaw)[35]
1998 April 1940 Macbeth CD Pearl (GEM 0011) Reissue of Columbia Masterworks Records C-33[9]
1998 June 1938 & March 1938 Twelfth Night and The Tragedy of Julius Caesar Two CDs Pearl (GEMS 0020) Reissue of Columbia Masterworks Records C-7 and M-325
Includes Fun with Mr. Shakespeare: The Comedy of Errors (1947), narrated by Charles Coburn[5]
1998 July–September 1938 The Merchant of Venice Two CDs Pearl (GEMS 0029) Reissue of Columbia Masterworks Records C-6
Includes excerpts of Macbeth by Maurice Evans and Judith Anderson (1941)[36]
1999 June 1939 Julius Caesar Two CDs Pearl (GEMS 0015) Reissue of Columbia Masterworks Records C-10
Includes Maurice Evans performing four scenes from Richard II (1937) and the "England" speeches from Richard II and Henry V (1941)[8]
2000 October 18, 1966 American Masters 2: Bernstein Century CD Sony Classics (SMK 61849) Includes remastered reissue of The Airborne Symphony from Columbia Masterworks M34136[21]
2001 1944–45 Dramatic Readings CD Pearl (GEM 0109) Reissue of In the American Tradition (Decca Records A-394), No Man Is an Island (Decca Records A-439) and The Song of Songs (Decca Records 29157)[37]

Radio

Release date Original recording date Title Format Label Notes
1945 January The Suspect 78 rpm record Universal Pictures Welles performs the lead role in this dramatization for radio broadcast, to promote release of the 1944 film noir starring Charles Laughton[38]
1945 July 17, 1945[2]:391 The Liberation of Paris Three 12" 78 rpm records Asch Records (Asch 50)[1]:341 Montage of historic recordings related to the World War II liberation of Paris in August 1944, with narration by Welles and Emlen Etting[39][40][41]:140[42]
1950 October 15, 1950[43] This Is the U.N.: Its Actual Voices 12" 78 rpm record[44] Tribune Productions (KI-2807)[1]:341 Recordings of United Nations highlights, from the founding conference in San Francisco to the Korean debate, including remarks by Welles and many others[1]:341[43][45]
1955 October 30, 1938 The War of the Worlds LP record Audio Rarities (LPA 2355) Edited recording of The Mercury Theatre on the Air radio broadcast[1]:341[46]
1968 October 30, 1938 The War of the Worlds LP record Longines Symphonette Society (4001) Recording of The Mercury Theatre on the Air radio broadcast[47]
1968 1953 Song of Myself LP record Westminster (WBBC-8004) Recording of Welles's BBC presentation of the poem from Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass[1]:342
1969 October 30, 1938 The War of the Worlds Two LP records Murray Hill records Recording of The Mercury Theatre on the Air radio broadcast[47]
1969 October 30, 1938 The War of the Worlds Two LP records Evolution Records (4001) Recording of The Mercury Theatre on the Air radio broadcast[47]
1972 1953 Song of Myself LP record CMS Records (CMS-636) Reissue of Westminster Records WBBC-8004,[1]:342 "in arrangement with BBC Radio Enterprises"[48]
1972 1937–38 The Shadow LP record Mark 56 Records (591) Recording of two unspecified original radio episodes
Produced by George Garabedian as a promotional disc for Coca-Cola[49]
1972 1972 Author's Roundtable 10" single record AirLines Transcription Disc Collection of radio news features concludes with a spot for a history program narrated by Welles, "The Heritage of Eastern Cities"[50]
1972 October 30, 1938 The War of the Worlds LP record Longines Symphonette Society (SY 5251) Recording of The Mercury Theatre on the Air radio broadcast[1]:342
1973 September 2, 1942; April 10, 1945 The Hitch-Hiker / The Master of Ballantrae LP record Pelican Records (107) Recording of "The Hitch-Hiker" from Suspense, and the episode "The Master of Ballantrae" from This Is My Best[51][52]
1973 1938 The Shadow / Fibber McGee and Molly LP record Mark 56 Records (636) Includes recording of one unspecified episode of The Shadow starring Welles
Produced as a promotional disc for the Anaheim Savings and Loan Association[53][54]
1973 May 29, 1938 The Shadow / The Lone Ranger LP record Mark 56 Records (649, 773) Includes recording of one radio episode starring Welles, "The Creeper"
Produced as a promotional disc for GE Lamps [55] and for Carl's Jr.[56]
1973 June 12, 1938 The Shadow: Volume Two LP record Mark 56 Records (608) Includes recording of one radio episode starring Welles, "Murder on Approval"[1]:343[57]
1974 September 25, 1938 The Immortal Sherlock Holmes LP record Radiola Records (1036)[1]:344 Recording of The Mercury Theatre on the Air radio broadcast[58]
1974 March 17, 1940 Huckleberry Finn LP record Mark 56 Records (634) Recording of The Campbell Playhouse radio broadcast[1]:343[59]
1974 January 23 & 30, 1938 The Shadow: Volume Three LP record Mark 56 Records (657) Recording of two radio episodes starring Welles: "The Society of the Living Dead", "The Poison Death"[1]:343[60]
1975 March 17, 1940 The Golden Days of Radio Two LP records Mark 56 Records (713) Includes recording of The Campbell Playhouse episode "Huckleberry Finn"[1]:343[61]
1975 July 11, 1938 The Great Radio Horror Shows Three LP records Murray Hill Records (933977) Includes recording of The Mercury Theatre on the Air episode "Dracula"[1]:343
1976 July 11, 1938 Dracula LP record Mark 56 Records (720) Recording of The Mercury Theatre on the Air radio broadcast[1]:343
1976 March 27, April 24, May 1, 8, 29, June 12, 1938 The Shadow Three LP records Murray Hill Records (894599) Recording of six 1938 radio broadcasts starring Welles: "The White God", "Murder on Approval", "Aboard the Steamship Amazon", "The Creeper" "The Power of the Mind", "The Hypnotized Audience"[1]:343[62]
1977 June 5 & 19, 1938 The Shadow LP record Golden Age Records (GA 5001)
Everest 5001
Recording of two 1938 radio broadcasts starring Welles: "The Tenor with the Broken Voice", "The Tomb of Terror"[1]:343[63]
1978 April 3 & 10, 1938 The Shadow LP record Golden Age Records (GA 5029)
Everest 5029
Recording of two 1938 radio broadcasts starring Welles: "Death From the Deep", "The Firebug"[1]:343[64][65]
1978 July 18, 1938 Treasure Island LP record Radiola (MR-1085) Recording of The Mercury Theatre on the Air radio broadcast[66]
1978 January 23 & 30, 1938 The Shadow: Volume Four LP record Mark 56 Records (771) Recording of two radio episodes starring Welles: "The Society of the Living Dead", "The Poison Death"
Customer gift from J. W. Harris Co., Inc.[67]
1978 June 21, 1946 Sorry, Wrong Number and The Hitch Hiker LP record Mark 56 Records (787) Includes Welles's Suspense radio broadcast[68][69]
1979 October 24, 31, 1937; January 9, 16, 23, 30, February 6, March 6 & 13, 1938 More of The Shadow Three LP records Murray Hill Records (M 51212) Recording of nine 1937–38 radio broadcasts starring Welles: "The Temple Bells of Neban", "The Three Ghosts", "The League of Terror", "Sabotage", "The Poison Death", "The Society of the Living Dead", "The Phantom Voice", "Bride of Death", "The Silent Avenger"[1]:343[70]
1979 June 2, 1939; April 17, 1945 Orson Welles and Helen Hayes at Their Best Two LP records Mark 56 Records (829) Includes recording of "Victoria Regina" (The Campbell Playhouse) and "I Will Not Go Back" (This Is My Best)[1]:343
1980 April 17, May 15, 22, August 21 & 28, 1938 The Shadow Anthology Seventeen LP records Murray Hill Records (S 55111) Includes recordings of five 1938 radio episodes starring Welles: "The Blind Beggar Dies", "Murder in Wax", "The Message from the Hills", "Caverns of Death", "Death Under the Chapel"[1]:343
Numbered limited edition collectors set[71]
1980 December 24, 1939 A Christmas Carol LP record Mark 56 Records (724) Recording of The Campbell Playhouse radio broadcast
Produced as a promotional disc for Nordstrom[72]
1980 December 24, 1939 A Christmas Carol LP record Radiola Records (MR-1114) Recording of The Campbell Playhouse radio broadcast[73]
1980 May 18 & 25, 1944 Donovan's Brain LP record Radiola Records (MR-1117) Recording of the Suspense radio broadcast[74]
Winner, Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word, Documentary or Drama Recording[75]
1980 August 14, 1945; September 13, 1946 Obediently Yours Orson Welles LP record Mark 56 Records (833) Recording of radio broadcasts "Fourteen August" (Columbia Presents Corwin) and "King Lear" (The Mercury Summer Theatre of the Air)[1]:344
1982 July 25, 1938 Bette Orson Ingrid LP record Mark 56 Records (848) Includes recording of The Mercury Theatre on the Air radio broadcast "A Tale of Two Cities"[1]:344
1983 August 29, 1938 The Count of Monte Cristo LP record Radiola Records (MR-1145) Recording of The Mercury Theatre on the Air radio broadcast[76]
1985 July 17, 1945 The Liberation of Paris LP record Folkways Records (FH 5260) Reissue of Asch Records 50[1]:344
1988 March 20, 1938 – June 21, 1946 Theatre of the Imagination: Radio Stories by Orson Welles and The Mercury Theatre LaserDisc (audio only) Voyager Company (V1012L) Quality collection of recordings produced by Frank Beacham and Richard Wilson from acetate records of the original radio broadcasts
  • The Shadow: "The White Legion"
  • The Mercury Theatre on the Air: "A Tale of Two Cities"
  • The Campbell Playhouse: "Rebecca"
  • Interview: "H. G. Wells meets Orson Welles"
  • The Orson Welles Show: "The Song of Solomon", "There's a Full Moon Tonight", "Noah Webster's Library" and poetry by Dorothy Parker, "Wilbur Brown, Habitat: Brooklyn","The Apple Tree", "My Little Boy"
  • Reading Out Loud: Welles reads and remarks on John Donne's "The Sun Rising" and "No Man Is an Island"
  • The Orson Welles Almanac: Soliloquy from Hamlet
  • This Is My Best: "Heart of Darkness"
  • The Mercury Summer Theatre of the Air: "The Hitch-Hiker"
  • Orson Welles Commentaries: "Doris Miller Tribute"
  • Theatre of the Imagination: The Mercury Company Remembers (1988), audio documentary written and produced by Frank Beacham and narrated by Leonard Maltin; participants include William Alland, Richard Barr, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Arlene Francis, John Houseman, Cliff Thorsness, Peggy Webber and Richard Wilson; also includes previously recorded interviews with Welles and Bernard Herrmann[77]
1988 March 20, 1938 – June 21, 1946 Theatre of the Imagination Six audiocassettes Voyager Company [78]
1995 July 23 – September 3, 1937 Les Misérables Three CDs Radio Spirits, Inc. (ISBN 1570190658) Produced in association with the Smithsonian Institution Press[79]
1995 March 20, 1938 – June 21, 1946 Theatre of the Imagination CD-ROM Voyager Company (CityROM CTHEATH) Interactive disc for PC/Windows or Macintosh[80]
2003 March 15 – July 12, 1944 Kid Ory — Portrait of the Greatest Slideman Ever Born CD Upbeat Recordings URCD187 Includes most of Orson Welles's introductions of the All Star Jazz Group performances on The Orson Welles Almanac[81]
2008 June 21 & July 12, 1946, September 15, 1941 Your Obedient Servant CD él Records (ACMEM140CD) Recordings of The Mercury Summer Theatre of the Air radio broadcasts "The Hitch-Hiker" and "The Search for Henri Lefevre" by Lucille Fletcher, and The Orson Welles Show broadcast "Sredni Vashtar" by Saki[82][83]

Film

Release date Original recording date Title Format Label Notes
1959 1959 Compulsion 7" single record 20th Fox Records (FEP-101) Original motion picture soundtrack of courtroom scene[1]:342[84]
1964 1964 The Finest Hours Two LP Records Mercury Records (SRP 2–604) Original motion picture soundtrack[1]:342[85]
1967 1966 A Man for All Seasons Two LP Records RCA Victor Records (VDM-116) Original motion picture soundtrack[1]:342[86]
1978 1941 Citizen Kane Two LP records Mark 56 Records (810) Complete motion picture soundtrack[1]:343[87]
Winner, Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Recording[88]
"This is not a new recording, but it includes the entire soundtrack — dialogue, sound effects, and music — just as it appears in the film. Though any soundtrack of a film is dependent on the visuals for narrative, the soundtrack of Citizen Kane succeeds by itself, no doubt because of Welles's and Herrmann's extensive background in producing radio dramas. … Garabadian's release of Citizen Kane's entire soundtrack (47 years after its premiere) is indicative of a changing trend in the release of music soundtracks. After record producers noticed that consumers would accept a compilation of excerpts as they appear in the film, there was less of a desire to record suites and other concert arrangements. Though suites are suitable for the concert hall, their contents reflect a necessary alteration of the original film score." (Robert Kosovsky)[89]:224
1979 1979 The Late Great Planet Earth LP record RCR Productions (ACG-10022) Original motion picture soundtrack[90]
1980 1967 A King's Story LP Record DRG Records (SL 5185) Original motion picture soundtrack[1]:344[91]

Interviews

Scores

References

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