Title:
Inside
U.S.A.
/
The
Band
Wagon
Artist:
Members
of
the
Original
Broadway
Cast
-Beatrice
Lillie
&
Jack
Haley
/
Fred
&
Adele
Astaire
Catalogue
No:
SEPIA
1056
Barcode:
5055122110569
Release
Date:
6
September
2005
At
a
time
when
revue
was
still
a
major
entertainment
force
composers
Arthur
Schwartz
and
Howard
Dietz
collaborated
on
Inside
U.S.A.,
suggested
by
John
Gunther’s
book
of
the
same
name
with
the
sketches
developed
by
the
likes
of
Moss
Hart
etc.
The
show
opened
on
Broadway
in
April
1948
with
Beatrice
Lillie
and
Jack
Haley
in
the
leads
and
ran
for
399
performances.
Most
of
the
songs
were
recorded
but
what
was
unusual
about
this
“cast”
recording
is
that
the
recording
took
place
before
it’s
Broadway
opening
in
order
to
beat
the
ASCAP
strike,
which
silenced
all
commercial
recordings
for
much
of
1948.
As
a
result,
Lillie
and
Haley
got
to
record
their
numbers
including
Atlanta,
a
track
that
was
later
dropped
from
the
show,
but
songs
written
for
the
supporting
cast
members
were
recorded
not
by
the
actors
but
by
“pop”
singers
Perry
Como
and
Billy
Williams
who
were
contracted
to
the
record
label
at
the
time,
and
presumably
because
the
supporting
roles
had
not
been
cast
at
the
time
of
recording.
Como
charted
with
Haunted
Heart
,
the
hit
ballad
from
the
show.
The
Bea
Lillie
and
Jack
Haley
tracks
are
on
CD
for
the
first
time.
A
cover
recording
of
highlights
from
the
show
was
made
by
Buddy
Clark
and
Pearl
Bailey
for
another
label,
also
recorded
before
the
show
opened
and
these
six
songs
are
included
here.
An
earlier
revue
by
the
Schwartz
and
Dietz
team
was
The
Band
Wagon
which
opened
on
Broadway
in
1931
starring
Fred
and
Adele
Astaire,
in
their
last
show
together
before
Adele
left
to
marry,
and
Fred
was
only
to
appear
in
one
more
show
before
he
diverted
to
the
silver
screen.
The
film
version
was
made
by
MGM
in
1953
starring
Fred
Astaire,
Nanette
Fabray
and
England’s
Jack
Buchanan..
On
this
CD
we
have
included
highlights
from
the
show
recorded
by
The
Astaires,
a
selection
from
the
film
soundtrack,
and
four
rare
studio
cast
tracks
on
CD
for
the
first
time
performed
by
Broadway
veterans
Harold
Lang,
George
Britton
and
Edith
Adams.
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NOW»

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