1950 Studio Cast Recording

Recorded in September of 1950, the Columbia Studio Cast album of Pal Joey came at a convenient time, soon after the advancement of long-playing record technology. In 1948, Columbia had released their first LP record, allowing listeners to listen to an entire show without having to flip a disc every few songs. This record was among a group of recordings, including Anything Goes and Girl Crazy, that were created to provide nearly complete cast recordings of shows that had premiered before the form’s standardization.

Unfortunately, the original Broadway production of Pal Joey had opened very shortly before the 1941 ASCAP boycott, which effectively kept these songs from being disseminated to the mass audience. But the score endured anyway; in June of 1950, six different recordings of “Bewitched” made the Top 20 list of most-played records on the radio.

Released in March 1951, this recording of Pal Joey is an essential listen. Under the direction of Lehman Engel, Vivienne Segal reprises her role as Vera from the show’s original 1940 production and Harold Lang shines in a landmark turn as Joey Evans.