West Side Story (soundtrack)
West Side Story | |
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Soundtrack album by Various | |
Released | October 1961 |
Recorded | 1960–1961 |
Genre | soundtrack |
Length | 75:42 |
Label |
Columbia Masterworks (LP) Sony Classical (CD) |
Producer | Didier Deutsch |
Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
West Side Story is the soundtrack to the 1961 film West Side Story. Released in 1961, the soundtrack spent 54 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's album charts, giving it the longest run at No. 1 of any album in history,[2] although some lists instead credit Michael Jackson's Thriller, on the grounds that West Side Story was listed on a chart for stereo albums only at a time when many albums were recorded in mono.[3] In 1962, it won a Grammy award for "Best Sound Track Album – Original Cast" and Johnny Richards orchestrations of the movie score (on Kenton's West Side Story) also winning a Grammy in 1962 for "Best Large Ensemble Jazz Album" further bolstering the popularity of the movie and soundtrack. In the United States, it was the best-selling album of the 1960s,[4] certifying three times platinum by the RIAA on November 21, 1986.
Though the album was released just a few years after the release of the original broadway cast recording, it is according to Broadway Babies preferred by some to the earlier version both sentimentally, as the film succeeded in establishing the musical as a "popular masterpiece", and musically, as it contains "beefier orchestration".[5]
Dubbing
In her autobiography, I Could Have Sung All Night, Marni Nixon spoke of singing the role of Maria and of her observations of some of the other singers whose voices were dubbed into the film. According to Nixon, very little of the singing on the soundtrack was contributed by the on-screen top-billing stars of the film; while George Chakiris provided vocals for the character of Bernardo, Nixon claims, even Russ Tamblyn's voice was dubbed over by Tucker Smith because Tamblyn had contractual obligations with MGM Records.[6] (While the film was released by United Artists, the soundtrack album was produced by Columbia Records as part of rights it acquired in producing the Broadway cast album.)[7] Final determination of which voices would be used and how much for the film's songs was left to producer Saul Chaplin, who at various times told Nixon that her voice would be used to supplement or extend that of actress Natalie Wood or to replace it altogether.[6] After filming was complete, Nixon recorded several songs while watching film loops so that she could synchronize her voice to Wood's action.[8] Nixon also dubbed several lines for Wood and contributed co-dubber Betty Wand's part to the song now called "Tonight".[9] Although it was not industry standard at the time, Nixon arranged to receive a small percentage of the royalties for sales of the soundtrack, which, as she did not receive credit for her performance on the album, she indicates helped "salve any wounds".[10]
Track listing
All music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Vocal performers listed parenthetically after song title.
CD version
- "Overture" – 4:39
- "Prologue" – 6:37
- "Jet Song" (Tucker Smith, Jets) – 2:06
- "Something's Coming" (Jim Bryant) – 2:32
- "Dance at the Gym" (Blues, Promenade, Mambo, Cha-cha, film dialogue, and Jump) – 9:24[11]
- "Maria" (Bryant) – 2:34
- "America" (Rita Moreno, George Chakiris, Sharks & Girls) – 4:59
- "Tonight" (Jim Bryant, Marni Nixon) – 5:43
- "Gee, Officer Krupke" (Russ Tamblyn, Jets) – 4:14
- "Intermission" – 1:30[12]
- "I Feel Pretty" (Nixon, Yvonne Othon, Suzie Kaye) – 3:35
- "One Hand, One Heart" (Bryant, Nixon) – 3:02
- "Tonight Quintet" (Bryant, Nixon, Moreno, Jets, Sharks. "The counterpoint section of Anita's vocals are performed here by Nixon") – 3:22
- "The Rumble" – 2:39
- "Somewhere" (Bryant, Nixon) – 2:03
- "Cool" (Tucker Smith, Jets) – 4:21
- "A Boy Like That/I Have a Love" (Betty Wand, Nixon) – 4:28
- "Finale" (Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer) – 4:20
- "End Credits (Instrumental) - 5:09
Side 1
- "Prologue" - 5:39
- "Jet Song" - 2:11
- "Something's Coming" - 2:38
- "Dance at the Gym" (Blues, Promenade, and Jump) - 3:37
- "Maria" - 2:40
- "America" - 5:05
- "Tonight" - 3:35
Side 2
- "Gee, Officer Krupke" - 4:11
- "I Feel Pretty" - 2:50
- "One Hand, One Heart" - 2:03
- "Quintet" - 3:27
- "The Rumble" - 2:32
- "Cool" - 4:27
- "A Boy Like That / I Have a Love" - 4:34
- "Somewhere" - 2:03
Chart positions
Year | Label & number | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|---|
1962 | Columbia OL 5670 (Mono) / OS 2070 (Stereo) | Billboard Pop Albums (Billboard 200) (mono and stereo) | 1 |
UK Albums Chart[13] | |||
1963 | Columbia OL 5670 (Mono) / OS 2070 (Stereo) | Billboard Pop Albums (Billboard 200) (mono and stereo) | |
UK Albums Chart[13] | |||
Personnel
Performance
- Richard Beymer – performer
- Jim Bryant – performer
- George Chakiris – performer
- The Jets – performers
- Suzie Kaye – performer
- Jo Anne Miya – performer
- Rita Moreno – performer
- Marni Nixon – performer
- Yvonne Othon – performer
- Sharks – performers
- Tucker Smith – performer
- Russ Tamblyn – performer
- Betty Wand – performer
- Natalie Wood – performer
Production
- Mark Cetts – engineer
- Saul Chaplin – musical director, assistant producer
- Didier C. Deutsch – producer
- John Green – conductor, musical director
- Roy Hemming – liner notes
- Bill Ivie – engineer
- Irwin Kostal – musical director, orchestrator
- Ernest Lehman – screenplay
- Boris Leven – production design
- Sid Ramin – musical director, orchestrator
- Jerome Robbins – director, choreographer
- Robert Wise – director
References
- ↑ Allmusic review
- ↑ West Side Story at AllMusic
- ↑ Ash, Russell (2006). The Top 10 of Everything. Sterling Publishing. p. 112. ISBN 0-600-61557-X.
- ↑ Simpson, Paul (2003). The Rough Guide to Cult Pop. Rough Guides. p. 181. ISBN 1-84353-229-8.
- ↑ Mordden, Ethan (1983). Broadway babies: the people who made the American musical. Oxford University Press. p. 225. ISBN 0-19-505425-3.
- 1 2 Nixon, Marni; Stephen Cole; Marilyn Horne (2006). I Could Have Sung All Night. Billboard Books. p. 133. ISBN 0-8230-8365-9..
- ↑ Krasilovsky, M. William; Sidney Shemel; John M. Gross (2003). This Business of Music: The Definitive Guide to the Music Industry. Watson-Guptill. p. 232. ISBN 0-8230-7728-4.
- ↑ Nixon, 135-136.
- ↑ Nixon, 136.
- ↑ Nixon, 137.
- ↑ This song was released in a shorter three-part version on original lp pressings, omitting the "Mambo" and "Pas de Deux"; the complete five-part version was added for cd releases.
- ↑ This song was not present on original lp pressings, but was added for the 2004 cd re-release.
- 1 2 "Chart Stats - Original Soundtrack - West Side Story". chartstats.com. Archived from the original on 21 July 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
Preceded by Blue Hawaii (soundtrack) by Elvis Presley |
Billboard 200 number-one album (mono) May 5, 1962 - June 22, 1962 September 29, 1962 - October 19, 1962 April 20, 1963 - May 3, 1963 |
Succeeded by Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music by Ray Charles |
Preceded by Breakfast at Tiffany's (soundtrack) by Henry Mancini |
Billboard 200 number-one album (stereo) May 5, 1962 - June 22, 1962 July 7, 1962 - March 8, 1963 March 16, 1963 - May 3, 1963 July 20, 1963 - August 16, 1963 |
Succeeded by Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music by Ray Charles |
Preceded by Blue Hawaii by Elvis Presley Pot Luck by Elvis Presley Pot Luck by Elvis Presley The Best of Ball, Barber & Bilk by Kenny Ball, Chris Barber & Acker Bilk Out of the Shadows by The Shadows On Stage with the George Mitchell Minstrels by George Mitchell Minstrels The Black and White Minstrel Show by George Mitchell Minstrels |
UK Albums Chart number-one album 23 June 1962 – 28 July 1962 1 September 1962 – 8 September 1962 15 September 1962 – 22 September 1962 29 September 1962 – 20 October 1962 17 November 1962 – 24 November 1962 15 December 1962 – 22 December 1962 12 January 1963 – 19 January 1963 |
Succeeded by Pot Luck by Elvis Presley Pot Luck by Elvis Presley The Best of Ball, Barber & Bilk by Kenny Ball, Chris Barber & Acker Bilk The Best of Ball, Barber & Bilk by Kenny Ball, Chris Barber & Acker Bilk Out of the Shadows by The Shadows Out of the Shadows by The Shadows Out of the Shadows by The Shadows |