The Wizard of Oz is an album of phonograph records released in 1939 on the Decca label. It featured songs from the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer motion picture The Wizard of Oz starring Judy Garland.
Made in July 1939 specially for Decca, where Garland was under contract, the album offered the primary recordings of the film's songs until MGM released The Wizard of Oz soundtrack on LP in 1956.
The recordings the album contained were not taken from the actual movie's soundtrack, they were recorded specially for this album on July 28âÂÂ29, 1939.
The album included seven songs spread over eight sides. The music was played by the Victor Young Orchestra.
The vocals on "Over the Rainbow" and "The Jitterbug" were sung by Judy Garland. These two are the only songs from The Wizard of Oz that Judy Garland recorded commercially. Moreover, "The Jitterbug" was ultimately cut from the film.
The vocals on "Munchkinland", "If I Only Had a Brain", "If I Only Had a Heart", "The Merry Old Land of Oz", "We're Off to See the Wizard" were sung the Ken Darby Singers. None of the other movie cast members participated in the recording. The spoken part of the Scarecrow in the intro to "The Jitterbug" was performed by Harold Arlen.
Originally, in 1939, the album was released as a set of four 10-inch 78-rpm shellac records (catalog number: Decca Album 74).
In 1947, it was reissued with a different cover (cat. no.: Decca A-558), also as a set of four 10-inch 78-rpm records.
The film's actual soundtrack recording would not be available on record until late 1956 when it was released on MGM Records to coincide with the first TV broadcast of the motion picture.
At the same time, Decca, too, re-released its album for the TV premiere, now adding a number of songs from Pinocchio to form the 12-inch long-play titled The Musical Score of The Wizard of Oz & The Song Hits from Pinocchio (cat. no.: Decca DL 8387). Billboard reviewed the LP in its issue from 10 November 1956, giving it 85 points out of 100 (which indicated an "excellent" rating) and writing: "M-G-M has produced a sound track version, but this, too, will come in for plenty of attention, in spite of lacking the other original cast artists. Cuttings were made by Decca at the time of the original release of the pic and they have a comparatively high quality of sound, considering. Flip side rates attention, too, with its group of selections, also featuring a much younger Miss Garland on songs from Pinocchio. This one should hold its own in the pre-holiday gift-buying market."
4 x 10" 78 rpm (Decca Album 74)
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