PINOCCHIO CD [Sepia]
1957 Television Musical
Wilder-Engvick
$15.95
www.footlight.com

Once upon a time in the 1950's, there was such a thing as an "original
TV musical" and, for a brief, magical time, they were an important and
imaginative staple of network programming. They were usually
star-studded and televised "live"- meant to be seen just once before
becoming a fleeting memory. Such was the case on Oct. 13, 1957 when
Rexall Drugs premiered a new version of the fable "Pinocchio,"
starring eternally-young Mickey Rooney as the puppet who yearned to be
a real boy. "Pinocchio" co-starred Fran Allison as the Fairy Queen,
Gordon Clarke as wood-maker Gepetto, Stubby Kaye as the Town Crier,
comic Jerry Colonna as the villainous Ringmaster of the travelling
circus and Gilbert and Sullivan's Martyn Green as the wily dishonest Fox.

The new score was composed by the great Alec Wilder, usually
remembered for such more sophisticated songs as "While We're Young,"
and "The First Warm Day in May." Lyrics were by William Engvick, who
also wrote the English lyric for the hit "The Song From Moulin Rouge".

Though the video itself no long exists, the TV production was
fortunately put on wax but quickly disappeared as stereo LP's came
into production later that same year, making it a much sought-after,
if hard-to-find, cast album.

By the time he starred in "Pinocchio," Mickey Rooney had been one of
MGM's brightest film stars (playing everything from Andy Hardy to
Thomas Edison) and teaming in musicals with Judy Garland. New
generations would continue to discover him in roles ranging from the
trainer in "The Black Stallion" to the burlesque comedian of the
long-running "Sugar Babies" on Broadway.

Earlier in 1957, Rooney had appeared on TV as the great George M.
Cohan in an adaptation of the Yankee Doodle Dandy's life called "Mr.
Broadway." An album was similarly devised with Rooney singing several
Cohan trademarks and bonus tracks here include these.

Fran Allison was one of the true superstars of American airwaves,
first winning fame as the gossipy spinster Aunt Fanny on "Don McNeil's
Breakfast Club" and later achieving immortality as the human member of
"Kukla, Fran and Ollie," a landmark TV program from its 1947 debut
right into the mid-1980's. Allison recorded for a variety of labels,
from which we have selected six bonus tracks, among them the
children's chart hit "Peter Cottontail."

Narrated by Mickey Rooney

1. OPENING / LISTEN TO YOUR HEART – Fran Allison 2:55
2. HAPPY NEWS – Stubby Kaye 4:33
3. PINOCCHIO'S SONG – Mickey Rooney, Gordon B. Clarke 3:12
4. LULLABY – Gordon B. Clarke 8:20
5. THE FOX'S PITCH – Martyn Green, Mickey Rooney 3:57
6. LISTEN TO YOUR HEART – Fran Allison, Mickey Rooney 5:08
7. THE JOLLY COACHMAN – Jerry Colonna, Mickey Rooney 6:33
8. LISTEN TO YOUR HEART – Mickey Rooney 1:34
9. LULLABY – Gordon B. Clarke 1:38
10. LISTEN TO YOUR HEART – Mickey Rooney 1:31
11. HAPPY NEWS – Mickey Rooney 0:59
12. THE BIRTHDAY SONG – Ensemble 1:20
13. LISTEN TO YOUR HEART – Fran Allison 1:37
14. HAPPY NEWS – Stubby Kaye 1:25

BONUS TRACKS

Mickey Rooney Sings (tracks 15-22)

15. YANKEE DOODLE BOY 1:34
16. MARY'S A GRAND OLD NAME 1:37
17. HARRIGAN 2:04
18. GIVE MY REGARDS TO BROADWAY 1:38
19. YOU COULDN'T TELL THE TEAR DROPS FROM THE RAIN 2:31
20. YOU'RE A GRAND OLD FLAG 2:13
21. TOP HAT, WHITE TIE AND TAILS 2:10
22. MANHATTAN 2:44

Fran Allison Sings (tracks 23-28)

23. PETER COTTONTAIL 2:12
24. STARS ARE THE WINDOWS OF HEAVEN 2:23
25. LITTLE BUFFALO BILL 2:25
26. THE DOUGHNUT SONG 2:12
27. ALL IN THE GOLDEN AFTERNOON 2:29
28. DID YOU WRITE A LETTER TO YOUR SWEETHEART? 2:59