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vinyl LP front cover detail
cover photo by Chip Simons
detail photo of album cover by Styrous®
Today is the birthday of German-born American composer Kurt Weill who was active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his collaborations with Bertolt Brecht. With Brecht, he developed productions such as his best-known work, The Threepenny Opera, which included the ballad Mack the Knife.
Weill held the ideal of writing music that served a socially useful purpose, Gebrauchsmusik, meaning "utility music", music that exists not only for its own sake, but which was composed for some specific, identifiable purpose. Composer Paul Hindemith is the figure most identified with this expression. The first musicologist to use the word Gebrauchsmusik was Paul Nettl
Burgess Meredith has the role of Johnny and Lotte Lenya, Weill's wife, appears in a minor role as a nurse; Jane Connell, also appeared in the musical, she is best known for originating the role of Agnes Gooch in the 1966 stage musical and 1974 film musical versions of Auntie Mame.. The title was inspired by the fact the name appeared on United States casualty rolls more often than any other.
Johnny Johnson is based on the Jaroslav Hašek 1921–1923 satiric novel The Good Soldier Švejk, the musical focuses on a naive and idealistic young man who, despite his pacifist views, leaves his sweetheart Minny Belle Tompkins (Evelyn Lear) to fight in Europe in World War I.
He first tries to stop the war after meeting a young German sniper of
the same name, who believes that the soldiers must unite. However, the
commanders of the allied forces intend to use the discontent with the
war among the German soldiers as a perfect time to advance in the war.
Johnny then manages to bring the skirmish to a temporary halt by
incapacitating a meeting of the generals with laughing gas,
but once they recover they promptly reinstate the war, resulting in
hundreds of thousands of fatalities. Meanwhile, Johnny finds himself
committed to an asylum for ten years. He returns home to discover Minny Belle has married a capitalist, and he settles down as a toy maker who will create anything except tin soldiers, his personal gesture of peace in an increasingly warlike society.
Tracklist:
Side 1:
Side 1:
A1 - Overture
A2 - Over In Europe, Vocals – Thomas Stewart (2)
A3 - Democracy's Call
A4 - Up Chickamauga Hill, Vocals – Hiram Sherman
A5 - Johnny's Melody
A6 - Aggie's Sewing Machine Song, Vocals – Jane Connell
A7 - O, Heart Of Love, Vocals – Evelyn Lear
A8 - Capt. Valentine's Tango, Vocals – Scott Merrill
A9 - Johnny's Speech, Vocals – Burgess Meredith
A10 - Song Of The Goddess, Vocals – Jean Sanders
A11 - Song Of The Wounded Frenchman
A2 - Over In Europe, Vocals – Thomas Stewart (2)
A3 - Democracy's Call
A4 - Up Chickamauga Hill, Vocals – Hiram Sherman
A5 - Johnny's Melody
A6 - Aggie's Sewing Machine Song, Vocals – Jane Connell
A7 - O, Heart Of Love, Vocals – Evelyn Lear
A8 - Capt. Valentine's Tango, Vocals – Scott Merrill
A9 - Johnny's Speech, Vocals – Burgess Meredith
A10 - Song Of The Goddess, Vocals – Jean Sanders
A11 - Song Of The Wounded Frenchman
Side 2:
B1 - Cowboy Song, The Rio Grande, Vocals – Bob Shaver
B2 - Johnny's Dream, Vocals – Evelyn Lear
B3 - Song Of The Guns
B4 - Music Of The Stricken Redeemer
B5 - Mon Ami, My Friend, Vocals – Lotte Lenya
B6 - The Allied High Command
B7 - The Laughing Generals
B8 - In Times Of Tumult And War, Vocals – Thomas Stewart (2), William Malten
B9 - Battle; Johnny's Arrest & Homecoming
B10 - How Sweetly Friendship Binds
B11 - The Psychiatry Song, Vocals – Hiram Sherman
B12 - Hymn To Peace
B13 - Johnny's Song, Vocals – Burgess Meredith
Credits:
Chorus Master – Joseph Liebling
Conductor – Samuel Matlowsky
Cover [Painting] – Yamamoto (9)
Engineer – Val Valentin
Lyrics By [Play by] – Paul Green (3)
Music By, Orchestrated By – Kurt Weill
Notes:
Full title wording from cover: Kurt Weill's Great Musical "Johnny Johnson"
This recording was previously released as MGM Album E3447
Timings- Side One (23:22), Side Two (28:18)
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Barcode: 042283138414
Kurt Weill – Kurt Weill's Johnny Johnson
Label: Polydor – 831 384-1 Y-1, Polydor – 422-831-384-1 Y-1
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1987
Genre: Stage & Screen
Style:
Label: Polydor – 831 384-1 Y-1, Polydor – 422-831-384-1 Y-1
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1987
Genre: Stage & Screen
Style:
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