Tuesday, March 17, 2009

The World is a Circle

Here is an LP I picked up recently at a local thrift shop. I immediately assumed this was a record from Disney's "It's A Small World", as it had the Disneyland Records label in the top right hand corner and the artwork on the front was very similar to that of the artwork on the albums I had from IASW. As per usual I pulled all the albums I liked and took them up to the counter to purchase them without spending too much time looking them over. It wasn't until I got home that I realized that this one had nothing to do with IASW. The album is from 1973 and is distributed by Buena Vista Distribution Co. Inc. The music it turns out is is music based on Lost Horizon.
Here is what it says on the back of the album: The Lost Horizon Story. James Hilton's best selling novel "Lost Horizon" was first released as a motion picture by Columbia on February 27, 1937. The film was produced and directed by Frank Capra and the cast included Ronald Coleman, Name Wyatt, John Howard, Edward Everett Horton, H. B. Warner, Isabel Jewell, Thomas Mitchell, Sam Jaffe and Margo. The film was an enormous success and the idea of Shangri-La became all the world's dream.
Now Ross Hunter has produced a musical version of "Lost Horizon" with music by Burt Bacharach and lyrics by Hal David. This version is also released by Columbia Pictures and contains another great cast; Peter Finch, Liv Ullmann, Sally Kellerman, George Kennedy, Michael York, Olivia Hussey, Bobby Van, James Shigeta and Charles Boyer as the High Lama and John Gielgud as Chang.
Several months ago the president of Disneyland Records and the national sales manager each driving their separate ways to work on the Los Angeles Freeway heard on their car radios two songs from "Lost Horizon." The president heard "The World Is A Circle" and came excitedly into the office exclaiming, "The World Is A Circle" from "Lost Horizon" has got to be a hit and it's a children's song. The national sales manager had heard "Question Me An Answer" and has the same comment. SO it was immediately decided to record three songs from "Lost Horizon," the third being "Living Together, Growing Together" which in the meantime has become a big hit with the 5th Dimensions. We decided to combine these three songs with four other wonderful songs for children out of big shows. "Dites Moi" from the wonderful Broadway show and motion picture "South Pacific," the fabulous "Inch Worm" from "Hans Christian Andersen" probably one of the most beautiful children's songs ever written, and two songs from the Broadway show and motion picture "Fanny." "Be Kind To Your Parents" and "I Like You."
Sadly I have no idea what the music sounds like, as instead of the correct album, there was a copy of a RCA Victor Red Seal Record with song titles such as "Serenade 3 - Golden Days", "Summertime in Heidelberg" and "Drink, Drink, Drink".

4 comments:

Unknown said...

So how much are these records worth? I have some disney records with the read along books too, and want to sell them...

Ronn Roxx said...

If the records are older than 1960, they are problably worth upwards of $15-$20. If they are newer than 1960, then they are probably not worth much, under $2-$8.

Have a look on eBay. That is the best place to see what various items are selling for.

The Mommy Blawger said...

Oh! I had this album as a child. In fact, I wonder if it's still in the garage somewhere...

David said...

I loved this record as a child. The songs are definitely cheesey, but they were very enjoyable back in the day.

I can still remember every word, even though I've not heard the album in over thirty years.