Helen Gallagher, Thomas Mitchell, Benny Venuta and John Howard. Bonus tracks by Eddie Fisher, Sunny Gale, Dinah shore, Guy Lombardo and Benny Venuta.

Even with music by Jule Styne, and starring Helen Gallagher, fresh from her Tony Award winning role in the previous year’s Pal Joey, the 1953 Broadway production of Hazel Flagg was not a successful musical running for only 190 performances. Perhaps it was due to the show being a satire and satire is something that rarely works in a musical. However the score was enchanting and it provided Eddie Fisher with a Top Twenty hit - “How Do You Speak To An Angel?”.

The original cast recording has long being a collector’s item so we are delighted to be re-issuing it digitally with bonus tracks, most of which are appearing for the first time. Thomas Mitchell won a Tony Award for outstanding musical actor for Hazel Flagg and Helen Gallagher went on to win a second Tony Award for No, No Nanette. Veteran stage and film actress Benay Venuta played Dolly Tate in the film of Annie Get Your Gun.

At the time of the original issue of the LP, it was the fashion to make cover versions of likely hit songs from a show by commercial “pop” artists. We have featured the Eddie Fisher track mentioned above and also included recordings by Sunny Gale, Dinah Shore and Guy Lombardo. The last six tracks were originally issued on a rare three 78 set performed by the delightful Benay Venuta entitled Record Gazette.