Can You Believe The Sound Of Music is 50 Years Old??? + CD Giveaway

Thanks to Sony Music I was given a digital copy of the Sound of Music's 50th Anniversary Edition by Rodger's and Hammerstein II. I was so excited to hear the original Broadway cast from 1959 starring Mary Martin.

When I was growing up, it was all about Julie Andrews. I loved Julie Andrews as Maria and watched this movie every year for many years. I cannot wait to introduce it to my own children.

My family would sing the Maria song to me constantly, "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?"  As a child I loved the words, "how to you catch a cloud and pin it down" and  "How do you hold a moon beam in your hand."

Listening to the songs on the original recording was so incredible. To know that this cast won the Tony Award for Best Musical and ran for 1,443 performances on Broadway before touring the U.S. and then becoming an even longer running hit in London when the British production (1961) ran twice as long as its Broadway counterpart. It continues to be one of the most popular and enduring musicals of all time.

This Cast Recording and Pop up Book are a great way for you to spend quality time with your child while encouraging their reading skills along the way.  According to the Child Literacy Center reading to your child is the single most valuable thing you can do. Many educational intuitions suggest reading predictable books that children can "read" back to you and sharing music with strong rhythms and songs with rhyming lines. What better way to teach your child to read, than with a story and music that you grew up with and love.  You can use this Sing-Along guide along with the book to encourage your child to follow the story with you. 

Is that not the cutest cover ever?

To celebrate the 50thanniversary of the Broadway premiere of The Sound of Music Masterworks Broadway has restored the original cast recording in a new edition that features three unusual bonus tracks, extensive liner notes about the show's history by Bert Fink of the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, and rarely seen photos of the recording sessions, held November 22, 1959, in Columbia Records' celebrated 30^th Street Studios.

In addition to the original cast recording, the three bonus tracks on the 50^th anniversary edition are:

• "From Switzerland: The Pratt Family," a spoof of The Sound of Music created for and performed by Julie Andrews and Carol Burnett in 1962 on their TV special Julie and Carol Live at Carnegie Hall;
• A live recording of "Edelweiss," sung in German, from the historic first production (2005) of The Sound of Music in Vienna;
• A soaring cover version of "Climb Ev'ry Mountain," sung in Swedish (as "Sök dig till bergen") by Tommy Körberg, best known to American audiences for his vocals on the concept album of Chess.

The release of the recording comes just as Simon & Schuster adds to The Sound of Music phenomenon with a collectible pop-up book for every family's library. The heartwarming, classic adventure – adapted by Bert Fink from the story of the stage musical – comes alive with paper engineering as unforgettable as each timeless melody. It is available now wherever books are sold.

Also for those hard core fans of musicals, a rare opportunity on Monday, November 16, 2009 at 5:00 PM, Barnes & Noble "Live at Lincoln" (Lincoln Triangle, 1972 Broadway at 66th Street) will present The Sound of Music: 50th Anniversary Celebration presented in conjunction with The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization.  Theodore Bikel ("Captain von Trapp"), Lauri Peters ("Liesl") and Brian Davies ("Rolf") will talk about the original production, its creators and its inimitable star (the late Mary Martin). Sharing stories about Maria von Trapp, whose true-life story serves as the musical's basis, will be her grandson, Sam von Trapp.  Laurence Maslon (author of THE SOUND OF MUSIC COMPANION) will moderate the panel, which will also include Bert Fink, author of the new children's book adaptation, and the CD’s new liner notes. The event will be introduced by Ted Chapin (President of The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization).

Sony Music Commercial Music Group would love to share with one of my readers the chance to win a copy of the Sound Of Music CD.

To Enter, Fill Out The Form Below: Ends Nov 27

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