''Dreamgirls: Original Broadway Cast Album'' is the

cast album A cast recording is a recording of a stage musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording or OCR, as the name implies, features the voices of the sho ...

for the original

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production of the musical ''

Dreamgirls ''Dreamgirls'' is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. Based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Supremes, The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others,Gro ...

'', which debuted at the

Imperial Theatre The Imperial Theatre is a Broadway theater at 249 West 45th Street (George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1923, the Imperial Theatre was designed by Herbert J. Krapp and was constructed fo ...

on December 20, 1981. Issued by

David Geffen David Lawrence Geffen (born February 21, 1943) is an American business magnate, producer and film studio executive. He co-created Asylum Records in 1971 with Elliot Roberts, Geffen Records in 1980, DGC Records in 1990, and DreamWorks SKG in 199 ...

, a co-financier of the musical and later producer of its 2006 film adaptation, the album was released by his

Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...

label on April 14, 1982. The cast album features performances by the show's performers, including

Jennifer Holliday Jennifer Yvette Holliday (born October 19, 1960) is an American actress and singer. She started her career on Broadway in musicals such as ''Dreamgirls'' (1981–83), ''Your Arms Too Short to Box with God'' (1980–1981) and later became a su ...

Sheryl Lee Ralph Sheryl Lee Ralph OJ is an American actress and singer. She made her screen debut in the 1977 comedy film '' A Piece of the Action'', before landing the role of Deena Jones in the Broadway musical ''Dreamgirls'' (1981), for which she received a ...

Loretta Devine Loretta Devine (born August 21, 1949) is an American actress, singer and voice actor. She is known for numerous roles across stage and screen. Her most high profile roles include Lorrell Robinson in the original Broadway production of ''Dreamgir ...

Ben Harney Benjamin Robertson "Ben" Harney (March 6, 1872 – March 2, 1938) was an American songwriter, entertainer, and pioneer of ragtime music. His 1896 composition "You've Been a Good Old Wagon but You Done Broke Down" is the second ragtime compositi ...

, Cleavant Derricks,

Obba Babatundé Obba Babatundé (born Donald Cohen; December 1, 1951) is an American actor. A native of Queens, New York City, he has appeared in more than seventeen stage productions, thirty theatrical films, sixty made-for-television films, and two prime-time ...

, and

Vondie Curtis-Hall Vondie Curtis-Hall is an American actor, screenwriter, film director, and television director. As an actor, he is known for his role as Dr. Dennis Hancock on the CBS medical drama '' Chicago Hope'' created by David E. Kelley and as Ben Urich in ...

Album information

The cast album includes highlights from the musical's score; many numbers were truncated or excised in order to fit onto one long-playing vinyl record. A 2006 special edition remastered version, issued to tie-in with both the musical's 25th anniversary and the

DreamWorks DreamWorks may refer to: * DreamWorks Pictures, an American film production company of Amblin ** DreamWorks Television, an American television production company and division of the film studio ** DreamWorks Records, an American record label and f ...

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

-produced ''Dreamgirls'' feature film adaptation, adds three previously unissued tracks from the original recording sessions. Also included is a bonus disc featuring instrumental mixes (prepared for personal appearances by the cast) and a dance version of the musical's signature number, "

And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (also known in short as just "And I Am Telling You") is a torch song from the Broadway musical ''Dreamgirls'', with lyrics by Tom Eyen and music by Henry Krieger. In the context of the musical, "And I Am Tell ...

". Pop music producer

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

served as producer of the cast album, which peaked at #11 on the ''Billboard'' 200, while peaking at #4 on Billboard's Black Albums Chart. It is the highest charting Broadway Cast Recording in history on the Billboard 200. In 1983, the album won the

Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album The Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album has been awarded since 1959. The award is generally given to the album producer, principal vocalist(s), and the composer and lyricist if they have written a new score which comprises 51% or more play ...

, and

received the Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female for "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going". In 1993, the album was certified

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

, and to date has sold over 500,000 copies in the US. The special edition version of the cast album was issued by

Decca Broadway Decca Broadway is an American record label specializing in musical theater recordings founded in 1999 by Decca Records and is a unit of Universal Music Group. Decca Broadway issued both new original cast albums as well as reissues of classic music ...

and

Hip-O Records Hip-O Records is a record label that specializes in reissues and compilations. It is part of Universal Music Group. Established in 1996, the label has distributed releases from 'out of style' genres such as disco and early hip-hop music as wel ...

on November 21, 2006. The dance remix of "And I Am Telling You..." was produced by Craig C.

Track listing

All songs written by

Henry Krieger Henry Krieger (born February 9, 1945 in New York City) is an American musical theatre composer. He most notably wrote the music for the Broadway shows ''Dreamgirls'' (1981, with lyrics and book by Tom Eyen), ''The Tap Dance Kid'' (1983), and ''S ...

and

Tom Eyen Tom Eyen (August 14, 1940 – May 26, 1991) was an American playwright, lyricist, television writer and director. He received a Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for ''Dreamgirls'' in 1981. Eyen is best known for works at opposite ends ...

Side one

#"Move (You're Steppin' on My Heart)" – 1:56 #"Fake Your Way to the Top" – 2:27 #"Cadillac Car" – 3:32 #"Steppin' to the Bad Side" – 3:44 #"Family" – 3:19 #"Dreamgirls" – 3:14 #"Press Conference – 1:40 #"

" – 4:05

Side two

#"Ain't No Party" – 2:08 #"When I First Saw You" – 2:41 #"

I Am Changing "I Am Changing" is a song from the second act of the long-running Broadway musical ''Dreamgirls''. Written by Henry Krieger and Tom Eyen, the song was performed by the character Effie White, originally portrayed on Broadway by Jennifer Holliday ...

" – 3:59 #"I Meant You No Harm" – 1:05 #"The Rap" – 1:41 #"Firing of Jimmy" – 2:36 #"I Miss You Old Friend" – 1:33 #" One Night Only" – 3:42 #"Hard to Say Goodbye, My Love" – 3:36

2006 ''Special Edition''

All songs written by Henry Krieger and Tom Eyen.

Disc one

#"Move (You're Steppin' on My Heart)" #"Fake Your Way to the Top" #"Cadillac Car" #"Steppin' to the Bad Side" #"Family" #"Dreamgirls" #"Press Conference" #"Driving Down the Strip" ¹ #"It's All Over" ¹ #"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" #"Ain't No Party" #"When I First Saw You" #"I Am Changing" #"I Meant You No Harm" #"The Rap" #"Firing of Jimmy" #"I Miss You Old Friend" #"One Night Only" #"Hard To Say Goodbye, My Love" #"Dreamgirls (Finale)" ¹

Disc two

#"Cadillac Car" (Instrumental) #"Steppin' to the Bad Side" (Instrumental) #"Family" (Instrumental) #"Dreamgirls" (Instrumental) #"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (Instrumental) #"When I First Saw You" (Instrumental) #"I Am Changing" (Instrumental) #"One Night Only" (Instrumental) #"Hard to Say Goodbye, My Love" (Instrumental) #"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (Craig C. Club Mix) Notes *¹: Previously unreleased

Personnel

Chart history

Album

Songs

References

{{Authority control Dreamgirls Cast recordings Albums produced by David Foster 1982 soundtrack albums Theatre soundtracks Geffen Records soundtracks Pop soundtracks Rhythm and blues soundtracks Soul soundtracks Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album