''The Happy Prince'' is a studio album of phonograph records by Bing Crosby and

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

of the Oscar Wilde short story '' The Happy Prince''. The story had been adapted for radio by Orson Welles in 1944, featuring a musical score by

Bernard Herrmann Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in composing for films. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely r ...

. It was aired on the Philco Radio Hall of Fame broadcast on December 24, 1944 featuring Bing Crosby alongside Orson Welles, with Herrmann's music conducted by

Victor Young Albert Victor Young (August 8, 1899– November 10, 1956)"Victor Young, Composer, Dies of Heart Attack", ''Oakland Tribune'', November 12, 1956. was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. Biography Young is commonly said to ...

. Lurene Tuttle played The Swallow. Decca Records soon signed up the participants to make a commercial recording.

Reception

Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

magazine liked the album saying: "If you’ve been getting smothered lately in record stores with scads of children’s’ albums by everybody from

Artie Shaw Artie Shaw (born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky; May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004) was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction. Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Shaw led ...

through Ronald Colman by way of Gene Kelly, try this one on your small son. It’s the Oscar Wilde fairy tale with a Bernard Herrmann score, and in very much better taste than anything else being turned out for the Christmas rush."

Track listing

These newly issued songs were featured on a 2-disc, 78 rpm album set, Decca Album No. A-420. Words by Oscar Wilde, music by

. Recorded August 21, 1945 with Victor Young and His Orchestra. Disc 1 (40007): Part 1 (3:08) / Part 2 (3:02)
Disc 2 (40008): Part 3 (2:54) / Part 4 (3:09)

Other releases

Decca released a dual 10” LP of ''The Happy Prince'' and ''

The Small One ''The Small One'' (also known as ''A Christmas Miracle'' in the UK) is a 1978 American animated featurette produced by Walt Disney Productions and released theatrically by Buena Vista Distribution on December 16, 1978 with a re-issue of ''Pinocch ...

'' on Decca DL6000 in 1949.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Happy Prince Bing Crosby albums 1946 albums Decca Records albums Orson Welles albums Lurene Tuttle albums