The Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, opened on Broadway at the 46th Street Theatre on October 14, 1961 and it was an instant smash, with both critics and audiences raving about everything. Adaptation of the book is by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert; the brilliant score by Loesser; the cast, led by the inimitable young Robert Morse and the older but equally inimitable Rudy Vallee; the musical staging by Bob Fosse; and Burrows's direction.

It had an amazing run of 1,417 performances and won seven Tony Awards. There was a successful national tour starring Dick Kallman.

Of course, with a smash like that, it was inevitable that the show would receive a London production and so it did. That production opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre on March 28, 1963, where it had a very healthy run of 520 performances. For that production, it was an entirely new company, led by the inimitable Warren Berlinger, already a Broadway vet by that time, and the inimitable Billy De Wolfe in the Vallee role. The London cast album was released soon after the show opened, and it is delightful. Berlinger is wonderful as Finch, and Billy De Wolfe is a fantastic Biggley, and the rest of the cast are equally fun.

If you're a fan of London cast recordings of Broadway shows, this one's a must. We've also included a nice number of bonus tracks, selections from the World Record Club knock-off of the show, with the Mike Sammes Singers, full orchestra, and that has its own delights.

The original London cast recording of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is limited to 500 copies only.

1 Overture/How To Succeed
2 Happy to Keep His Dinner Warm
3 Coffee Break
4 The Company Way
5 A Secretary is Not a Toy
6 Been a Long Day
7 Grand Old Ivy
8 Paris Original
9 Rosemary
10 Cinderella, Darling
11 Love From a Heart of Gold
12 I Believe in You
13 Brotherhood of Man
14 Finale

BONUS TRACKS
15 World Record Club Cover Version Overture and How To Succeed
16 Happy to Keep His Dinner Warm
17 The Company Way
18 A Secretary Is Not a Toy
19 Been a Long Day
20 Rosemary
21 I Believe in You
22 Brotherhood of Man
23 Finale

Conducted by Alan Braden
The Mike Sammes Singers and Chorus