Columbia Masterworks Records by John Gielgud—the longest-running "Hamlet" in Broadway history to date. Columbia Masterworks' most successful Broadway album was the original cast recording of "My Fair Lady" (OL-5090, 1956), starring Rex Harrison, Julie Andrews, Stanley Holloway and Robert Coote. This first album was issued only in mono, but the first stereo recording of "My Fair Lady"—featuring the same four stars, this time with the London cast—followed in 1959. And in 1964, Columbia Masterworks issued the film soundtrack album of the show, starring Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn's "singing voice", Marni Nixon. The most successful film soundtrack release on Columbia Masterworks was the
My Fair Lady (Shelly Manne album) first issued as "My Fair Lady with the Un-Original Cast", and later reissued as "My Fair Lady Swings". This album was based on arrangements thoroughly worked out in advance, and some of the tunes were sung by Jack Sheldon and Irene Kral. Some of these albums were performed by small combos, others by big bands. Some used hastily improvised arrangements, others carefully worked out ones. Sometimes singing was involved, but most often the tunes were presented in instrumental versions. Regardless of the exact approach, the practice of recording an entire album of jazz versions of the songs of a single