Even before the shows went into rehearsal, these talented songwriters would gather a small group of singers and musicians in a studio to get down on discs their latest efforts. Sent off to record company executives and the likes of Perry Como, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Johnny Mathis and other stars, these recordings were considered expendable sales tools that would help sell the music to a wider audience. Most were destroyed, but a few survived. Now a bit of Broadway history has been uncovered with the release of Broadway First Take, which celebrates these original demos by putting some of them out on compact disc. Volume 1, released on the Slider Music label, features demos of songs from Gigi , How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Hello, Dolly .
More volumes are to come.
On these discs is a select group of singers, unknown outside the business, but accomplished artists in their own right. Rose Marie Jun. From the late 1950s into the 1980s, Jun made more than 70 demos. But Up , she sang much of what Broadway had to offer usually before anyone else. Today, sitting in an Upper West Side apartment she shares with a solid, sweetfaced grey cat named Molly, Jun is almost apologetic about her unique place in musical theatre. I came here thinking to set the world on fire and just somehow didn't.