SINGIN' IN THE RAIN: The Origins

Since 1929, lyricist Arthur Freed (1894-1973) and composer Nacio Herb Brown (1896-1964) wrote song material for the pioneering days of the early Hollywood Musicals at MGM.  The song "Singin' in the Rain" was first heard in the 1929 MGM film "Hollywood Revue".  In 1939, Arthur Freed became associate producer at MGM beginning one of the most prolific periods of the Hollywood Movie Musical with "The Wizard of Oz". Collaborations followed with Vincente Minelli, Fred Astaire, Frank Sinatra, and Gene Kelly... creating Movie Musical Classics such as "The Pirate", "Easter Parade", "On the town", "An American in Paris"...

When Gene Kelly's idea of a musical tribute to the 1920's and the first talking pictures arose,  the future soundtrack already existed: recycling early songs from the MGM catalogue of Freed/Brown,  rearranging them to the luscious state of musical production tastes during the Golden Age of MGM, eventually becoming the Classic "Singin' in the Rain"! The movie was released in 1952, and despite a lukewarm reception, it has become one of the most beloved movie-musicals of all time. While respecting the order in which each song appears in the film, they are presented here in their original versions, as they were arranged for dance and radio orchestras.

SPIRIT OF CHICAGO ORCHESTRA is a retro dance band - presenting 1920's & 1930's period arrangements and authentic orchestrations.

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