Most Recorded Showtune of All Time?

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 1/14/06 at 11:37am

Is there a figure out on this? What is the single most recorded showtune of all time?

[Cages or Wings]

Posted: 1/14/06 at 11:38am

I seem to remember hearing that it was "Send in the Clowns" but I am not positive.

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/14/06 at 11:40am

That's a tough one! I know that "White Christmas" is the most recorded SONG of all time. But it's from a movie musical ("Holiday Inn")... not a stage show.

Hmmm...

EDIT: Bing Crosby's recording of it is also the biggest selling recording of all time... (which is probably why it's now the most recorded song of all time, too)

Updated On: 1/14/06 at 11:40 AM

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 1/14/06 at 11:41am

The most recordings of the score of a given show is GYPSY with six.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 1/14/06 at 11:41am

Do you mean English language? I think there are a few ALW and British shows that pass that number.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 1/14/06 at 11:43am

I do mean the English language. I don't doubt that foreign language recordings surpass that number.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 1/14/06 at 11:46am

6 Gypsy recordings...Counting the 2 films right?

OBC with Marm
OLC with Angela
Revival with Daly
Revival with Bernie
Bette film
Roz/Lisa Kirk dubbed film

Right?

[Thesbijean]

Posted: 1/14/06 at 11:48am

I thought I read somewhere that "Memory" is the most recorded Showtune in the world.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 1/14/06 at 11:52am

The Impossible Dream

[ThrourouglyModernMLE]

Posted: 1/14/06 at 11:53am

Ugh, Memory... anyone else hate that song?

[Horton]

Posted: 1/14/06 at 11:55am

I think it is between Memory and Send in the Clowns

the latter being a song that i love, and the first being the epitome of bad!

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 1/14/06 at 11:56am

Memory is just overdone. I hated it until I saw Buckley do it live. What an experience!

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/14/06 at 11:59am

Well, my first inclination would be that it was an older song... when Broadway and "pop" were one in the same.

But there were far fewer recording outlets back then. If you didn't have a contract with a major label, you didn't get to do it.

Today's market is very different, with many artists releasing albums... so it may well be one of these "modern" show tunes instead.

[Patronus]

Posted: 1/14/06 at 12:00pm

In regards to most recorded English language, Jesus Christ Superstar has Gypsy beat:

Original concept (1970)
Original Broadway cast (1971)
Original London cast (1972)
Studio cast (1972)
Original Australian cast (1972)
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1973)
The 20th Anniversary London cast (1992)
Australian Cast (1992)
New Zealand cast (1994)
Jesus Christ Superstar: A Resurrection (1994)
London studio cast (1996)
A New Stage Production Soundtrack (2000)

These are just in the English speaking countries. I believe there are other English recordings from non-English speaking countries.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 1/14/06 at 12:01pm

I have 1 Jesus Christ Superstar. It's all I can take.

[wickedrentq]

Posted: 1/14/06 at 12:03pm

I think I remember on a Bway documentary(the American musical maybe? or something else?) that it's Memory.

[ALWrules]

Posted: 1/14/06 at 12:03pm

I have seen the official statistic, and it is Memory first, with 167 different artists having recorded it. Second is Send in the Clowns, which has been recorded by something around 130 artists.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 1/14/06 at 12:07pm

Thanks for posting!

[ChrisLovesShows]

Posted: 1/14/06 at 12:08pm

There are quite a few shows that have more than 10 English recordings, some with many more than 10. There literally dozens of different recordings of Porgy & Bess. I have 23 or so separate recordings of Showboat.

The songs mentioned: Memory, Send In The Clowns, and The Impossible Dream have to be up there on the list of most recorded show tunes.

Updated On: 1/14/06 at 12:08 PM

[Enjolras77]

Posted: 1/14/06 at 12:14pm

Actually Bing's "White Christmas" was passed a few years ago by Elton's John's version of "Candle in the Wind" that was written for Princess Diana as best selling single of all time.

I also think I remember reading that "Send in the Clowns" was the most recorded showtune. I think Filichia may have even written a column on this topic a while back. I will try to find it!
Top Selling Singles of All Time

[temms]

Posted: 1/14/06 at 12:16pm

I would have guessed probably "All The Things You Are" from "Very Warm For May". It routinely shows up as #1 on all the official "Most beautiful song ever" or "Greatest song of the twentieth century" lists. If "Memory" has 167 recordings, I would guess that "All The Things You Are", which had at least a forty-year head start, would trump that number by quite a factor.

I imagine "Night And Day" from "The Gay Divorce" would be up there, too. "Someone To Watch Over Me" from "Oh, Kay" I'm sure has hundreds and hundreds of recordings.

I would be looking to songs by Porter, Gershwin, Kern, Rodgers, Berlin and the like before songs by Sondheim and Lloyd Webber, simply because they've been around longer and were continually recorded throughout the last century.

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/14/06 at 12:19pm

Well, I knew at some point Bing's version of "White Christmas" would topple.

"White Christmas" is still the most recorded song ever, though... by a huge margin. Most of the "most recorded" songs ever are Christmas tunes though... which makes sense, since everyone and their cat has made a Christmas album.

(my cat's is very good, by the way)



EDIT: Enjolras77---Thanks for posting that list. There's such a huge drop after "Candle in the Wind" and "White Christmas." Almost by half, after that. To think that the top two recordings were both "attached" to global tragedies is food for thought. If Diana hadn't died in such an awful way, and we hadn't had WWII, these songs wouldn't be as big as they were. A somber notion, to be sure. But I guess the moral would be that "music heals." So, I feel better now.

Updated On: 1/14/06 at 12:19 PM

[Katurian2]

Posted: 1/14/06 at 1:05pm

Send in the Clowns is totally the most recorded song. I hear it everywhere

[grizzabella]

Posted: 1/14/06 at 1:54pm

I don't know if this counts, but many show tunes have been used in advertising or for other promotional purposes. I know many of the songs from Gypsy have gotten a lot of airplay over the years in this way. They're not specifically recorded as performances, but they sure get exposure. How many times have you heard "Everything's Coming Up Roses"?
I realize that this thread refers to artistic performances, but show-tunes do get around for all sorts of reasons.

[iliketheater]

Posted: 1/14/06 at 2:13pm

I have no trouble believing that it's 'Memory', that was my first thought when I saw this post.