American actress/singer Jeanette MacDonald (1903 – 1965) recorded over 50 songs during her film career for RCA Victor and its foreign counterparts. Due to the limited statistics released to the public, it is not certain how many songs and singles she has released or their exact popularity in music charts, although she has officially recorded eight studio albums (five LPs) and released seven compilation albums.[1] Despite soundtracks for musical films not becoming a concept until the 1940s,[2] many of her singles were re-recordings of songs she had performed in the movies (a common practice other musical actors did at the time);[2] her first "album" was the single "Dream Lover"/"March of the Grenadiers" (1930) on 78 rpm discs for The Love Parade.[2] She also recorded a cover album of songs featured in Sigmund Romberg's Up in Central Park in 1945 with Robert Merrill,[2] as well as non-English records during her 1931 European tour.
MacDonald performed in musicals alongside Maurice Chevalier, Allan Jones, and Nelson Eddy, although her films with Eddy are the most well-known today. The single "Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life"/"Indian Love Call" from Rose Marie (1936) received a gold record from RCA Red Seal. Her other popular (and/or well-remembered) singles were "Beyond the Blue Horizon", "San Francisco", and "Ave Maria". "Beyond the Blue Horizon" peaked at #9 in the charts[3] and became MacDonald's signature song; she performed it professionally three times in her career.[4][5][6]
MacDonald's first studio album was MacDonald in Song (1939), followed by Religious Songs (1945) and Operetta Favorites (1946).[2] Her first LP was Romantic Moments (1950), followed by Favorites, Favorites in Hi-Fi (1959), Smilin' Through (1960) and Jeanette MacDonald Sings Songs of Faith and Inspiration (1963).[1] Seven official compilation albums were released, such as Jeanette MacDonald 1929–1939 and A Tribute to Jeanette MacDonald volumes 1 and 2, but due to the varying copyrights on audio worldwide, unofficial albums in MacDonald's name have been released on CDs in European countries under public domain.[2]
Two takes were recorded on September 16 and October 5
Referencesedit
Footnotesedit
^ ab"Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life" was released twice on two different singles: one was a solo, and the other was a duet.
^The date of this album's release is unknown, however, the songs featured were recorded in August 1950[18] and was most likely released either at the end of the year or in early 1951.
^ abc"Jeanette MacDonald - Favorites". Discogs. Archived from the original on April 30, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
^"Favorites in Stereo". Discogs. Archived from the original on April 30, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
^"Searchable database". RIAA. 2015. Archived from the original on April 12, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
^"Jeanette MacDonald – Smilin' Through". Discogs. Archived from the original on May 2, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
^"Jeanette MacDonald Sings Songs of Faith and Inspriation". Discogs. Archived from the original on April 30, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
^"RCA Victor LCT-16 (LP). Operetta favorites by Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy". UC Santa Barbara Library: Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
^"RCA Victor LPV-526 (LP). Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy: 16 nostalgic original recordings of music from their golden years in Hollywood". Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
^"Jeanette MacDonald Sings San Francisco And Other Silver Screen Favorites". Discogs. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
^Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 185. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
^"SAN FRANCISCO & OTHER JEANETTE MacDONALD FAVORITES". Library of Congress. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
^"San Francisco And Other Jeanette MacDonald Favorites". Discogs. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
^"Jeanette Macdonald — 1929-1939 . 23 titres". CD and LP. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
^"Victor 22247 (Black label (popular) 10-in. double-faced)". University of California: Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
^"Victor 22514 (Black label (popular) 10-in. double-faced)". University of California: Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
^"Victor 24013 (Black label (popular) 10-in. double-faced)". University of California: Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
^"Victor 24019 (Black label (popular) 10-in. double-faced)". Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
^"Victor 24067 (Black label (popular) 10-in. double-faced)". Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
^"Victor 24068 (Black label (popular) 10-in. double-faced)". Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
^"Victor matrix PBS-79313. The merry widow waltz / Jeanette MacDonald ; MGM Studio Orchestra ; Herbert Stothart". Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
^"Victor 24729 (Black label (popular) 10-in. double-faced)". Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
^"Victor 24754 (Black label (popular) 10-in. double-faced)". Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
^"Victor matrix PBS-90072. Italian street song / Jeanette MacDonald ; MGM Studio Orchestra ; Herbert Stothart". Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
^"Victor 24896 (Black label (popular) 10-in. double-faced)". Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
^"Victor 4323 (Red Seal 10-in. double-faced)". Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
^"Victor 4329 (Red Seal 10-in. double-faced". Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
^"Victor matrix PBS-97856. Will you remember / Nelson Eddy ; Jeanette MacDonald ; Nathaniel Shilkret". Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
^"Victor matrix PBS-97855. Farewell to dreams / Nelson Eddy ; Jeanette MacDonald ; Nathaniel Shilkret". Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. Retrieved April 21, 2019.