At first, I struggled to determine what a ‘Soundtrack’ could be.  I didn’t really want to include so many of the Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol audio dramas unless they were true soundtracks; music and dialog directly from a radio, TV or Movie production.  And in the end, only two A Christmas Carol CDs made it through.  The first, Lionel Barrymore playing the part of Scrooge and narrated by Orson Welles.  Lionel Barrymore played Scrooge on the radio every year between 1934 and 1953, except for two years.  This particular recording was originally released in 1947.  I don’t know if it is an audio transcript of the actual radio performance from that year, or if it was re-recorded in a sound studio.  But it represents Lionel Barrymore’s playing of Scrooge for nearly 20 years, so it’s close enough.

The other Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol CD to be included is Laurence Olivier’s performance from 1953, which is an audio transcript of the only time Laurence Olivier played Scrooge and was broadcast on BBC Radio in 1953.

The whole Old-Time Radio thing threw me off as well.  Should Abbott & Costello or Fibber McGee And Molly be included?  They’re not something that we think of as a true soundtrack, but these and some others, are audio transcripts of the actual radio performance.  So, they’re included.  I really wanted to include the original Miracle On 34^th Street from 1947.  Technically, it’s not the actual soundtrack from the original movie starring Edmund Gwenn and Maureen O’Hara.  It is an audio transcript of the radio play of the same name.  Edmund Gwenn and Maureen O’Hara got together three times to recreate their roles on Lux Radio Theatre; 1947, 1948 and 1954.  The CD I have is an audio transcript of the actual radio presentation from 1948.  Unfortunately, this is the only time that Natalie Wood did not participate.

And I struggled with whether an original cast recording of a stage play should be included.  But there are only two; Alan Menkin’s A Christmas Carol – A Musical – Original Cast Recording from 1995, and Thomas Schippers – Menotti – Amahl And The Night Visitors – Original Cast Of The NBC Telecast, Christmas Eve, 1951.  Alan Menkin’s A Christmas Carol – A Musical – Original Cast Recording from 1995 contains all the original cast reprising their roles for an in-studio recording.  And Thomas Schippers – Menotti – Amahl And The Night Visitors – Original Cast Of The NBC Telecast, Christmas Eve, 1951 is an in-studio recording featuring all the original cast from the original performance, but not the actual performance.  And I have a copy on LP and CD.

And I feel that all Original Cast Broadway Recordings should be considered Soundtracks.  I think that they don’t have to be live recordings of an actual performance.  Throughout the years, in the Broadway genre, you have Original Cast Recordings recorded in a sound studio, and you have soundtracks taken from the movie.  Many popular Broadway stage shows also had movies produced of the same title.  Think MGM.