King Kong - A Jazz Musical

'King Kong' was a pioneering South African musical inspired by the life and death of the heavyweight boxing champion Ezekiel Dlamini. Stage Door now debut the Original London Cast recording on CD.

The recording is complemented with selections from the Original South African Cast Recording, including many songs that were subsequently cut from the London production. The CD concludes with a handful of bonus tracks including pop covers of "Back of the Moon" and "The Earth Turns Over" by Elaine Delmar and a jazz instrumental of the show's title song by Terry Lightfoot's New Orleans Jazzmen.

Billed as a 'Jazz-Opera', 'King Kong' featured music by Todd Matshikiza and lyrics by Pat Williams. The production was first staged at Johannesburg's Witwatersrand University Great Hall, opening on February 2nd 1959 and went on to take South Africa by storm. Nelson Mandela attended the opening night and is on record as highlighting the show as his favourite musical. The original South African production starred Nathan Mdledle, Ruth Nkonyane, Dan Poho and Miriam Makeba, helping launch Makeba's international career.

West End theatre impresario Jack Hylton was determined to bring the ground breaking South African musical to London, insisting that as many of the original cast members as possible transfer with the production. 'King Kong' subsequently opened at London's Princes Theatre on February 23rd 1961 and ran for 201 performances. Critics praised 'King Kong' for its inventive staging, stand out performances and vibrant score.

In more recent times, 'King Kong' has been recognised for the pioneering role the production played in breaking down racial barriers, defying the colour bar and uniting black and white South Africans at the height of the apartheid era. In 2017 the musical was profiled by BBC Radio 3 and later revived in South Africa by the Fugard Theatre Company.

1: Sad Times, Bad Times
2: Marvellous Muscles
3: King Kong
4: Kwela Kong
5: Back of the Moon
6: The Earth Turns Over
7: Damn Him!
8: Gumboot Dance
9: King King
10: Be Smart, Be Wise
11: Crazy Kid
12: Tshotsholosa (Road Song)
13: Quickly in Love
14: In the Queue
15: It's a Wedding
16: Wedding Hymn
17: Death Song
18: King King (Reprise)
19: Sad Times, Bad Time (Finale)
20: Sad Times, Bad Times
21: Marvellous Muscles
22: King Kong
23: Back of the Moon
24: Petal's Song (The Earth Turns Over)
25: Damn Him
26: Strange Things Happen
27: Better Than New
28: Mad
29: Quickly in Love
30: It's a Wedding
31: Back of the Moon
32: The Earth Turns Over
33: King Kong

Composer: Todd Matshikiza & Pat Williams

Number of Discs: 1

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