and Flip Wilson, with appearances by Thurl Ravenscroft and Jimmy Griffin, a founding member of the soft-rock band Bread. The show aired July 4, thirty-seven days after Lieberson died of cancer in New York City on May 29, 1977, aged 66. Lieberson was the grandfather of sisters Elizabeth (Lizzie), Katherine, and Kristina, who as of 2013 were members of the band TEEN. Cast recordings His greatest legacy, however, was probably the original cast recordings he produced. Columbia was not the first to offer such recordings; Musicraft's 1938 recording of The Cradle Will Rock was the first (not Decca's 1943 recording of Oklahoma! as is often erroneously stated). Lieberson's recordings at Columbia, however, were influential. In addition to documenting the musical performances of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, Lieberson also produced notable studio cast recordings of musicals of the 1930s and 1940s, such as Pal Joey and The Boys from Syracuse, for which cast albums had not been made. Though vinyl fans might consider Lieberson's greatest legacy his being responsible for the introduction of the LP record, most observers consider his Broadway show production as his singular achievement. Though other labels had issued Broadway shows on LP (Decca issued Guys and Dolls in 1950) Lieberson's extensive coverage of Broadway mainstreamed and popularized original cast recordings. In fact, Lieberson provided the $375,000 needed to produce the stage production of My Fair Lady, considered to be among the greatest shows ever, in exchange for the rights to release on Columbia the original cast recording. Both on stage and at the record store the investment paid off handsomely. The original cast recording (in mono only), starring Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison, topped the Billboard 200 charts for 15 weeks 1956—1959. A stereo recording produced in England with Andrews and Harrison was issued in 1959. Positions References 1911 births 1977 deaths American music industry executives American record producers Jewish American musicians Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Grammy Award winners People from Hanley, Staffordshire Columbia Records American male composers British Jews University of Washington School of Music alumni British emigrants to the United States 20th-century American composers 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American male musicians Eastman School of Music alumni 20th-century American Jews