Vinyl plays with some crackles and a few light-clicks (play-graded). Gate-fold cover looks great; a few creases near edges; light-scuffing on inner-gate; moderate scuffing (front/back) slight discoloration with darker discoloration spots and surface impressions (front/back/inner-gate). Inner-sleeve is original (poly-lined paper with RCA logo). Spine is easy-to-read with mild-wear. Minor shelf-wear along top/bottom-edge; some wear to corners. Opening is crisp with signs of light use. Stereo DYNAGROOVE pressing. (Not a cut-out.)
The RCA Victor cast recording of the original Broadway production was released in 1964. It was the No. 1 album on the Billboard pop albums chart for seven weeks and the top album of the year on the Year-End chart. In 1964, Louis Armstrong's recording of the song, Hello, Dolly!, rose to No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart, making Armstrong, at age 62, the oldest person ever to accomplish that feat. In the process, Armstrong dislodged The Beatles Can't Buy Me Love from the No. 1 position they had occupied for 14 consecutive weeks with three different songs. The title song was sung in the 1999 film Dick by actor Dan Hedaya, playing President Richard Nixon. The red satin, sequin-bedecked costume, designed by Freddy Wittop, that Channing wore during Hello, Dolly! was donated to the Smithsonian by Channing and theatrical producer Manny Kladitis, following the thirtieth anniversary tour of the show. It is currently on display at the National Museum of American History. While Miss Channing's Harmonia Gardens gown is in the Smithsonian, the remainder of the original Freddy Wittop costumes are now housed in the permanent collection of the Costume World Broadway Collection, a theatrical museum dedicated to Broadway costuming located in Pompano Beach, Florida. The musical, directed and choreographed by Gower Champion and produced by David Merrick, opened on January 16, 1964, at the St. James Theatre and closed on December 27, 1970, after 2,844 performances. Carol Channing starred as Dolly, with a supporting cast that included David Burns as Horace, Charles Nelson Reilly as Cornelius, Eileen Brennan as Irene, Jerry Dodge as Barnaby, Sondra Lee as Minnie Fay, Alice Playten as Ermengarde, and Igors Gavon as Ambrose. Although facing competition from Funny Girl with Barbra Streisand, Hello, Dolly! swept the Tony Awards that year, winning awards in ten categories (out of eleven nominations) that tied the musical with the previous record keeper South Pacific, record that remained unbroken for 37 years until The Producers won twelve Tonys in 2001.