Goddard Lieberson
b. 5 April 1911, Hanley, Staffordshire, England, d. 29 May 1977, New York City, New York, USA. A record company executive, composer, author, and musician. Lieberson was four years old when his family moved to Seattle, Washington. After graduating from the local university, he studied at the Eastman School of Music in New York, and originally intended to make a career as a composer. Financial reality intervened, and, in 1939, he became the assistant director of the Masterworks division of Columbia Records, part of the CBSgroup. During the '40s he recorded plays, operas, and other classical works, whilst at the same time rising to the position of executive vice-president of Columbia. In the late '40s, he was influential in the decision to select the 33 1/3 speed as the standard for the new long-playing record. The development also contributed directly towards his greatest success as a pioneering producer of original cast recordings of hit Broadway shows. He began in 1949 with South Pacific, for which he won the first of seven Gold Discs. The other award winners were Flower Drum Song, Camelot, West Side Story, Mame, The Sound Of Music, and My Fair Lady. He was so impressed by the score for the latter show that he persuaded CBS to become the sole investor—and, with sales of over six million units, they made a fortune. His ‘amazing ear, his enthusiasm for theatre music, and his respect for the work he was doing’ made him a legendary figure in the industry. Lieberson also recorded many shows when they had closed after only a few performances, convinced quite rightly in most cases, that the scores were worth preserving. He was responsible for recording the vast majority of the shows which are currently being re-released in CD form on the Sony Broadway label. During a long and distinguished career, Lieberson is credited with having signed many important artists, including Simon And Garfunkel and Bob Dylan. He rose to be the president of Columbia Records (1955-56), of the CBS/Columbia Group (1966-71 and 1973-75), but he will be remembered mainly for his sensitive and brilliant work in preserving so much wonderful Broadway music. His final recordings, in the early '70s, were A Little Night Music, Billy, and the record-breaking A Chorus Line (1975).