Walt Disney Records:
The Beauty and the Beast Soundtrack
The Beauty and the Beast soundtrack features six songs and an underscore by the multiple award-winning songwriting team of lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken. The pair behind The Little Mermaid, as well as Little Shop of Horrors, bring this romantic adventure to life, capturing the grandeur, fantasy, and romance of Broadway and classic movie musicals.
In their acting and singing roles, Angela Lansbury (Mrs. Potts), Paige O'Hara (Belle), David Ogden Stiers (Cogsworth), and others further the timeless tradition of great movie and stage musicals. Ashman and Menken provide grand-scale production numbers and songs that help the story unfold, from individual solos to full-cast ensemble productions. They emphasize a magical relationship between story and song in a world where people and spellbound household objects exist side by side. Employing a wide variety of musical styles to define each character and moment, Ashman and Menken combine originality and elegance with wit and wonder. The soundtrack also includes the single of the title song, performed by Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson.
Also featuring Jerry Orbach, Richard White, Jesse Corti, and Rex Everhart, Beauty and the Beast tells a romantic story based on the classic French fairy tale. The production numbers include "Belle," the symphonic prologue sung by Belle (Paige O'Hara), which introduces the storyline and many of the main characters; "Gaston," a boasting barroom waltz performed by LeFou (Jesse Corti) and the villagers in tribute to their hero, Gaston (Richard White); "Be Our Guest," the French cabaret-style tune sung by Lumiere (Jerry Orbach), Mrs. Potts (Angela Lansbury), and an ensemble chorus of dancing plates, bowls, silverware, and other household objects; "Something There," a tender ballad duet between Belle and the Beast; "Beauty and the Beast," a gentle lullaby and the title song in a solo performance by Mrs. Potts; and "The Mob Song," the grand-finale number sung by the entire cast.
Based on the 18th-century French fable, Beauty and the Beast is the magical story of a young woman who befriends a beast. Once upon a time, a spell cast on a handsome young prince turned him into a beast. The spell could only be broken if the Beast learned to love, and earned love in return, by his 21st birthday. The falling petals of a magic rose marked the passage of time. The Beast seemed destined to remain that way, until one day the lovely young Belle happened into his life. Imprisoned in his castle in exchange for her father, Belle eventually came to love the Beast, and, with the help of his enchanted household, broke the spell.
Beauty and the Beast is the sixth production by longtime collaborators Ashman and Menken. The award-winning team provided the music and score to 1989's smash hit The Little Mermaid, the most successful animated film of all time (in its initial release). The Little Mermaid soundtrack was both a critical and popular favorite and has achieved double-platinum status. Ashman and Menken received two Academy Awards®, two Golden Globe Awards®, and two Grammy Awards® for their work on that film.
Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson have recorded a special version of the title song, "Beauty and the Beast." Featured on the film soundtrack, their rendition is produced by Walter Afanasief, with arrangements by Afanasief and Robbie Buchanan from the Howard Ashman/Alan Menken song. Dion topped the singles charts with her hit "Where Does My Heart Beat Now." Bryson's album, Can You Stop the Rain, was the No. 1 R&B record in the country. In addition, a promotional music video featuring Dion, Bryson, and animation from the film has been produced.
In Disney's animated feature Beauty and the Beast, the songwriting team of Ashman and Menken bring to electrifying life the fantastic world of the classic French fable.
The whole list of tracks:
- Prologue
- Belle
- Belle (Reprise)
- Gaston
- Gaston (Reprise)
- Be Our Guest
1.1 MB
- Something There
- The Mob Song
- Beauty and the Beast
864K
- To the Fair
- West Wing
- The Beast Lets Belle Go
- Battle on the Tower
- Transformation
- Beauty and the Beast (Duet)
Did you think the soundtrack was all there was? No, no, no. Look at this...
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