One of the more popular soundtrack albums for a Stewart film was 1965’s Shenandoah.
Decca DL-9125 (mono)/DL7-9125 (stereo)
The soundtrack was also issued as a reel-to-reel tape:
Decca ST74-9125 (stereo)
Except where noted, all of the music was composed by Frank Skinner and conducted by Joseph Gershenson. Charles “Bud” Dant produced the album. The tracks included were:
Main Title “Shenandoah”
Ripe for Pickin’
Roll Call
Horse Play
Martha’s Namesake
Young Captives
The Legend of Shenandoah (Gloria Shayne/Jerry Keller)
Bridal Suite
War is Hell
The Dead and the Living
Ripe for Pickin’ (Reprise)
Memorium
We’re Ridin’ Out Tonight (Gloria Shayne/Jerry Keller)
End Title “Shenandoah”
The album was reviewed in the August 14, 1965 edition of Billboard:
On August 28, 1965, Billboard listed in its “Breakout Albums” section, but it took more than another month before it made the chart.
The album entered the Billboard chart on October 9, 1965 at #150. The following week it was #147 and then it dropped off the chart, never to return.
Two of the songs from the soundtrack were lifted for a single released with a picture sleeve:
Decca 31795
The design of the promo label is different than the commercial copy.
The Legend of Shenandoah featured Stewart doing a dramatic reading over a musical background. It had been recorded at United Recorders, Hollywood, on the morning of April 23, 1965. Besides Stewart, those involved included:
Charles “Bud” Dant – leader, arranger
Robert Bain – guitar (Bain had worked with Stewart before. He appeared, as a guitar player, in the June 3, 1954 episode of The Six Shooter, a radio series in which Stewart starred.)
Joseph R. Gibbons – guitar
Allan Reuss – guitar
Morty Corb – bass
Jack Sperling – drums
Danny Welton – harmonica
Carroll “Cappy” Lewis – trumpet
The single was listed in the “Breakout Singles” chart for the Dallas-Fort Worth area in the July 17, 1965 issue of Billboard.
The single did manage to make Billboard’s “Easy Listening” chart, entering at #36 on July 10, 1965 and rising to #33 the following week. It also was on the “Bubbling Under” chart for two weeks, entering at #135 on July 10, 1965 and going to #133 on the 17th.
The other important music magazine of the time, Cash Box, had a chart called “Looking Ahead” and the single made that chart for just one week – July 17, 1965 at #144.
Although the single failed to chart on any of the Record World charts, it was mentioned by some of the radio stations reporting to that magazine, including this one from KCKN, Kansas City.
Sheet music was also available for the song and Stewart’s photo appears on the cover:
Update: February 8, 2018
Two separate updates for the single, The Legend of Shenandoah. First, here are scans of several local radio stations showing the single’s status. This one, from KFJZ, Fort Worth, TX, shows the 45 rpm as a “King Z Klimer.”
Station KMA of Shenandoah, IA, for August of 1965, shows the single at #12.
On June 15, 1965, it was among the “Piks of the Week” at WAMS, Wilmington, DE.
The July 1, 1965, chart for WTAC in Flint, MI, showed the single at #23.
The single was also released in other countries and we’re adding some label scans and other information about those releases.
In the UK, it was issued by Brunswick (05938).
The Festival label issued the single in both New Zealand (DK 1018)…
…and Australia (DK-1018).
In Australia, the single was listed among the “Top 40 Predictions” on the July 23, 1965, chart for station 6PR, Perth.
