Painted Smiles

Painted Smiles was a small record label, based in New York City and run by Ben Bagley, which operated from the 1970s to the 1990s. It is best known for its Revisited series of recordings of little-known songs by well-known songwriters.

During Ben Bagley's long stay in a hospital while recovering from tuberculosis, his best friend Arthur Siegel brought him tapes of less-known songs by great Broadway songwriters. Bagley was inspired to produce his own recordings of such songs, initially for existing record labels. In 1971, he founded his own label, Painted Smiles.^[1]

Painted Smiles' first releases were cast recordings of Bagley's off-Broadway revues.

Most Painted Smiles recordings, often titled ... Revisited, were anthologies of the lesser-known songs of the top Broadway musical composers and lyricists from the 1920s through the 1940s, including Harold Arlen, Irving Berlin, Leonard Bernstein, Noël Coward, DeSylva, Brown and Henderson, Vernon Duke, George and Ira Gershwin, Oscar Hammerstein II, Yip Harburg, Jerome Kern, Alan Jay Lerner, Frank Loesser, Johnny Mercer, Cole Porter, Rodgers and Hart, Arthur Schwartz, Kurt Weill and Vincent Youmans.

The Revisited albums shared a distinctive design. Their covers displayed bright watercolors by Harvey Schmidt (better known as a composer) of showgirls in improbable and sometimes surreal costumes, often naked or nearly so above or even below the waist, on white backgrounds.^[2] (Shoestring Revue's cover art was signed by Yves Saint Laurent and that for Mostly Mercer by Bob Mackie.) The backs of the albums were crammed with Bagley's gossipy and ribald liner notes and small photographs of the performers.

The Revisited series featured performances by some of the leading Broadway performers of the day (Kaye Ballard, Richard Chamberlain, Barbara Cook, Dorothy Loudon, Ann Miller, Estelle Parsons, Anthony Perkins, Alice Playten, Chita Rivera, Elaine Stritch, Gloria Swanson), cabaret and jazz singers (Cab Calloway, Blossom Dearie, Bobby Short) and many great theatre and film actors and other personalities not generally known for their singing ability, among them Ellen Burstyn, Phyllis Diller, Laurence Harvey, Katharine Hepburn, Rex Reed and Jerry Stiller.

Playbill called Bagley's liner notes for the Revisited albums "odd and iconoclastic" and the albums themselves "hardly scholarly and sometimes downright unpleasant to listen to (note the antic, drowsy, caffeinated, tinny arrangements and uneven voices — a festival of sharps and flats)". However, "the discs are nonetheless embraced by fans hungry to explore old, mothballed material by extraordinary songwriters".^[3]

In its first decades Painted Smiles released its recordings on vinyl. In the 1980s it began releasing CDs, and re-released many of its earlier recordings on CD. Many Painted Smiles releases have been re-released, with improved sound, by Kritzerland Records.^[4][5]

This discography currently only includes CDs only because reliable information on Painted Smiles' LPs has not yet been found.

Partial citations of CDs are taken from the list of releases in the liner notes of Harold Arlen Revisited.^[6]

Titles of Bagley's revues and the Revisited series are prefixed with Bagley's name, but in a smaller font and different case, so it is not considered to be part of the title proper.

• George Gershwin Revisited (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-101. Featuring Barbara Cook, Bobby Short, Anthony Perkins and Elaine Stritch.
• The Grass Harp Lola (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-102.
• Mostly Mercer (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-103.
• Studio cast (1989). Too Many Girls (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-104. Featuring Nancy Andrews, Johnny Desmond, Estelle Parsons, Anthony Perkins, Nancy Grennan, Jerry Wyatt, Arthur Siegel and Ken Parks.
• Cole Porter Revisited Vol. III (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-105. Featuring Georgia Engel, Helen Gallagher, Dolores Gray, Lynn Redgrave, Arthur Siegel and Elaine Stritch.
• Rodgers and Hart Revisited Vol. III (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-106. Featuring Nancy Andrews, Blossom Dearie, Johnny Desmond, Estelle Parsons, Anthony Perkins, Lynn Redgrave and Arthur Siegel.
• Leonard Bernstein Revisited (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-107. Featuring Nell Carter, Estelle Parsons, John Reardon, Chita Rivera, Arthur Siegel and Jo Sullivan.
• Kurt Weill Revisited (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-108. Featuring Paula Laurence, Ann Miller, John Reardon, Chita Rivera, Arthur Siegel and Jo Sullivan.
• Kurt Weill Revisited Vol. II (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-109. Featuring Ellen Burstyn, Nell Carter, Blossom Dearie, Tammy Grimes, Estelle Parsons, John Reardon, Arthur Siegel and Jo Sullivan.
• Noël Coward Revisited (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-110. Featuring Laurence Harvey, Hermione Gingold, Nancy Andrews, Edward Earle, Ann Hampton Callaway, Myvanwy Jenn, Barbara Lea and Arthur Siegel.
• Jerome Kern Revisited Vol. II (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-111. Featuring Kaye Ballard, Sheldon Harnick, Anne Meara, Arthur Siegel, Jerry Stiller, Joanne Woodward, John O'Hurley, Jennifer Bassey, Karla Burns, Angelina Reaux, Sarah Rice, Mark Sendroff, Sandy Stewart, Blythe Walker and Karen Wyman.
• The Littlest Revue (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-112.
• Jerome Kern Revisited (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-113. Featuring Barbara Cook, Rod McKuen, Kaye Ballard, Nancy Andrews, Bobby Short, George Reinholt, Harold Lang, Cy Young, Henrietta Valor.
• Bart! The Songs of Bart Howard (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-114.
• Frank Loesser Revisited (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-115. Featuring Blossom Dearie, Johnny Desmond, Rhonda Fleming, Madeline Kahn, Bibi Osterwald, Gloria Swanson, Margaret Whiting, Jo Sullivan, Colin Romoff and Emily Loesser.
• Rodgers and Hart Revisited (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-116. Featuring Dorothy Loudon, Danny Meehan, Charlotte Rae, Cy Young, Ann Hampton Callaway, Arthur Siegel and Sandy Stewart.
• Cole Porter Revisited, Vol. IV (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-117. Featuring Katharine Hepburn, Blossom Dearie, Helen Gallagher, Dolores Gray, Patrice Munsel, Arthur Siegel, Kaye Ballard, Ann Hampton Callaway and Sandy Stewart.
• Irving Berlin Revisited (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-118. Featuring Richard Chamberlain, Blossom Dearie, Dorothy Loudon, Bobby Short, Ann Hampton Callaway, Arthur Siegel, Sandy Stewart and William Cantor.
• Make Mine Manhattan (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-119.
• Studio cast (1990). Hold On to Your Hats (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-120. Featuring Carleton Carpenter, Blossom Dearie, Helen Gallagher, Tammy Grimes, Patrice Munsel, Arthur Siegel, Nancy Grennan Hillner, Patrice Munsel, Patti Wyss and E.Y. Harburg.
• Cole Porter Revisited (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-121. Featuring David Allen, Kaye Ballard, Ronny Graham, Bibi Osterwald, Bobby Short, Ann Hampton Callaway, Arthur Siegel and Sandy Stewart.
• Cole Porter Revisited Vol. V (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-122. Featuring Ann Hampton Callaway, Arthur Siegel, Sandy Stewart, Tommy Tune and Julie Wilson.
• Original off-Broadway cast (1991). The Decline and Fall of the Entire World as Seen Through the Eyes of Cole Porter (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-124. Featuring Kaye Ballard, Harold Lang, William Hickey, Carmen Alvarez, Elmarie Wendel, Dody Goodman, Tammy Grimes, Bobby Short and Danny Meehan.
• Unpublished Cole Porter Vol. II (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-125. Featuring Carmen Alvarez, Kaye Ballard, Blossom Dearie, Edward Earle, Laura Kenyon, Karen Morrow, Alice Playten and Charles Rydell.
• Rodgers and Hart Revisited Vol. IV (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-126. Featuring Nancy Andrews, Blossom Dearie, Johnny Desmond, Anthony Perkins, Lynn Redgrave and Elaine Stritch.
• Arlen and Duke Revisited Vol. II (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-127.
• Tallulah (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-128.
• Original off-Broadway cast (1991). Shoestring Revue (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-129. Featuring Beatrice Arthur, John Bartis, Ann Hampton Callaway, Danny Carroll, Jane Connell, Dody Goodman, Maxwell Grant, Dorothy Greener, Kristi Lynes, Robert Marks and Bill McCutcheon.
• Original off-Broadway cast (1991). Shoestring '57 (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-130. Featuring Beatrice Arthur, John Bartis, Fay de Witt, Dody Goodman, Dorothy Greener, Rich G. Wood. Bonus material featuring Michael Greenwood, Sheldon Harnick and Charles Strouse.
• Contemporary Broadway Revisited (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-131.
• I Can't Keep Running In Place. (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-132.
• Catch Me If I Fall. (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-133.
• Jerome Kern Revisited Vol. III (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-134. Featuring Kaye Ballard, Dody Goodman, Arthur Siegel, Armelia McQueen, Ann Hampton Callaway, Susan Kreutzer, Bruce Hubbard, Ron Raines, Craig Pomranz, Angelina Reaux, Sarah Rice, Adelle Sardi and Blythe Walker.
• Ira Gershwin Revisited (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-135.
• Oscar Hammerstein Revisited (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-136. Featuring Cab Calloway, Blossom Dearie, Alfred Drake, E.Y. "Yip" Harburg, Dorothy Loudon, Patrice Munsel, Elaine Stritch and Gloria Swanson.
• Arthur Schwartz Revisited' (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-137. Featuring Charles Rydell, Blossom Dearie, Gloria DeHaven, Phyllis Diller, Warde Donovan and Cab Calloway.
• Vernon Duke Revisited (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-138. Featuring Blossom Dearie, Gloria DeHaven, Tammy Grimes, Anthony Perkins, Rex Reed, Joan Rivers and Jack Haskell.
• Rodgers and Hart Revisited Vol. II (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-139. Featuring Blossom Dearie, Gloria DeHaven, Dorothy Loudon, Bibi Osterwald, Charles Rydell, Bobby Short, Ann Hampton Callaway, Arthur Siegel, Sandy Stewart, Dennis Deal, The Wyss Sisters, Marcus Neville and Willard Beckham.
• Rodgers and Hart Revisited Vol. V (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-140. Featuring Ann Hampton Callaway, Mary Cleere Haran, Dorothy Loudon, Arthur Siegel, Sandy Stewart and Susan Stroman.
• Alan Jay Lerner Revisited (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-141. Featuring Blossom Dearie, Dorothy Loudon, Roddy MacDowall, Jerry Orbach, Nancy Walker, Ann Hampton Callaway, Robert Marks and Arthur Siegel.
• Vincent Youmans Revisited (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-142. Featuring
• Kaye Ballard (1993). The Ladies Who Wrote The Lyrics (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-143.
• DeSylva, Brown And Henderson Revisited (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-144.
• DeSylva, Brown And Henderson Revisited Vol. II (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-145. Featuring Ann Hampton Callaway, Mary Cleere Haran, Dorothy Loudon, Arthur Siegel, Sandy Stewart and Margaret Whiting.
• Everyone Else Revisited (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-146.
• Vernon Duke Vol. III (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-147.
• Various artists (1994). Harold Arlen Revisited (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-148. Featuring Nancy Andrews, David Burns, Blossom Dearie, Gloria DeHaven, Phyllis Diller, Estelle Parsons, and Charles Rydell. Bonus material featuring Ann Hampton Callaway, Arthur Siegel and Sandy Stewart.
• Symphony Orchestra conducted by Lehman Engel (1994). Ballet on Broadway (CD). US: Painted Smiles PSCD-149.

• Painted Smiles discography at Discogs
• "Painted Smiles Special Offer". ShowMusic.com. Archived from the original on April 10, 2014.