Notebooks, Lyrics, and Scripts of Songwriter Leslie Bricusse Acquired by Library of Congress
Library of Congress
Leslie Bricusse lyric sketches for Pure Imagination from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
The Library of Congress has acquired the papers of songwriter Leslie Bricusse, best known for writing scores for the stage and film musicals including Doctor Dolittle (1967), Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971, in collaboration with Anthony Newley), and the 1970 musical Scrooge.
This collection includes recordings, scripts, photographs, sheet music and songbooks, and approximately 225 detailed and comprehensive notebooks. These include lyric sketches, music sketches, drafts of scripts, ideas for casting and directors, ideas for shows, notes from meetings, questions he poses to himself and the answers he gives.
The items are all handwritten in beautiful calligraphy, pencil and variously colored pens. Most pages are not only numbered and dated but also include a note on where he was geographically at the time. Single lyric sketches run to more than 30 pages, with music sketches in the margins using a unique system for notating melodies.
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Library of Congress
Leslie Bricusse lyric sketches for the title song for the James Bond film Goldfinger (1964) with music by John Barry
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Library of Congress
Photograph of Leslie Bricusse and his wife and muse Yvonne “Evie” Romain Bricusse
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Library of Congress
Leslie Bricusse lyric sketches for, what became, Can You Read My Mind, the love theme for Superman (1978).
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Library of Congress
Leslie Bricusse’s notes to himself about writing a musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe (1979; never produced).
“There are a few songwriters who have an extraordinary knack for writing songs that, even on first hearing, imbed themselves in your mind, become impossible to forget, and seem so inevitable that it is hard to imagine they did not always exist,” said Library of Congress Music Curator Mark Eden Horowitz. “Leslie Bricusse is one of those songwriters.”
Bricusse’s hit songs include Talk to the Animals, The Candy Man, Pure Imagination, Thank You Very Much, and what would become a signature song for Nina Simone, Feeling Good. He also provided two James Bond themes, Goldfinger and You Only Live Twice (with John Barry).
The collection came to the Library as a gift from Bricusse’s widow Yvonne “Evie” Romain Bricusse, best-remembered for co-starring with Elvis Presley in the film Double Trouble (1967).
![Photograph of Leslie Bricusse and his wife [and muse] Yvonne “Evie” Romain Bricusse](https://cdn.finebooksmagazine.com/sites/default/files/media-images/2024-03/bricusse.jpg)
