Lost Harpo Marx Recording From 1964 Debuts on Billboard Classical Charts

The legendary late comic’s set with the Riverside Symphony arrives on two tallies. Harpo Marx Frank Bez/Courtesy Thirty Tigers More than six decades after his passing, legendary comedian-musician Harpo Marx has a new entry on Billboard’s charts. Harpo Speaks!: The Riverside Symphony Concert featuring Peter and the Wolf by Riverside Symphony and Marx debuts at No. 6 on Billboard’s Traditional Classical Albums chart (dated June 20) and No. 25 on Classical Albums. Related The set, on Ramseur Records/Thirty Tigers, was recorded March 20, 1964, serving as a souvenir of a benefit concert held by the orchestra to raise funds for its Southern California nonprofit, featuring Marx narrating the children’s tale Peter and the Wolf . Marx was the so-called silent member of the Marx Brothers comedy team — brothers Chico, Harpo, Groucho, Gummo and Zeppo (with Zeppo eventually leaving) — and was known for his impeccable comedic timing on stage and screen. He taught himself to play the harp and trained under classical harpist Mildred Dilling. Notably, the performance on that date marked the first documented time in half a century that Marx spoke publicly. At the time, he had been in semi-retirement due to multiple heart attacks. Unfortunately, it
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