‘West Side Story’ Goes South, and to R&B; and Jazz

All-star tribute albums are popping up as frequently as gourmet coffee houses, saluting the music of such artists as Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix to KISS and the Carpenters.

But “The Songs of ‘West Side Story’ ” is different.

Instead of paying homage to a performer, the album honors one of the most successful musicals in Broadway and film history.

“The Songs of ‘West Side Story,’ ” due Jan. 30 on RCA Victor Records, brings together more than two dozen pop stars from rock, country, R&B; and jazz to offer their versions of the celebrated works by composer Leonard Bernstein and lyricist Stephen Sondheim.

Some “West Side Story” fans may be surprised--and even alarmed--by a few of the artists chosen to participate.

It’s not that much of a stretch to imagine mainstream stars Phil Collins and Aretha Franklin both offering versions of “Somewhere,” one of the musical’s most beloved ballads.

But what about the unlikely duo of pop veteran Kenny Loggins and country star Wynonna Judd teaming up on the revered “Tonight,” or Little Richard, the gender-bending wild man of ‘50s rock, singing “I Feel Pretty,” which was sung in the show by the female lead, Maria?

Alexander Bernstein, the late composer’s only son, probably spent a few nervous moments before listening to a playback of the album.

However, the president of the Bernstein Education Through the Arts Fund Inc. was delighted by what he heard.

“It’s particularly gratifying that the artists know and love the music so much and put so much into it,” he says. “My father would have loved it, I’m sure.

“It’s all terrific, and done with such care and love and faithfulness to the show. They really don’t mess around too much with the music.”

Among the other artists featured on the diverse collection: Salt-N-Pepa, Trisha Yearwood, Michael McDonald, All-4-One, Chick Corea, Bruce Hornsby and Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes of TLC. The late tejano star Selena’s version of “A Boy Like That” was reportedly her final recording session.

“This is probably the first time that this caliber of a roster has come together around a piece as historically and socially important as ‘West Side Story,’ ” says Michael Greene, executive producer of the project and president and CEO of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences.

Brian Setzer, rockabilly revivalist and former leader of the Stray Cats, says that he was honored to be asked to be involved in the project, which will give some of the proceeds to the Bernstein Education Through the Arts Fund and the NARAS Foundation Inc.

“I basically grew up in a house that was [listening to] Elvis and Johnny Cash, so I can’t say we had Leonard Bernstein records around,” Setzer says. “But we did have ‘West Side Story.’ ”

Little Richard wasn’t familiar with “West Side Story,” but says he was “more than delighted” to sing “I Feel Pretty” because of his affection for Bernstein.

“He was a true artist,” the singer says. “You could just see it in his whole person, his whole being. He was real--and I love that.”

The original Broadway cast album for “West Side Story,” featuring Larry Kert and Carol Lawrence, spent 191 weeks on the Billboard sales chart, reaching as high as No. 5.

The show--a modern, urban retelling of the “Romeo and Juliet” story--ran for 732 performances on Broadway after opening in September 1957, and the 1961 movie version of “West Side Story” won 10 Academy Awards, including best picture.

The movie soundtrack topped the chart for 54 weeks, still the longest tenure for a No. 1 record in chart history. It stayed on the chart for 198 weeks.

Conceived and produced by David Pack, a former singer for the soft-rock group Ambrosia, “The Songs of ‘West Side Story’ ” was inspired by a 1992 AIDS Project L.A. benefit concert that featured several songs from the original production. Pack was the show’s musical director.

“A number of us were there and we got very excited about the prospect of contemporary artists performing Bernstein’s music,” says Greene, who signed on as executive producer. “Our concept was to try to take this timeless work and put it in a multi-genre context that would really showcase the fact that the only borders in music are really just the borders in people’s minds. . . .

“And that was kind of Lenny’s concept behind ‘West Side Story’--to try to showcase the problems of growing up and turf battles and all that kind of stuff. And the themes of the music are certainly a lot more pertinent now to the entire country than they were even back in the ‘50s, when he wrote it.”