Although the MGM movie version of The Wizard of Oz was released in 1939, this soundtrack album wasn't released until 1956, to coincide with its first showing on television. Before this album, there had been many records made of songs from the movie, even some with the original cast, but this was the first time people could own an album of the "original soundtrack". Not only did it contain all of the songs, but it also contained passages of dialogue with musical underscore, exactly as heard in the film. This was one of the first times that a person could play the record, and hear the story of the film, and it was edited in such a way that you didn't have to have seen the film to enjoy the record. This type of album did not become widespread until the 1970's and 1980's, when the Star Wars an