South Pacific had begun life as a book by James a Michener, Tales of the South Pacific and turned into a hugely successful Broadway show towards the end of the 1940s by Joshua Logan. Key to the success of the musical was the excellent songs written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. When the show opened with Mary Martin in the lead female role of Nellie Forbush, many remarked that it appeared the songs had been written especially with her vocal range in mind. The resulting album was to become the most successful album in American chart history, spending 49 weeks at number one and a total of 96 weeks in either of the top two positions on the chart. It finally registered 400 weeks on the chart, an unprecedented period of chart domination. Despite the popularity of the Broadway recording, Mary Martin was not to reprise her role of Nellie Forbush on the film, which went to Mitzi Gaynor, but the magic still remained; South Pacific spent 115 weeks at the top of the UK charts during the course of it's 286 week run.