The Best of Julie Andrews

The Best of Julie Andrews (released in the US as The World of Julie Andrews) is a compilation album released in 1972 (1973 in US) by English actress and singer Julie Andrews, on CBS label. The album brings together recordings made by Andrews for Columbia Records during the late 1950s and early 1960s. It includes a selection of songs drawn from both her theatrical performances and her studio albums, reflecting the early stages of her career in music and theater. Its release coincided with a period of renewed public attention in the United States, prompted by The Julie Andrews Show broadcast on ABC. The record label strategically utilized this moment of heightened visibility to enhance commercial interest in her earlier works.

The collection features four tracks from the 1956 original London cast recording of My Fair Lady: "I Could Have Danced All Night", "Just You Wait", "Without You", and "Wouldn't It Be Loverly?". These recordings originate from Andrews' role as Eliza Doolittle and represent her early work on the theatrical stage. Other tracks are drawn from two studio albums released by Andrews in 1962: Broadway's Fair Julie and Don't Go in the Lion's Cage Tonight and Other Heartrending Ballads and Raucous Ditties. The first includes songs by composers such as Irving Berlin, George and Ira Gershwin, and Rodgers and Hart. The second features English music hall material, including titles like "The Honeysuckle and the Bee", "Burlington Bertie from Bow", "Don't Go in the Lion's Cage Tonight" and "Who Threw the Overalls in Mrs. Murphy's Chowder".

The album was originally released under different titles and configurations. The U.S. edition is part of a series of double albums titled "The World of..." featuring CBS label artists such as Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash and Lynn Anderson. In 1980, it was re-released by Harmony Records under the title Souvenir Album (#CSP 125) with new cover art. The CD version of this edition (#471122 2) excluded six songs: "If Love Were All", "I Don't Care", "Oh Dear What Can The Matter Be", "She Is More To Be Pitied Than Censured", "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" and "Burlington Bertie From Bow". In 1994, The Best of Julie Andrews was released in CD by Columbia (#983403 2) with the original 20 tracks included.