Song Sung Blue | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 13, 1972[1] | |||
Recorded | April 3, 1972 June 7, 1972 June 21, 1972 July 24, 1972 July 28, 1972[1] | |||
Genre |
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Length | 37:37 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Producer | Jerry Fuller[2] | |||
Johnny Mathis chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Billboard | positive[3] |
Song Sung Blue is an album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released on September 13, 1972,[1] by Columbia Records and featured his renditions of mostly recent chart hits.
The album made its first appearance on Billboard magazine's Top LP's & Tapes chart in the issue dated October 21, 1972, and remained there for 18 weeks, peaking at number 83.[4] In the UK it was retitled Make It Easy on Yourself and reached number 49 on the album chart.[5]
The song "Make It Easy on Yourself" was the first single from the album and "bubbled under" the Billboard Hot 100 to number 103[6] while making it as high as number 16 on the magazine's Easy Listening chart.[7] The song on the flip side, "Sometimes", was written by Henry Mancini and his daughter Felice[8] but was not included on the LP.
Reception
[edit]In their capsule review, Billboard enthusiastically announced that "this one is by far one of his best!"[3] They also singled out certain tracks. "Along with 'Song Sung Blue' and 'Play Me', Mathis is in great voice on 'Run to Me', 'Where Is the Love', 'How Can I Be Sure', and 'Alone Again (Naturally)', and he's truly at home with 'Too Young'."[3]
Track listing
[edit]Side one
[edit]- "Play Me" (Neil Diamond) – 3:49
- "Alone Again (Naturally)" (Gilbert O'Sullivan) – 4:20
- "Where Is the Love" (Ralph MacDonald, William Salter) – 2:32
- "Goodbye to Love" (John Bettis, Richard Carpenter) – 3:12
- "Too Young" (Sylvia Dee, Sidney Lippman) – 3:16
Side two
[edit]- "Make It Easy on Yourself" (Burt Bacharach, Hal David) – 3:29
- "Lean on Me" (Bill Withers) – 3:51
- "How Can I Be Sure" (Felix Cavaliere, Eddie Brigati) – 3:42
- "Run to Me" (Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb, Robin Gibb) – 2:58
- "Song Sung Blue" (Neil Diamond) – 3:12
- "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" (Bob Russell, Bobby Scott) – 3:16
2017 CD bonus tracks
[edit]This album's CD release as part of the 2017 box set The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection included two bonus tracks that were previously unavailable:
- "Morning Has Broken" (Eleanor Farjeon, Cat Stevens) – 3:40
- "I'm on the Outside Looking In" (Teddy Randazzo, Bobby Weinstein) – 3:05
Recording dates
[edit]From the liner notes for The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection:[1]
- April 3, 1972 – "Make It Easy on Yourself"
- June 7, 1972 – "How Can I Be Sure", "Morning Has Broken", "Song Sung Blue"
- June 21, 1972 – "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother", "Too Young", "Where Is the Love"
- July 24, 1972 – "Alone Again (Naturally)", "I'm on the Outside Looking In", "Lean on Me"
- July 28, 1972 – "Goodbye to Love", "Play Me", "Run to Me"
Song information
[edit]Neil Diamond's "Play Me" reached number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100[9] and spent two weeks at number three on the magazine's Easy Listening chart.[10] "Alone Again (Naturally)" by Gilbert O'Sullivan enjoyed six weeks at number one on both of those charts,[11][12] got as high as number three in the UK,[13] and earned Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America.[14] "Where Is the Love" had its biggest success as a duet by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway that spent a week in the top spot on the magazine's Easy Listening[15] and R&B[16] charts, reached number five pop[17] and number 29 UK,[18] earned Gold certification from the RIAA,[19] and won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus.[20]
"Goodbye to Love" was a number seven pop hit for The Carpenters[21] that also reached number two Easy Listening[22] and number nine in the UK.[23] "Too Young" had the most success as a recording by Nat King Cole that spent five weeks at number one in Billboard magazine in 1951.[24] "Make It Easy on Yourself" had its first chart success as a 1962 hit for Jerry Butler that reached number 20 pop[25] and number 18 R&B.[26] Another Gold record, "Lean on Me" by Bill Withers[27] had its best showing on the pop chart with three weeks at number one[28] compared to just one week at the top of the R&B chart[29] and peak positions at number four Easy Listening[30] and number 18 UK.[31]
The first chart appearance of "How Can I Be Sure" was by The Young Rascals, who took the song to number four on the Billboard Hot 100.[32] "Run to Me" by The Bee Gees made it to number 16 on that same chart[33] as well as number six Easy Listening.[34] Diamond's Gold record "Song Sung Blue"[35] was number one for seven weeks Easy Listening[10] and one week on the pop chart[9] in addition to reaching number 14 in the UK.[36] He also had the best Easy Listening showing of "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother", which he took to number four,[10] but his peak position with the song at number 20 on the Hot 100[9] fell short of the number seven spot that The Hollies attained with their original recording of the song[37] that was released in 1969 and had also been to number three in the UK by the time that Mathis released this album.[38]
Personnel
[edit]- Johnny Mathis - vocals
- Jerry Fuller - producer[2]
- D'Arneill Pershing - arranger[2]
- Peter Romano - engineer[2]
- Ed Caraeff - photos[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d (2017) The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection by Johnny Mathis [CD booklet]. New York: Sony Music Entertainment 88985 36892 2.
- ^ a b c d e (1972) Song Sung Blue by Johnny Mathis [album jacket]. New York: Columbia Records KC 31626.
- ^ a b c "Album Reviews". Billboard. 1972-10-07. p. 58.
- ^ Whitburn 2010, p. 503.
- ^ "Johnny Mathis". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
- ^ Whitburn 2009, p. 628.
- ^ Whitburn 2007, p. 179.
- ^ (1972) "Make It Easy on Yourself/Sometimes" by Johnny Mathis [7-inch single]. New York: Columbia Records 4-45635.
- ^ a b c Whitburn 2009, p. 274.
- ^ a b c Whitburn 2007, p. 79.
- ^ Whitburn 2009, p. 733.
- ^ Whitburn 2007, p. 210.
- ^ "Gilbert O'Sullivan". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
- ^ RIAA Gold and Platinum Search for titles by Gilbert O'Sullivan
- ^ Whitburn 2007, p. 98.
- ^ Whitburn 2004, p. 206.
- ^ Whitburn 2009, p. 350.
- ^ "Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
- ^ "Gold & Platinum". riaa.com. Retrieved 22 December 2016. Type Roberta Flack in the Search box and press Enter.
- ^ O'Neil 1999, p. 196.
- ^ Whitburn 2009, p. 162.
- ^ Whitburn 2007, p. 44.
- ^ "Carpenters". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
- ^ Whitburn 1986, p. 88.
- ^ Whitburn 2009, p. 146.
- ^ Whitburn 2004, p. 94.
- ^ "Gold & Platinum". riaa.com. Retrieved 22 December 2016. Type Bill Withers in the Search box and press Enter.
- ^ Whitburn 2009, p. 1072.
- ^ Whitburn 2004, p. 633.
- ^ Whitburn 2007, p. 300.
- ^ "Bill Withers". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
- ^ Whitburn 2009, p. 799.
- ^ Whitburn 2009, p. 80.
- ^ Whitburn 2007, p. 22.
- ^ "Gold & Platinum". riaa.com. Retrieved 22 December 2016. Type Neil Diamond in the Search box and press Enter.
- ^ "Neil Diamond". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
- ^ Whitburn 2009, p. 447.
- ^ "Hollies". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
Bibliography
[edit]- O'Neil, Thomas (1999). The Grammys. Perigree Books. ISBN 0-399-52477-0.
- Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories, 1890-1954. Record Research Inc. ISBN 0898200830.
- Whitburn, Joel (2002). Joel Whitburn's Top Country Singles, 1944-2001. Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-151-9.
- Whitburn, Joel (2004). Joel Whitburn Presents Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles, 1942-2004. Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-160-8.
- Whitburn, Joel (2007). Joel Whitburn Presents Billboard Top Adult Songs, 1961-2006. Record Research Inc. ISBN 978-0898201697.
- Whitburn, Joel (2009). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 1955-2008. Record Research Inc. ISBN 978-0-89820-180-2.
- Whitburn, Joel (2010). Joel Whitburn Presents Top Pop Albums, Seventh Edition. Record Research Inc. ISBN 978-0-89820-183-3.
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