By Request | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | August 1962 | |||
Recorded | June 8, 14, 21, 26, 1962 | |||
Genre | Vocal | |||
Length | 38:09 | |||
Label | RCA Victor | |||
Producer | Hugo & Luigi | |||
Perry Como chronology | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
By Request is Perry Como's Ninth RCA Victor 12" long-play album. [2] [3]
The title made it sound like a number of his earlier LPs, again with the implication that the song choices were made by his audience rather than himself. But where previous records like We Get Letters and Sing to Me Mr. C consisted of old standards (in contrast to the new compositions that made up his single releases), By Request was, for the most part, a collection of recent material. In several cases, Como was borrowing songs that were recent hits by his competitors: Jack Jones had just scored a hit with "Lollipops and Roses"; Como's RCA Victor labelmate Elvis Presley had done the same with "Can't Help Falling in Love", from his film Blue Hawaii ; Tony Bennett was already popularizing the wistful "Once Upon a Time" from the Broadway musical All American; and Andy Williams had claimed the year's Oscar winner, "Moon River" from Breakfast at Tiffany's . The other tracks included "Maria", newly popular due to the movie version of West Side Story , Rodgers and Hammerstein's "My Favorite Things" from the 1959 musical The Sound of Music , and "The Sweetest Sounds" from Richard Rodgers' new, show No Strings . Many critics said that the material suited Como especially well, and some even claimed that the singer had made the songs his own.[ citation needed ]By Request was Como's best-selling non-holiday LP release in three years.
A recording of "The Bells of St. Mary's" was made during the sessions, but left off the completed album. [2] It was not released until its inclusion on the 2001 compilation CD A Perry Como Christmas, which also includes "My Favorite Things" from this album.
Richard Charles Rodgers was an American composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most well-known American composers of the 20th century, and his compositions had a significant influence on popular music.
Richard Armstrong Whiting was an American composer of popular songs, including the standards "Hooray for Hollywood", "Ain't We Got Fun?" and "On the Good Ship Lollipop". He also wrote lyrics occasionally, and film scores most notably for the standard "She's Funny That Way".
"No Other Love" is a show tune from the 1953 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Me and Juliet.
So Smooth is Perry Como's first RCA Victor 12" long-play album, recorded and originally released in 1955. This was also Perry's first album recorded at Webster Hall in New York City, and his first album with the Ray Charles Singers who would support him generally throughout the remainder of his recording career. So Smooth was released in the UK as We Get Letters Volume 2 as Perry's popularity gained international appeal during the late 1950s; under this title, the album peaked at number 4 in the Record Mirror album chart, entering on 28 June 1958 and spending seven weeks within the Top 5.
We Get Letters is a 1957 album by Perry Como, his second RCA Victor 12" long-play album. The LP's concept is an album of requests from Como's television show, but forgoing the usual big-band sound of Mitchell Ayres' Orchestra and the Ray Charles Singers for a small group known as "Como's little Combo", with soft, breezy jazz arrangements by Joe Lipman. The album was recorded between June 1956 and February 1957.
Saturday Night with Mr. C was Perry Como's third RCA Victor 12" long-play album, and his first recorded in stereophonic sound. The album is structured as an extended version of the request section of his popular television show, beginning and ending with his theme songs "Dream Along With Me" and "You Are Never Far Away" and with his TV request theme, "We Get Letters" used twice in the album as an intro. At the time, Perry was seen on NBC's Saturday night schedule at 8 P.M. Eastern Time.
Sing to Me Mr. C was Perry Como's Eighth RCA Victor 12" long-play album. Joe Lipman was the chief music arranger for the release.
The Songs I Love was Perry Como's 11th RCA Victor 12" long-play album and the first featuring RCA Victor's Dynagroove technology.
Look to Your Heart is Perry Como's 16th RCA Victor 12" long-play album.
Perry Como in Person at the International Hotel, Las Vegas is a 1970 album by Perry Como, his 18th 12" long-play album released by RCA Records and his first live album. These recordings were produced from Como's concerts at the International Hotel, his first concerts since his 1966 summer tour.
Perry Como Live On Tour was Perry Como's 27th 12" long-play album for RCA Records and his second live album. In 2015, RCA reissued the album for the first time on compact disc.
Today is the 29th studio album by Perry Como. It was his final album for RCA Records and of his 55-year music career. This is also the penultimate recording ever made by Perry Como, the last being for a Christmas television special in 1994. This album is also significant in that it was the first and only album of Como's career to be released contemporaneously in both vinyl LP format and compact disc.
No Strings is a musical drama with book by Samuel A. Taylor and words and music by Richard Rodgers. No Strings is the only Broadway score for which Rodgers wrote both lyrics and music, and the first musical he composed after the death of his long-time collaborator, Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical opened on Broadway in 1962 and ran for 580 performances. It received six Tony Award nominations, winning three, for Best Leading Actress in a Musical, Best Original Score and Best Choreography.
"My Heart Stood Still" is a 1927 popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart. It was written for the Charles Cochran revue One Dam' Thing after Another, which opened at the London Pavilion on May 19, 1927. The show starred Jessie Matthews, Douglas Byng, Lance Lister, and Richard Dolman, running for 237 performances.
"The Sweetest Sounds" is a popular song, with words and music written by Richard Rodgers for the 1962 musical No Strings. The song opens and closes the show for characters Barbara Woodruff and David Jordan, performed by Diahann Carroll and Richard Kiley in the original Broadway theatre production and subsequent cast recording.
Chester & Lester is a collaborative album by guitarists Chet Atkins and Les Paul released by RCA Records in 1976.
Rosemary Clooney Sings Rodgers, Hart & Hammerstein is a 1990 album by Rosemary Clooney, consisting of songs composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and Oscar Hammerstein II.
The Best of John Coltrane is a 1970 compilation album released by Atlantic Records collecting recordings made by jazz saxophonist John Coltrane. The album was released shortly after his death as a part of the "Atlantic Jazz Anthology"—a series of greatest hits compilations for Atlantic jazz artists—and features performances from his brief period recording for Atlantic with new liner notes by jazz journalist Nat Hentoff.
The Groovy Sound of Music is an album by vibraphonist Gary Burton recorded in 1964 and released on the RCA label which features jazz interpretations of tunes from the Broadway musical The Sound of Music written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II.
J. J.'s Broadway is an album by jazz trombonist and arranger J. J. Johnson recorded in 1963 for the Verve label.