Stanley Robert Vinton is an American former singer and occasional actor, who also hosted his own self-titled TV show in the late 1970s. As a teen idol, he became known as "The Polish Prince", as his music paid tribute to his Polish heritage. One of his most popular songs is "Blue Velvet" which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963, No. 1 in Canada, and number 2 in the UK in 1990.
Frederick Tupper Saussy III was an American composer, musician, author, artist, and conspiracy theorist. His contemporaries describe him as a self-styled theologian, restaurant owner, ghostwriter of James Earl Ray's biography, King assassination conspiracy theorist, anti-government pamphleteer, and radical opponent of the federal government’s taxation and monetary authority. He was born in Statesboro, Georgia; grew up in Tampa, Florida; and graduated from the University of the South at Sewanee, Tennessee, in 1958. His jazz combo there put out a university-subsidized album, Jazz at Sewanee, which included several original compositions. Thereafter Saussy taught English at Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville, Tennessee, co-founded an advertising agency, McDonald and Saussy, and kept his musical career alive with recording dates and club sessions.
The Neon Philharmonic was an American psychedelic pop band led by songwriter and conductor Tupper Saussy and singer Don Gant. They released their two albums in 1969, and they scored a Top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with "Morning Girl", which featured the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, when it hit the Top 40 in May of that year and rose to number 17 on Billboard and number 15 on the Cash Box chart. The band hit the chart again with "Heighdy-Ho Princess" in 1970. The group was produced by Saussy, Gant, and Bob McCluskey, and engineered by Ronald Gant, Don's brother. The group disbanded in 1975 after releasing numerous non-album singles. Although the first album stated "Borges Forever!", the group's concertmaster is really named Pierre Menard, and it is not a reference to the Jorge Luis Borges story Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote, Saussy was not conscious of the connection.
The Moth Confesses is the 1969 debut album by The Neon Philharmonic. Described as "A Phonograph Opera," it was inspired, according to the liner notes, by a production of Samuel Barber's Antony and Cleopatra, which Saussy attended after The New York Times claimed that it was a terrible opera, and wanted to see what a terrible opera looked like, which he surmised was its deliberate attempt to appeal to a one-time audience. In response, he conceived this album as a condensed opera, with a moth-like protagonist, focused on the "literary theme" of desperation. Saussy did not imagine it could be staged like Tommy, but offered it up as a challenge.
Roses Are Red is Bobby Vinton's third studio album, released in 1962. After Vinton's hit "Roses Are Red " reached No. 1, the eponymous album was released and made its way up to No. 5 on the Billboard 200. Shortly after the success of the song and album, Epic renewed Vinton's contract but changed his artist title from a bandleader to a solo artist.
Melodies of Love is Bobby Vinton's twenty-fourth studio album and his first studio album for ABC Records. It was released in 1974.
Lonely Street is the fifth studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams, released in late 1959 through Cadence Records. This, his fifth LP of new material for the label, is described by William Ruhlmann on AllMusic.com as "an album full of songs of lost love and loneliness that found Williams using more of the Mel Tormé-like foggy lower register of his voice." The liner notes on the back of the album jacket read, "The selections in Lonely Street, Andy confides, are those for which he feels a special affection. Every vocalist has a few personal favorites... and it is quite clear to the listener that this collection presents songs which Andy Williams believes, feels -- and loves."
Blue on Blue, later renamed Blue Velvet, is Bobby Vinton's sixth studio album, released in 1963. Cover versions include the jazz songs "St. Louis Blues" and "Blueberry Hill", "Am I Blue", "Blue, Blue Day", the Fleetwoods' hit "Mr. Blue", "My Blue Heaven", three show tunes, and The Clovers Rhythm and blues hit, "Blue Velvet".
Bobby Vinton Sings the Newest Hits is Bobby Vinton's fifteenth studio album, released in 1967.
Bobby Vinton's Greatest Hits is a 12-track compilation by Bobby Vinton. It was released in September 1964, two months after his album Tell Me Why.
"Mr. Lonely" is a song co-written and recorded by American singer Bobby Vinton, backed by Robert Mersey and his Orchestra. The song was first released on Vinton's 1962 album, Roses Are Red.
The discography of American singer-songwriter Bobby Vinton consists of 38 studio albums, 67 compilation albums, two video albums, three live albums, and 88 singles.
Mr. Lonely is Bobby Vinton's tenth studio album, released in 1964. It was released right after the success of his fourth and final #1 US hit "Mr. Lonely," a 1962 song that was released as a single after its appearance on Bobby Vinton's Greatest Hits. Cover versions on this album include "Laughing on the Outside " and "I'll Never Smile Again". After the success of the single, Vinton released Bobby Vinton Sings for Lonely Nights, an album of songs devoted to the subject of loneliness.
Bobby Vinton Sings for Lonely Nights is Bobby Vinton's eleventh studio album, released in 1965. This album was released to capitalize on the success of Vinton's big hit "Mr. Lonely" and his album of the same name by containing only songs that refer to loneliness. There were two singles from this album: "Long Lonely Nights" and Vinton's self-penned "L-O-N-E-L-Y". Cover versions include "Saturday Night ", "All Alone Am I", "Oh, How I Miss You Tonight", "In the Still of the Night", "I'll Walk Alone" and "Have You Ever Been Lonely ".
Gitarzan was Ray Stevens' fourth studio album, released in 1969, as well as his second for Monument Records. Unlike his previous album, Even Stevens, this album is completely in the genres of novelty and comedy. Although this is a true studio album, all of the songs are overdubbed with cheering and applauding of an audience to provide the feeling of a live album. Contents include three of the Coasters' hits, "Mr. Custer," and "Alley Oop." The album also contains re-recordings of his two novelty hits, "Harry the Hairy Ape" and "Ahab the Arab." "Freddie Feelgood " makes its first appearance on an album but is overdubbed with audience noises for this album.
The Very Best of Ray Stevens is a collection of 12 previously released singles that were hits for novelty/country artist, Ray Stevens; it was released in December 1975 by Barnaby Records. While this collection has more emphasis on Stevens' hits for Barnaby, it also contains three from the label of Monument Records and two from Mercury Records. The version of "Mr. Businessman" is the single release. "Gitarzan" is the album version that begins with an audience cheering and applauding. "Ahab the Arab" is the original recording that was released by Mercury.
All-Time Greatest Hits is a collection of 23 songs that were previously recorded by Ray Stevens, released in 2001. Like many collections of Stevens' music, it concentrates 99% on recordings that were made for the record labels of Monument and Barnaby. The one exception is the first track, "Sergeant Preston of the Yukon," an unsuccessful hit that was released in 1960 by the NRC label. "Sergeant Preston of the Yukon" makes its first album appearance on this collection. The rest of the selections were recorded between the years of 1966 to 1975.
Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 is a collection of ten previously released singles by Ray Stevens, released in 1987. It is the second volume of the Greatest Hits package of Stevens' music that was released by MCA Records. Of the ten selections on this volume, the fifth track, "Mama's in the Sky With Elvis," makes its first album appearance. Additionally, this collection consists of five recordings for MCA Records, two for Warner Bros. Records, two for Monument Records and one for Mercury Records.
20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Ray Stevens is a 12-track collection of previously recorded songs by Ray Stevens, released in 2004. It consists of the biggest hits he had from 1961 to 1987, starting with his breakthrough hit "Jeremiah Peabody's Polyunsaturated Quick-Dissolving Fast-Acting Pleasant-Tasting Green and Purple Pills" to his hit "Would Jesus Wear a Rolex". Unlike many compilations of Stevens' music, this collection contains the original recordings of "Ahab the Arab" and "Harry the Hairy Ape", which were re-recorded for Stevens' fourth studio album Gitarzan. The selections of "Freddie Feelgood", "Mr. Businessman" and "Gitarzan" are album versions, the first and third of which were featured on Gitarzan. Inside the album cover are information on the featured singles and a biographical essay written by Gene Sculatti back in December 2003. In the essay, Sculatti mistakenly says that Gitarzan is the one who shouts, "Shut up, baby! I'm tryin' to sing!" in the song "Gitarzan", as it is actually Jane who shouts this phrase.
"The Song We Fell in Love To" is a song by American country music singer Connie Smith. It was composed by Ray Baker and Tupper Saussy and released as a single via Columbia Records in 1975. The song became a top 30 hit on the American country music chart in 1976 and was released on an album of the same name.
