Love Is the Thing | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | April 1957 | |||
Recorded | December 19, 28, 1956 | |||
Studio | Capitol (Hollywood) | |||
Genre | Jazz | |||
Length | 36:14 (12-track original album); 30:38 (10 track version); 45:43 (reissue with bonus tracks) | |||
Label | Capitol | |||
Producer | Lee Gillette | |||
Nat King Cole chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | [2] |
Love Is the Thing is a 1957 album released by American jazz vocalist Nat King Cole. It is the first of four collaborations between Cole and influential arranger Gordon Jenkins. [3] [4]
Launching the charting single "Stardust", which peaked at #79, [5] the album reached #1 on Billboard's "Pop Albums" chart and tied at #1 on the UK Charts with the soundtrack for the 1956 film The King and I . [6] According to the records of the RIAA, the album achieved gold status in 1960 and broke platinum in 1992. [7] The LP was Cole's first gold album.
In 1956, Cole came together with popular music arranger Jenkins to produce the first of the four collaborations that are described by critics as among the best of either artist. [4] [5] American Jazz commenter Scott Yanow noted that the album "sticks exclusively" to the role Cole had established in 1950s popular opinion as a "superb ballad vocalist". [8] While Love Is the Thing little reflects the jazz roots whence Cole emerged, [8] the singer's "restrained vocal approach" and the arranger's "unhurried string charts" combined to produce a romantic album of enduring popularity. [4]
Cole's three further albums with Jenkins were The Very Thought of You (1958), Every Time I Feel the Spirit (1959), and Where Did Everyone Go? (1963).
Originally released by Capitol Records, the album has been re-issued by various companies in alternate forms.
A 1996 re-release on 24-kt gold foil by the Digital Compact Classics label included three bonus tracks, [8] [9] the same tracks incorporated in the re-titled 1991 CD Love Is the Thing (And More). [5] In 2007, The Collectors' Choice label reissued the album in conjunction with the final Cole/Jenkins collaboration on a single disc entitled Love Is the Thing/Where Did Everyone Go? [4] In 2010 the audiophile Analogue Productions label issued a hybrid SACD of the album, containing its original 12 tracks in mono, stereo, and three-track multichannel sound.
The original mono edition of the LP (Capitol W 824) contained two tracks not found on the original stereo edition (Capitol SW 824), those being "Maybe It's Because I Love You Too Much" and "Love Letters," neither of which have appeared in stereo on any reissue.
Chart (1957) | Peak position |
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UK Albums Chart [10] | 1 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United States (RIAA) [11] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Nathaniel Adams Coles, known professionally by his stage name Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and pop vocalist started in the late 1930s and spanned almost three decades where he found success and recorded over 100 songs that became hits on the pop charts.
Gordon Hill Jenkins was an American arranger, composer, and pianist who was influential in popular music in the 1940s and 1950s. Jenkins worked with The Andrews Sisters, Johnny Cash, The Weavers, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Judy Garland, Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, Harry Nilsson, Peggy Lee and Ella Fitzgerald.
"When I Fall in Love" is a popular song, written by Victor Young (music) and Edward Heyman (lyrics). It was introduced in Howard Hughes' last film One Minute to Zero as the instrumental titled "Theme from One Minute to Zero". Jeri Southern sang on the first vocal recording released in April 1952 with the song's composer, Victor Young, handling the arranging and conducting duties. The song has become a standard, with many artists recording it; the first hit version was sung by Doris Day released in July 1952.
"The Christmas Song" is a classic Christmas song written in 1945 by Robert Wells and Mel Tormé.
Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely is the fifteenth studio album by American singer Frank Sinatra. It was released on September 8, 1958, through Capitol Records.
Philip Upchurch is an American jazz and blues guitarist and bassist.
Love Songs brings together tracks from throughout Nat "King" Cole's recording career with Capitol records. The swing pianist turned ballad vocalist had a prolific chart run in the 1950s. Six of his UK hits are featured here.
After Midnight is a 1957 jazz album by "Nat King Cole and his trio" on Capitol Records. It peaked at number 13 on the U.S. Billboard Pop Albums chart. The Penguin Guide to Jazz listed the album as part of its suggested "core collection".
This article contains a list of albums by Nat King Cole and compilations of his recordings, together with a list of his chart singles.
Songs for Distingué Lovers is an album by jazz singer Billie Holiday, released in 1958 on Verve Records. It was originally available in both mono and stereo. It was recorded at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles from January 3 to January 9, 1957, and produced by Norman Granz.
Where Did Everyone Go? is a 1963 studio album by Nat King Cole, arranged by Gordon Jenkins. This was the fourth and final album that Cole and Jenkins recorded together, following Love Is the Thing (1957), The Very Thought of You (1958) and Every Time I Feel the Spirit (1959).
The Very Thought of You is a 1958 album by Nat King Cole, arranged by Gordon Jenkins. The album peaked at #17 on Billboard Magazine's Top LP chart.
Every Time I Feel the Spirit is a 1959 studio album by Nat King Cole, of spirituals, arranged by Gordon Jenkins. Cole is accompanied by the First Church of Deliverance Choir of Chicago, Illinois. The album was re-issued by Capitol Records in 1966 under the new title, Nat King Cole Sings Hymns and Spirituals. Several bonus tracks, recorded between 1951 and 1961 and arranged by Nelson Riddle and others, were added to later CD re-issues.
The Nat King Cole Story is a 1961 album by Nat King Cole. The album was a retrospective of Cole's recording career, designed to present many of his earlier hits in new recordings featuring stereo sound. Cole is accompanied on the re-recordings by many of the notable arrangers and bands that had appeared with him on the original records.
The King Cole Trio is a series of albums by jazz pianist Nat King Cole's King Cole Trio released by the Capitol Records label. These were Cole's debut commercial recordings.
Stardust is a studio album by American singer Natalie Cole, released on September 24, 1996. Cole won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for the song "When I Fall in Love", a duet with Nat King Cole, at the 39th Grammy Awards.
Unforgettable is an original jazz compilation by Nat King Cole. It was initially released on a 10-inch LP in 1952, and it was reissued on a 12-inch LP in 1954.
Unforgettable – A Musical Tribute to Nat King Cole is a soundtrack album released in the UK in 1983 by the CBS Records division of Columbia in conjunction with the broadcast of American pop singer Johnny Mathis's BBC television concert special of the same name that featured Cole's daughter Natalie. The front of the original album jacket credits the concert performers as "Johnny Mathis and Natalie Cole", whereas the CD booklet reads, "Johnny Mathis with special guest Natalie Cole".
Mark Murphy Sings Nat's Choice The Complete Nat "King" Cole Songbook Volumes 1 and 2 is a 1986 studio compilation album by Mark Murphy.
Mark Murphy Sings the Nat King Cole Songbook, Volume One is a studio album by Mark Murphy.