Song Sung Blue (album)

Last updated
Song Sung Blue
Mathis-Song.jpg
Studio album by
Johnny Mathis
ReleasedSeptember 13, 1972 [1]
RecordedApril 3, 1972
June 7, 1972
June 21, 1972
July 24, 1972
July 28, 1972 [1]
Genre
Length37:37
Label Columbia
Producer Jerry Fuller [2]
Johnny Mathis chronology
Johnny Mathis' All-Time Greatest Hits
(1972)		Song Sung Blue
(1972)		 Me and Mrs. Jones
(1973)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Billboard positive [3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]

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.

Contents

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. [5] In the UK it was retitled Make It Easy on Yourself and reached number 49 on the album chart. [6]

The song "Make It Easy on Yourself" was the first single from the album and "bubbled under" the Billboard Hot 100 to number 103 [7] while making it as high as number 16 on the magazine's Easy Listening chart. [8] The song on the flip side, "Sometimes", was written by Henry Mancini and his daughter Felice [9] but was not included on the LP.

Reception

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

Side one

  1. "Play Me" (Neil Diamond) – 3:49
  2. "Alone Again (Naturally)" (Gilbert O'Sullivan) – 4:20
  3. "Where Is the Love" (Ralph MacDonald, William Salter) – 2:32
  4. "Goodbye to Love" (John Bettis, Richard Carpenter) – 3:12
  5. "Too Young" (Sylvia Dee, Sidney Lippman) – 3:16

Side two

  1. "Make It Easy on Yourself" (Burt Bacharach, Hal David) – 3:29
  2. "Lean on Me" (Bill Withers) – 3:51
  3. "How Can I Be Sure" (Felix Cavaliere, Eddie Brigati) – 3:42
  4. "Run to Me" (Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb, Robin Gibb) – 2:58
  5. "Song Sung Blue" (Neil Diamond) – 3:12
  6. "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" (Bob Russell, Bobby Scott) – 3:16

2017 CD bonus tracks

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:

Recording dates

From the liner notes for The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection : [1]

Song information

Neil Diamond's "Play Me" reached number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 [10] and spent two weeks at number three on the magazine's Easy Listening chart. [11] "Alone Again (Naturally)" by Gilbert O'Sullivan enjoyed six weeks at number one on both of those charts, [12] [13] got as high as number three in the UK, [14] and earned Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. [15] "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 [16] and R&B [17] charts, reached number five pop [18] and number 29 UK, [19] earned Gold certification from the RIAA, [20] and won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus. [21]

"Goodbye to Love" was a number seven pop hit for The Carpenters [22] that also reached number two Easy Listening [23] and number nine in the UK. [24] "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. [25] "Make It Easy on Yourself" had its first chart success as a 1962 hit for Jerry Butler that reached number 20 pop [26] and number 18 R&B. [27] Another Gold record, "Lean on Me" by Bill Withers [28] had its best showing on the pop chart with three weeks at number one [29] compared to just one week at the top of the R&B chart [30] and peak positions at number four Easy Listening [31] and number 18 UK. [32]

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. [33] "Run to Me" by The Bee Gees made it to number 16 on that same chart [34] as well as number six Easy Listening. [35] Diamond's Gold record "Song Sung Blue" [36] was number one for seven weeks Easy Listening [11] and one week on the pop chart [10] in addition to reaching number 14 in the UK. [37] He also had the best Easy Listening showing of "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother", which he took to number four, [11] but his peak position with the song at number 20 on the Hot 100 [10] fell short of the number seven spot that The Hollies attained with their original recording of the song [38] that was released in 1969 and had also been to number three in the UK by the time that Mathis released this album. [39]

Personnel

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 (2017) The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection by Johnny Mathis [CD booklet]. New York: Sony Music Entertainment 88985 36892 2.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 (1972) Song Sung Blue by Johnny Mathis [album jacket]. New York: Columbia Records KC 31626.
  3. 1 2 3 "Album Reviews". Billboard . 1972-10-07. p. 58.
  4. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 922. ISBN   9781846098567 . Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  5. ↑ Whitburn 2010 , p. 503.
  6. ↑ "Johnny Mathis". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  7. ↑ Whitburn 2009 , p. 628.
  8. ↑ Whitburn 2007 , p. 179.
  9. ↑ (1972) "Make It Easy on Yourself/Sometimes" by Johnny Mathis [7-inch single]. New York: Columbia Records 4-45635.
  10. 1 2 3 Whitburn 2009 , p. 274.
  11. 1 2 3 Whitburn 2007 , p. 79.
  12. ↑ Whitburn 2009 , p. 733.
  13. ↑ Whitburn 2007 , p. 210.
  14. ↑ "Gilbert O'Sullivan". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  15. ↑ RIAA Gold and Platinum Search for titles by Gilbert O'Sullivan
  16. ↑ Whitburn 2007 , p. 98.
  17. ↑ Whitburn 2004 , p. 206.
  18. ↑ Whitburn 2009 , p. 350.
  19. ↑ "Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  20. ↑ "Gold & Platinum". riaa.com. Retrieved 22 December 2016. Type Roberta Flack in the Search box and press Enter.
  21. ↑ O'Neil 1999 , p. 196.
  22. ↑ Whitburn 2009 , p. 162.
  23. ↑ Whitburn 2007 , p. 44.
  24. ↑ "Carpenters". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  25. ↑ Whitburn 1986 , p. 88.
  26. ↑ Whitburn 2009 , p. 146.
  27. ↑ Whitburn 2004 , p. 94.
  28. ↑ "Gold & Platinum". riaa.com. Retrieved 22 December 2016. Type Bill Withers in the Search box and press Enter.
  29. ↑ Whitburn 2009 , p. 1072.
  30. ↑ Whitburn 2004 , p. 633.
  31. ↑ Whitburn 2007 , p. 300.
  32. ↑ "Bill Withers". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  33. ↑ Whitburn 2009 , p. 799.
  34. ↑ Whitburn 2009 , p. 80.
  35. ↑ Whitburn 2007 , p. 22.
  36. ↑ "Gold & Platinum". riaa.com. Retrieved 22 December 2016. Type Neil Diamond in the Search box and press Enter.
  37. ↑ "Neil Diamond". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  38. ↑ Whitburn 2009 , p. 447.
  39. ↑ "Hollies". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 April 2013.

Bibliography

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