To You Sweetheart, Aloha | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1959 | |||
Recorded | November 3, 1958 November 7, 1958 April 29, 1959 April 30, 1959 May 4, 1959 [1] | |||
Genre |
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Length | 27:59 | |||
Label | Cadence Records | |||
Andy Williams chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Billboard | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
To You Sweetheart, Aloha is the fourth studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams and was released late in the summer of 1959 by Cadence Records. [3] This, his fourth LP for the label, has a Hawaiian theme that coincides with the admission of the 50th of the United States.
One of the songs on this album, "Hawaiian Wedding Song", was originally recorded and released as a single in 1958 and stayed on the pop chart for 20 weeks, peaking at number 11. [5] It was included on his last album, Two Time Winners , as were two other songs from this album, "Blue Hawaii" and "Sweet Leilani". Both of those songs, however, were rerecorded for this album while the hit single was not.
The album was reissued with the title The Hawaiian Wedding Song in 1965 by Columbia Records and entered the Top LP's chart in Billboard magazine's May 22 issue that year and reached number 61 during its 18 weeks there. [6]
To You Sweetheart, Aloha was released on compact disc for the first time as one of two albums on one CD by Collectables Records on September 12, 2000, the other album being a 1962 Cadence compilation entitled Million Seller Songs . [7] Collectables included this CD in a box set entitled Classic Album Collection, Vol. 1, which contains 17 of his studio albums and three compilations and was released on June 26, 2001. [8] This album was also released on compact disc with four bonus tracks after being digitally remastered by Varèse Sarabande in 2001. [9] Three of those four ("Blue Hawaii", "Sweet Leilani", and "Love Letters in the Sand") were recorded for the Two Time Winners album, and the fourth ("House of Bamboo") was the B-side of "Hawaiian Wedding Song". [10]
Allmusic's William Ruhlmann pointed out that Cadence Records head and orchestra conductor Archie Bleyer "eschewed the usual practice of employing traditional Hawaiian instruments and importing the islands' musicians, settling instead for Hawaiian-styled arrangements played by a standard orchestra." [2] Ruhlmann emphasized, however, that "what mattered was Williams's typically warm vocal interpretations, which made the album a romantic touchstone." [2]
Billboard gave the album a favorable review. "Here's a tasteful, restful package of familiar Hawaiian themes, sung with relaxed showmanship and rich vocal quality by Williams." [3]
The single "Hawaiian Wedding Song" brought the first of six Grammy nominations that Williams received over the course of his career, this time in the category for Best Vocal Performance, Male. The winner was Perry Como for "Catch a Falling Star". [11]
"Ka-Lu-A" originated in the 1921 musical Good Morning, Dearie [12] and reached number three on the charts the following year as a duet between Elsie Baker (who was credited as Edna Brown) and Elliott Shaw. [13] "Aloha ‘Oe (Farewell to Thee)" charted for one week at number 10 as an instrumental recording by Ferera's Hawaiian Instrumental Quintet in 1924. [14]
"Song of the Islands" first charted as an instrumental recording by Wayne King & His Orchestra that peaked at number 12 in 1930, [15] and then as a vocal performance by Bing Crosby in 1936 that got as high as number 14. [16] Crosby's recording of "The Moon of Manakoora" debuted on the charts in February 1938 and eventually made it to number 10, [17] and a rendition of the song by Ray Noble & His Orchestra with Tony Martin on vocal came onto the charts that March and reached number 15. [18]
Dick Todd entered the charts with "To You Sweetheart, Aloha" in 1940 and got as high as number 10. [19] Crosby's recording of "Beyond the Reef" reached number 26 on Billboard magazine's list of the Most Played Juke Box Records in 1950. [20] And as of the release of To You Sweetheart, Aloha, "A Song of Old Hawaii" had already been recorded by Bing Crosby, [21] Dorothy Lamour, [22] and Tony Martin. [23]
From the liner notes for the 2001 CD: [10]
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 Hawaii" is a popular song written by Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger for the 1937 Paramount Pictures film Waikiki Wedding, starring Bing Crosby and Shirley Ross. Crosby recorded a version with backing by Lani McIntyre and His Hawaiians, which was released in 1937 as the B-side of "Sweet Leilani." This reached the No. 5 spot in the charts of the day during a 13-week-stay
Andy Williams' Greatest Hits is a compilation album by American pop singer Andy Williams that was released in early 1970 by Columbia Records. It was not, however, as its title might suggest, strictly a hit singles compilation, although some of his biggest songs since joining Columbia were included. A couple of selections were never released as singles by Williams, and his signature song, "Moon River", was released in the 7-inch single format but only for jukeboxes. His six Cadence singles that made the Top 10 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 are passed over for the inclusion of his number 11 hit from that label, "The Hawaiian Wedding Song", and 17 of his Columbia recordings that made the Hot 100 up until 1970 are left out here in favor of "Charade", which spent its one week on the chart at number 100.
Andy Williams Sings Rodgers and Hammerstein is the second studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams and was orchestrated and conducted by Alvy West. It was released in February 1958 by Cadence Records and focuses upon songs composed by Richard Rodgers with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II.
Danny Boy and Other Songs I Love to Sing is the eighth studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams. It was released in early 1962 by Columbia Records. This was his first project after leaving Cadence Records, where his albums each had a specific theme. Additionally, it was his first in a series of LPs that covered songs established on stage, screen, and other hits from the pop chart and the Great American Songbook. This trend would not be interrupted until his 1966 album, The Shadow of Your Smile, hinted at a shift toward contemporary material with its inclusion of songs first recorded by the Beatles.
Days of Wine and Roses and Other TV Requests is the eleventh studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams and was released in April 1963 by Columbia Records following his first season as host of his variety series, The Andy Williams Show. The LP has a studio recording of the closing theme from the show, "May Each Day", and continues the format of his previous Columbia releases by including songs from the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s.
The Great Songs from "My Fair Lady" and Other Broadway Hits is the fifteenth studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams and was released in September 1964 by Columbia Records, one month before the premiere of the film version of My Fair Lady starring Audrey Hepburn.
In the Arms of Love is the nineteenth studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams and was released on December 19, 1966, by Columbia Records and was the last of twelve consecutive Williams studio LPs produced by Robert Mersey.
Love, Andy is the twenty-first studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams, released on October 16, 1967, by Columbia Records to coincide with the NBC special of the same name, which aired on November 6. The LP had a mix of covers of old and recent hits that included two songs from the 1940s that also had chart success in 1966 via Chris Montez: "The More I See You" and "There Will Never Be Another You".
The Way We Were is the thirty-second studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams, released in the spring of 1974 by Columbia Records and was a return to singing songs that his audience was already familiar with after Solitaire, his previous LP that was less reliant on covers of recent pop hits, did not perform well.
"Beyond The Reef" is a song written by Canadian Jack Pitman in Hawaii in 1948. It was first performed by Hawaiian artist Napua Stevens in 1949.
Under Paris Skies is the seventh studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams and was released in the fall of 1960 by Cadence Records. This, his final LP for the label, is a collection of songs that Joseph Laredo describes in the liner notes of the CD release by Varèse Sarabande as "a delightful program of twelve compositions, selected by Williams, that proved an engaging mixture of genuine French popular songs and American-penned emulations."
The Village of St. Bernadette is the sixth studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams and was released in early 1960 by Cadence Records. It was described by Billboard magazine as "a lovely set of pop inspirational, hymns, and religious themes".
Two Time Winners is the third studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams and was released in the spring of 1959 by Cadence Records. This, his third LP for the label, is composed of songs that had been successful on two previous occasions or in two different ways.
Andy Williams is a compilation album by American pop singer Andy Williams that was released early in 1958 by Cadence Records. This first album to compile the singer's material features his first six songs to make the Billboard Hot 100 along with their corresponding B-sides.
Andy Williams' Best is a compilation album by American pop singer Andy Williams that was released late in 1961 by Cadence Records. This second album to compile the singer's material features 10 songs that made the Billboard Hot 100 along with two of their corresponding B-sides.
Million Seller Songs is a compilation album by American pop singer Andy Williams that was released in the fall of 1962 by Cadence Records. This third album to compile the singer's material features some of the most successful songs Williams had recorded to date.
Canadian Sunset is a compilation album by American pop singer Andy Williams that was released in the spring of 1965 by Columbia Records. The cover bears the phrase "formerly titled Andy Williams' Best" underneath the title, suggesting that the same songs can be found here that were on that 1961 release by Cadence Records, but his number one hit "Butterfly" and its top 10 follow-up "I Like Your Kind of Love" that were included on the Cadence album were replaced on this release with the B-sides of two of the other songs here.
I Still Believe in Santa Claus is a Christmas album by American pop singer Andy Williams that was released by Curb Records in 1990. It was his fourth solo album of Christmas music, following The Andy Williams Christmas Album (1963), Merry Christmas (1965) and Christmas Present (1974). As with the 1965 LP, this album focuses exclusively on 20th-century compositions, including two new songs: "Christmas Needs Love to Be Christmas" and "My Christmas Vow ", the latter of which Williams describes in the liner notes as "a new lyric set to an old Hawaiian melody".
"The Moon of Manakoora" is a popular song written by Frank Loesser (lyrics) and Alfred Newman (music) for the 1937 Paramount film The Hurricane starring Dorothy Lamour. Lamour sang the song in the film and also made a commercial recording of it. The song "The Moon of Manakoora" is considered a standard and was Loesser's first success as a lyric writer.