''A Song'' is an in-studio album containing the works of American pop star

Neil Sedaka Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collabo ...

. It was produced by

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the B ...

and released in 1977 on the Elektra label in the US, marking the beginning of Sedaka's association with Elektra, which would run through 1981. Outside of the US, ''A Song'' was released on the

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

label. After several record labels released bootleg CD's sourced from vinyl pressings over the years, the album was officially remastered and released on CD and digital platforms on November 11th, 2022.

Track listing

Side One

# "A Song" - (Neil Sedaka / Phil Cody) 3:13 # " You Never Done It Like That" - (Neil Sedaka / Howard Greenfield) 3:05 # "The Leaving Game" - (Neil Sedaka / Howard Greenfield) 2:42 # "

Amarillo Amarillo ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat, seat of Potter County, Texas, Potter County. It is the List of cities in Texas by population, 14th-most populous city in Texas and th ...

" - (Neil Sedaka / Howard Greenfield) 3:15 # "Alone at Last" - (Neil Sedaka / Phil Cody) 4:00 # "Hollywood Lady" - (Neil Sedaka / Howard Greenfield) 4:30

Side Two

# "I've Never Really Been in Love Before" - (Neil Sedaka / Howard Greenfield) 3:10 # "One-Night Stand" - (Neil Sedaka / Phil Cody) 3:26 # "Hot and Sultry Nights" - (Neil Sedaka / Phil Cody) 3:59 # "Sleazy Love" - (Neil Sedaka / Phil Cody) 3:56 # "Tin Pan Alley" - (Neil Sedaka / Howard Greenfield) 3:28 # "A Song" ''(reprise)'' - (Neil Sedaka / Phil Cody) 1:30 Arranged by George Martin

Singles release

Five of the songs from this album made their way onto 45 rpm singles: "Amarillo" (U.S. #44, AC #4; Canada AC #2) with its B-side "The Leaving Game", and "Alone At Last" (U.S. #104, AC #17; Canada AC #10) with its B-side "Sleazy Love". In Australia, "You Never Done It Like That" saw a 45 rpm release as well, with "Sleazy Love" as its B-side. A remix of the track "Amarillo" was released on the 2001 retrospective CD set 'Produced By George Martin: 50 Years In Recording'. Sedaka noted that "Alone at Last" became a minor

jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive lis ...

; he would often walk into piano bars and hear the song playing only to realize it was his own composition.

Notes

* "Amarillo" had originally been written by Neil Sedaka and

Howard Greenfield Howard Greenfield (March 15, 1936 – March 4, 1986) was an American lyricist and songwriter, who for several years in the 1960s worked out of the famous Brill Building. He is best known for his successful songwriting collaborations, including o ...

for the British pop star

Tony Christie Anthony Fitzgerald (born 25 April 1943), known professionally as Tony Christie, is an English musician, singer and actor. He is best known for his recording of "(Is This the Way To) Amarillo "(Is This the Way to) Amarillo" is a song writt ...

, who made a #18 hit out of it. Later in the 2000s, "Amarillo" would enjoy newfound popularity thanks to comedian

Peter Kay Peter John Kay (born 2 July 1973) is an English actor, comedy writer and stand-up comedian. He has written, produced and acted in several television and film projects, and has written three books. Born and brought up in Bolton, Kay studied ...

using the Tony Christie version in a number for

Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic episo ...

. *

Captain & Tennille Captain & Tennille were American recording artists whose primary success occurred in the 1970s. The husband-and-wife team were "Captain" Daryl Dragon (1942–2019) and Toni Tennille (born 1940). They have five albums certified gold or platinum ...

produced a cover version of "You Never Done It Like That" in 1978, which went to #10 on the US pop charts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Song 1977 albums Neil Sedaka albums Albums produced by George Martin Elektra Records albums