''All the Way'' is the fifth studio album by American singer

Brenda Lee Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Performing rockabilly, pop and country music, she had 47 US chart hits during the 1960s and is ranked fourth in that decade, surpassed onl ...

. The album was released August 7, 1961, on Decca Records and was produced by Owen Bradley. It was the second of two studio albums released by Brenda Lee in 1961 and spawned the single "

Dum Dum Dum Dum is a city and a municipality of Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of Kolkata urban area and also a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). Etymology During the 19th ...

", which became a Top 10 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and a UK single (not released as a single in the US) " Speak to Me Pretty", which reached No.3 on the UK singles chart (which was the highest placing Lee ever achieved with a single in the UK).

Background and content

''All the Way'' was recorded in four separate recording sessions at the Bradley Film and Recording Studio, beginning on August 16, 1960, and ending on May 21, 1961. The album contained twelve tracks of material, seven of which were cover versions of previously recorded songs. The album's cover versions included " Kansas City", first recorded by

Little Willie Littlefield Willie Littlefield, Jr., billed as Little Willie Littlefield (September 16, 1931 – June 23, 2013), was an American R&B and boogie-woogie pianist and singer whose early recordings "formed a vital link between boogie-woogie and rock and roll". ...

. It also included a cover version of

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

's "Talkin' About You" and "

On the Sunny Side of the Street "On the Sunny Side of the Street" is a 1930 song composed by Jimmy McHugh with lyrics by Dorothy Fields. Some authors say that Fats Waller was the composer, but he sold the rights to the song. It was introduced in the Broadway musical '' Lew Lesli ...

". Songwriter Ronnie Self, who had previously written other songs by Lee, co-wrote the song "Eventually" for the album. ''

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

s Richie Unterberger praised the album's production, calling it a "pretty good record" and "certainly well produced". Overall, Unterberger gave the album three and a half out of five stars, explaining that while he felt the album was "pretty good", he said that it seemed to "showcase versatility", like "many albums of its time". Unterberger commented, "It seems a little strange to apply the adjective "overlooked" to a singer as popular as Lee was at this time, but the album, like so much of her early-'60s work, is further evidence of her underrated skills as a rock and pop singer. And it was appreciated by listeners at the time, the album making the Top 20, even if most of the songs are unfamiliar today even to many Brenda Lee fans." ''All the Way'' was released originally as an LP record, containing six songs on each side of the record. The album was reissued on a compact disc in both the United Kingdom and Russia.

Release

''All the Ways lead single was "

". The song became Lee's seventh consecutive Top 10 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at #4, while also reaching #22 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The single's B-side "Eventually" also gained significant radio airplay and peaked at #56 on the Billboard Hot 100 around the same time of the single's release to radio. ''All the Way'' was officially released on August 7, 1961, on Decca Records and peaked at #17 on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart, her first album that year to peak within the ''Billboard'' 200 Top 20. The album also became Lee's first album to chart in the United Kingdom, peaking at #20 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

Track listing

;Side one # " Lover Come Back to Me" ( Oscar Hammerstein,

Sigmund Romberg Sigmund Romberg (July 29, 1887 – November 9, 1951) was a Hungarian-born American composer. He is best known for his musicals and operettas, particularly '' The Student Prince'' (1924), '' The Desert Song'' (1926) and '' The New Moon'' (1928). E ...

) – 2:32 # "

All the Way All the Way may refer to: Film and television * ''All the Way'', an Australian film of 1998 directed by Marque Owen * ''All the Way'' (2001 film), a film directed by Shi Runjiu * ''All the Way'' (film), a 2016 adaptation of Robert Schenkkan's p ...

" (

Sammy Cahn Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premi ...

, Jimmy Van Heusen) – 3:00 # "

" (

Jackie DeShannon Jackie DeShannon (born Sharon Lee Myers, August 21, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter and radio broadcaster with a string of hit song credits from the 1960s onwards, as both singer and composer. She was one of the first female singer-songw ...

Sharon Sheeley Sharon Kathleen Sheeley (April 4, 1940 – May 17, 2002) was an American songwriter who wrote songs for Glen Campbell, Ricky Nelson, Brenda Lee, and Eddie Cochran. Biography Sheeley attended Newport Harbor High School in Newport Beach, and ...

) – 2:22 # "

" (

Dorothy Fields Dorothy Fields (July 15, 1904 – March 28, 1974) was an American librettist and lyricist. She wrote over 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films. Her best-known pieces include "The Way You Look Tonight" (1936), "A Fine Romance" (1936), " On t ...

Jimmy McHugh James Francis McHugh (July 10, 1894 – May 23, 1969) was an American composer. One of the most prolific songwriters from the 1920s to the 1950s, he is credited with over 500 songs. His songs were recorded by many artists, including Chet Baker, Ju ...

) – 3:16 # "Talkin' 'Bout You" (

) – 2:34 # "

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" (Guy Massey) – 2:40 ;Side two # "Do I Worry (Yes I Do)" (

Jerry Lordan Jerry Lordan (born Jeremiah Patrick Lordan, 30 April 1934 – 24 July 1995) was an English songwriter, composer and singer. He achieved 3 hit singles on the UK Singles Chart before focusing purely on songwriting. Amongst his songwriting c ...

) – 2:04 # "Tragedy" (Fred Burch, Gerald Nelson) – 2:42 # " Kansas City" ( Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) – 2:35 # "Eventually" (Dub Albritten,

Ronnie Self Ronnie Self (July 5, 1938 – August 28, 1981) was an American rockabilly singer and songwriter. His solo career was unsuccessful, despite being signed to contracts with Columbia and then Decca from the late 1950s through the early 1960s. His ...

) – 2:58 # " Speak to Me Pretty" ( By Dunham, Henry Vars) – 2:13 # "Big Chance" (Burch, Nelson) – 2:12

Personnel

* Brenton Banks – strings *

Harold Bradley Harold Ray Bradley (January 2, 1926 – January 31, 2019) was an American guitarist and entrepreneur, who played on many country, rock and pop recordings and produced numerous TV variety shows and movie soundtracks. Having started as a session ...

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

* Howard Carpenter – strings *

Floyd Cramer Floyd Cramer (October 27, 1933 – December 31, 1997) was an American pianist who became famous for his use of melodic "half step" attacks. He was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His signatu ...

–

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

* Dottie Dillard –

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

Ray Edenton Ray Quarles Edenton (November 3, 1926 – September 21, 2022) was an American guitar player and country music session musician. Early life Ray Edenton was born into a musical family on November 3, 1926, and grew up near Mineral, Virginia. His f ...

– guitar * Buddy Emmons – steel guitar *

Buddy Harman Murrey Mizell "Buddy" Harman, Jr. (December 23, 1928 – August 21, 2008) was an American country music session musician. Career Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Harman played drums on over 18,000 sessions for artists such as Elvis Presley, Jerry ...

– drums * Lillian Hunt – strings * Anita Kerr – background vocals * Douglas Kirkham – drums * Brenda Lee – lead vocals *

Grady Martin Thomas Grady Martin (January 17, 1929 – December 3, 2001) was an American session guitarist in country music and rockabilly. A member of The Nashville A-Team, he played guitar on hits such as Marty Robbins' " El Paso", Loretta Lynn's " Co ...

– guitar * Louis Nunley – background vocals *

Boots Randolph Homer Louis "Boots" Randolph III (June 3, 1927 – July 3, 2007) was an American musician best known for his 1963 saxophone hit "Yakety Sax" (which became Benny Hill's signature tune). Randolph was a major part of the "Nashville sound" for most o ...

–

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

* Vernel Richardson – strings * Gil Wright – background vocals * Joe Zinkan – bass

Sales chart positions

;Album ;Singles

References

{{Authority control 1961 albums Brenda Lee albums Albums produced by Owen Bradley Decca Records albums