''By Request'' is
Perry Como's Ninth
RCA Victor 12" long-play album.
The title made it sound like a number of his earlier LPs, again with the implication that the song choices were made by his audience rather than himself. But where previous records like ''
We Get Letters
''We Get Letters'' is a 1957 album by Perry Como, his second RCA Victor 12" long-play album. The LP's concept is an album of requests from Como's television show, but forgoing the usual big-band sound of Mitchell Ayres' Orchestra and the Ray Cha ...
'' and ''
Sing to Me Mr. C
''Sing to Me Mr. C'' was Perry Como's Eighth RCA Victor 12" long-play album. Joe Lipman was the chief music arranger for the release.
''Sing To Me Mr. C'' was recorded in the same manner as the medley segments on Perry Como's popular Wednesda ...
'' consisted of old standards (in contrast to the new compositions that made up his single releases), ''By Request'' was, for the most part, a collection of recent material. In several cases, Como was borrowing songs that were recent hits by his competitors:
Jack Jones had just scored a hit with "Lollipops and Roses"; Como's RCA Victor labelmate
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
had done the same with "Can't Help Falling in Love", from his film ''
Blue Hawaii'';
Tony Bennett
Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birt ...
was already popularizing the wistful "Once Upon a Time" from the Broadway musical ''All American''; and
Andy Williams had claimed the year's Oscar winner, "Moon River" from ''
Breakfast at Tiffany's''. The other tracks included "Maria", newly popular due to the movie version of ''
West Side Story
''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents.
Inspired by William Shakespeare's play '' Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid ...
'',
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their popular ...
's "My Favorite Things" from the 1959 musical ''
The Sound of Music
''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, ''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. S ...
'', and "The Sweetest Sounds" from Richard Rodgers' new, show ''
No Strings
''No Strings'' is a musical drama with book by Samuel A. Taylor and words and music by Richard Rodgers. ''No Strings'' is the only Broadway score for which Rodgers wrote both lyrics and music, and the first musical he composed after the death of ...
''. Many critics said that the material suited Como especially well, and some even claimed that the singer had made the songs his own. ''By Request'' was Como's best-selling non-holiday LP release in three years.
Track listing
Side one
# "
Maria
Maria may refer to:
People
* Mary, mother of Jesus
* Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages
Place names Extraterrestrial
* 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877
* Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...
" (music by
Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by
Stephen Sondheim) – 3:28
# "
Lollipops and Roses" (words and music by Tony Velona) – 2:43
# "
The Sweetest Sounds" (words and music by
Richard Rodgers) – 2:46
# "More than Likely" (music by
Jimmy Van Heusen, lyrics by
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 ...
) – 2:52
# "Moonglow and Theme from 'Picnic' – 3:23
#* ("
Moonglow", words and music by Will Hudson, Eddie DeLange, and Irving Mills)
#* ("
Theme from 'Picnic'", words by
Steve Allen
Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television personality, radio personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-cre ...
, music by George Duning)
# "
My Favorite Things" (music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by
Oscar Hammerstein II) – 2:56
Side two
# "
Once Upon a Time
"Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 (according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'') in storytelling in t ...
" (music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Lee Adams) – 3:50
# "
Can't Help Falling in Love" (words and music by George Weiss, Hugo Peretti, and Luigi Creatore) – 3:07
# "What's New?" (music by Bob Haggart, lyrics by Johnny Burke) – 3:04
# "Somebody Cares" (music by Johnny Robba, Frank Reardon, and Ernest G. Schweikert) – 3:18
# "
I'll Remember April" (music by Gene DePaul, lyrics by Patricia Johnston and Don Raye) – 3:02
# "
Moon River" (music by Henry Mancini, lyrics by
Johnny Mercer) –
A recording of "
The Bells of St. Mary's
''The Bells of St. Mary's'' (1945) is an American musical comedy-drama film, produced and directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman. Written by Dudley Nichols and based on a story by McCarey, the film is about a priest ...
" was made during the sessions, but left off the completed album.
[ It was not released until its inclusion on the 2001 compilation CD ''A Perry Como Christmas'', which also includes "My Favorite Things" from this album.
]
Personnel
* Perry Como – vocals
* Peter Gamble – liner Notes
References
External links
Perry Como discography
{{Authority control
Perry Como albums
1962 albums
Albums produced by Hugo & Luigi
RCA Victor albums