''In the Arms of Love'' is the nineteenth
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
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.][
The album made its first appearance on '' Billboard'' magazine's Top LP's chart in the issue dated January 21, 1967, and remained on the album chart for 22 weeks, peaking at number 21.
The title song from the album was released as a single in July 1966, one month before the release of the film '' What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?'', the soundtrack of which is performed by the song's composer, ]Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini, ; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Award ...
, and includes instrumental and vocal versions of the song. The film opened on August 31, 1966, and Williams' version of "In the Arms of Love" first appeared on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the issue of the magazine dated August 27, eventually reaching number 49 over the course of eight weeks. The song performed even better on the Easy Listening
Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...
chart after debuting in the issue dated July 30 and spending two weeks at number one during a 17-week stay. It began its chart run in the UK shortly thereafter, on September 24, and stayed around for seven weeks, peaking at number 33.
The album was released on compact disc for the first time as one of two albums on one CD by Collectables Records
Collectables is a reissue record label founded in 1980 by Jerry Greene. Jerry Greene formed Lost Nite and Crimson record labels. Soul Survivors gained the hit "Expressway to Your Heart" (1967) while on Crimson Records.
History
It maintains a ca ...
on January 16, 2001, the other album being Williams's Columbia release from April 1963, ''Days of Wine and Roses and Other TV Requests
''Days of Wine and Roses and Other TV Requests'' is the eleventh album, 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 Will ...
''. It was also released as one of two albums on one CD by Sony Music Distribution on May 14, 2001, paired this time with Williams's Columbia album from the spring of 1967, ''Born Free
''Born Free'' is a 1966 British drama film starring the real-life couple Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers as Joy and George Adamson, another real-life couple who raised Elsa the Lioness, an orphaned lion cub, to adulthood, and released her in ...
''. The Collectables CD was included 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.
Reception
Writing for 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 databas ...
, critic William Ruhlmann theorized as to the why this album ended the string of “six consecutive Gold-selling Top Ten albums (not counting reissues and compilations”[ or Christmas LPs) that Williams was enjoying upon its release, offering that it “may just be a question of marketing. The album, with its austere black cover, was released late in the holiday season after Williams's summer single ' In the Arms of Love,' belatedly topped the Easy Listening chart in October. The song was written by ]Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini, ; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Award ...
, who had meant dollar signs for Williams with such previous movie themes as ' Moon River,' ' Days of Wine and Roses,' and 'Dear Heart
''Dear Heart'' is a 1964 American romantic-comedy film starring Glenn Ford and Geraldine Page as lonely middle-aged people who fall in love at a hotel convention. It was directed by Delbert Mann, from a screenplay by Tad Mosel. Its theme song " ...
.' But this hit, which only made it halfway up the pop charts, came from an unsuccessful film, ''What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?'', and mid-December was no time to start selling a new, non-seasonal release.”[ As to the quality of the album itself, he wrote, “Much of it is even calmer than usual for him, and the focus on foreign material makes you wish he'd just gone ahead and recorded a samba album or one made up entirely of international songs, since those tunes mix oddly with the choices from the Great American Songbook and recent film themes. Williams had indicated his interest in overseas material on his last album, ''The Shadow of Your Smile'', but this one went even further, though without the quality of songs to sustain the direction."][
]
Track listing
Side one
# "The Very Thought of You
"The Very Thought of You" is a pop standard that was recorded and published in 1934 with music and lyrics by Ray Noble. The song was first recorded by Ray Noble and His Orchestra with Al Bowlly on vocals for HMV in England in April 1934. This re ...
" (Ray Noble
Raymond Stanley Noble (17 December 1903 – 2 April 1978) was an English jazz and big band musician, who was a bandleader, composer and arranger, as well as a radio host, television and film comedian and actor; he also performed in the United ...
) – 2:42
# "If I Love Again" (Jack Murray, Ben Oakland
Ben Oakland (September 24, 1907 – August 26, 1979) was an American composer, lyricist, and pianist, most active from the 1920s through the 1940s. He composed mainly for Broadway and vaudeville, though he also worked on several Hollywood scores ...
) – 2:33
# "Theme from ''The Sand Pebbles'' (And We Were Lovers)" from ''The Sand Pebbles
''The Sand Pebbles'' is a 1962 novel by American author Richard McKenna about a Yangtze River gunboat and its crew in 1926. It was the winner of the 1963 Harper Prize for fiction. The book was initially serialized in the ''Saturday Evening Po ...
'' (Leslie Bricusse
Leslie Bricusse OBE (; 29 January 1931 – 19 October 2021) was a British composer, lyricist, and playwright who worked on theatre musicals and wrote theme music for films. He was best known for writing the music and lyrics for the films '' Do ...
, Jerry Goldsmith
Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer and conductor known for his work in film and television scoring. He composed scores for five films in the ''Star Trek'' franchise and three in the ''Rambo'' franch ...
) – 2:50
# "Remember
Remember may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Remember?'', a 1939 film starring Robert Taylor and Greer Garson
* ''Remember'' (1926 film), an American silent drama film
* ''Remember'' (2015 film), a Canadian film by Atom Egoyan, starring Chris ...
" (Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook.
Born in Imperial Russ ...
) – 2:48
# " Here's That Rainy Day" from '' Carnival in Flanders'' ( Johnny Burke, Jimmy Van Heusen) – 2:43
# " In the Arms of Love" from '' What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?'' ( Ray Evans, Jay Livingston, Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini, ; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Award ...
) – 2:56
Side two
# "The Face I Love" (Ray Gilbert
Ray Gilbert (September 5, 1912 – March 3, 1976) was an American lyricist. He grew up in Hartford, Connecticut.
Career
Gilbert is best remembered for the lyrics to the Oscar-winning song " Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" from the film ''Song of the South'', ...
, Carlos Pingarilho, Marcos Valle Marcos may refer to:
People with the given name ''Marcos''
*Marcos (given name)
Sports
;Surnamed
* Dayton Marcos, Negro league baseball team from Dayton, Ohio (early twentieth-century)
* Dimitris Markos, Greek footballer
* Nélson Marcos, Portug ...
, Paulo Sérgio Valle
Paulo Sérgio Kostenbader Valle (born August 6, 1940) is a Brazilian composer and lyricist.
Career
Valle started his career as part of the bossa nova trend when, with his brother Marcos Valle, he composed " Samba de Verão", which became one ...
) – 2:03
# "Sand and Sea" (Gilbert Bécaud
Gilbert Bécaud (, 24 October 1927 – 18 December 2001) was a French singer, composer, pianist and actor, known as "Monsieur 100,000 Volts" for his energetic performances. His best-known hits are " Nathalie" and "Et maintenant", a 1961 release ...
, Mack David
Mack David (July 5, 1912 – December 30, 1993) was an American lyricist and songwriter, best known for his work in film and television, with a career spanning the period between the early 1940s and the early 1970s. David was credited with writing ...
, Mike Vidalin) – 2:48
# " So Nice (Summer Samba) " (Norman Gimbel
Norman Gimbel (November 16, 1927 – December 19, 2018) was an American lyricist of popular songs, television and movie themes. He wrote the lyrics for songs including " Killing Me Softly with His Song", " Ready to Take a Chance Again" (both wit ...
, Marcos Valle, Paulo Sérgio Valle) – 2:37
# "Pretty Butterfly" (Mario Albanese, Loryn Deane, Ciro Pereira, Sunny Skylar) – 2:16
# "A Man and a Woman" from '' A Man and a Woman'' (Pierre Barouh
Pierre Barouh (born Élie Pierre Barouh; 19 February 1934 – 28 December 2016) was a French writer-composer-singer best known for his work on Claude Lelouch's film ''A Man and a Woman'' as an actor and the lyricist/singer for Francis Lai's music ...
, Jerry Keller
Jerry Paul Keller (born June 20, 1937) is an American pop singer and songwriter, best known for his 1959 hit song "Here Comes Summer".
Career
Born in Fort Smith, Arkansas, Keller moved with his family to Tulsa, Oklahoma, when he was six, and ...
, Francis Lai
Francis Albert Lai (; 26 April 19327 November 2018) was a French composer, noted for his film scores. He won the 1970 Oscar for Best Music, Original Score and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score for the film ''Love Story''. The so ...
) – 2:50
# " All Through the Night" from ''Anything Goes
''Anything Goes'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap ant ...
'' ( Cole Porter) – 2:09
Song information
Three different versions of "Remember
Remember may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Remember?'', a 1939 film starring Robert Taylor and Greer Garson
* ''Remember'' (1926 film), an American silent drama film
* ''Remember'' (2015 film), a Canadian film by Atom Egoyan, starring Chris ...
" charted between May 1925 and February 1926: Jean Goldkette
John Jean Goldkette (March 18, 1893 – March 24, 1962) was a jazz pianist and bandleader.
Life
Goldkette was reportedly born on March 18, 1893 in Valenciennes, France,Russel B. Nye (1976). Music in the Twenties: The Jean Goldkette Orchestra ...
& His Orchestra featuring Seymour Simons
Seymour Simons (January 14, 1896 – February 12, 1949) was an American pianist, composer, orchestra leader, and radio producer.
Biography
Simons born in Detroit, Michigan, was originally trained in engineering and went to work as a researc ...
on vocal reached number six, an instrumental recording by Isham Jones & His Orchestra spent a week at number one, and Cliff Edwards
Clifton Avon "Cliff" Edwards (June 14, 1895 – July 17, 1971), nicknamed "Ukulele Ike", was an American singer, musician and actor. He enjoyed considerable popularity in the 1920s and early 1930s, specializing in jazzy renditions of pop standar ...
got as high as number 10. Ray Noble
Raymond Stanley Noble (17 December 1903 – 2 April 1978) was an English jazz and big band musician, who was a bandleader, composer and arranger, as well as a radio host, television and film comedian and actor; he also performed in the United ...
& His Orchestra spent five weeks at number one in 1934 with their recording of "The Very Thought of You
"The Very Thought of You" is a pop standard that was recorded and published in 1934 with music and lyrics by Ray Noble. The song was first recorded by Ray Noble and His Orchestra with Al Bowlly on vocals for HMV in England in April 1934. This re ...
" with Al Bowlly
Albert Allick Bowlly (7 January 1898 – 17 April 1941) was a Mozambican-born South African– British vocalist and jazz guitarist, who was popular during the 1930s in Britain. He recorded more than 1,000 songs.
His most popular songs includ ...
on vocal. That same year Paul Whiteman
Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist.
As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 1930s, W ...
& His Orchestra went to number 16 with "If I Love Again" and number eight doing " All Through the Night" with Bob Lawrence on vocal. " Here's That Rainy Day" was first heard in the Broadway musical '' Carnival in Flanders'' in 1953, and that same year The Mills Brothers
The Mills Brothers, sometimes billed the Four Mills Brothers, and originally known as the Four Kings of Harmony, were an American jazz and traditional pop vocal quartet who made more than 2,000 recordings that sold more than 50 million copies an ...
reached number 21 with "Pretty Butterfly".
Organist Walter Wanderley
Walter Wanderley (born Walter Jose Wanderley Mendonça, May 12, 1932 – September 4, 1986) was a Brazilian organist and pianist, best known for his lounge and bossa nova music and for his instrumental version of the song ''Summer Samba'' whic ...
had the most successful recording of " So Nice (Summer Samba)", peaking at number three Easy Listening
Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...
and number 26 pop after debuting in August 1966. Later that year the title song from '' A Man and a Woman'' by Tamiko Jones and Herbie Mann
Herbert Jay Solomon (April 16, 1930 – July 1, 2003), known by his stage name Herbie Mann, was an American jazz flute player and important early practitioner of world music. Early in his career, he also played tenor saxophone and clarinet (inclu ...
made it to number nine Easy Listening and number 88 on the Hot 100, and Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
recorded "Sand and Sea" for his album '' That's Life''. Another recording that practically coincides with the one on this album comes from Tony Martin, who reached number 22 Easy Listening with the "Theme from ''The Sand Pebbles'' (And We Were Lovers)" after it debuted in February 1967.[.]
Personnel
From the liner notes for the original album:[
* Andy Williams – vocals
*Robert Mersey - arranger/conductor ("Here's That Rainy Day", "In the Arms of Love"), arranger ("A Man and a Woman"), conductor ("Remember", "All Through the Night"), producer
* Dick Hazard - arranger ("The Very Thought of You", "If I Love Again", "Theme from ''The Sand Pebbles'' (And We Were Lovers)", "Remember", "The Face I Love", "Sand and Sea", "So Nice (Summer Samba)")
*]Allyn Ferguson
Allyn Malcolm Ferguson Jr. (October 18, 1924 – June 23, 2010) was an American composer, whose works include the themes for 1970s television programs ''Barney Miller'' and '' Charlie's Angels'' (1976-1981), which he co-wrote with Jack Elliott ...
- arranger ("Pretty Butterfly")
*Dave Grusin
Robert David "Dave" Grusin (born June 26, 1934) is an American composer, arranger, producer, jazz pianist, and band leader. He has composed many scores for feature films and television, and has won numerous awards for his soundtrack and record w ...
- arranger ("All Through the Night")
*Bob Cato
Robert G. Cato (September 5, 1923 – March 19, 1999) was an American photographer and graphic designer whose work in record album cover design contributed to the development of music and popular culture for five decades. He was vice president o ...
- photography
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:In The Arms Of Love (Andy Williams Album)
1966 albums
Andy Williams albums
Columbia Records albums
Albums arranged by Richard Hazard
Albums arranged by Allyn Ferguson
Albums arranged by Dave Grusin