''Love Is the Thing'' is a 1957 album released by American jazz vocalist
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...
. It is the first of four collaborations between Cole and influential arranger
Gordon Jenkins
Gordon Hill Jenkins (May 12, 1910 – May 1, 1984) was an American arranger, composer, and pianist who was influential in popular music in the 1940s and 1950s. Jenkins worked with The Andrews Sisters, Johnny Cash, The Weavers, Frank Sinatra, Loui ...
.
Launching the charting single "Stardust", which peaked at #79,
the album reached #1 on
Billboard's
''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...
"
Pop Albums
The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular Album, music albums and extended play, EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the ...
" chart and tied at #1 on the UK Charts with the
soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
for the 1956 film ''
The King and I
''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the childre ...
''. According to the records of the
RIAA
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
, the album achieved
gold status in 1960 and broke platinum in 1992. The LP was Cole's first gold album.
Overview
In 1956, Cole came together with popular music arranger Jenkins to produce the first of the four collaborations that are described by critics as among the best of either artist.
American Jazz commenter
Scott Yanow
Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author.Allmusic Biography/ref>
Biography
Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles.
Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles an ...
noted that the album "sticks exclusively" to the role Cole had established in 1950s popular opinion as a "superb ballad vocalist".
While ''Love Is the Thing'' little reflects the jazz roots whence Cole emerged,
the singer's "restrained vocal approach" and the arranger's "unhurried string charts" combined to produce a romantic album of enduring popularity.
Cole's three further albums with Jenkins were ''
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 ...
'' (1958), ''
Every Time I Feel the Spirit'' (1959), and ''
Where Did Everyone Go?
''Where Did Everyone Go?'' is a 1963 studio album by Nat King Cole, arranged by Gordon Jenkins. This was the fourth and final album that Cole and Jenkins recorded together, following ''Love Is the Thing'' (1957), ''The Very Thought of You'' (1958 ...
'' (1963).
Release history
Originally released by
Capitol Records
Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...
, the album has been re-issued by various companies in alternate forms.
A 1996 re-release on 24-kt gold foil by the Digital Compact Classics label included three bonus tracks,
[Puccio, John. (January 1999). "Nat 'King' Cole: The Greatest Hits" ''Sensible Sound''.] the same tracks incorporated in the re-titled 1991 CD ''Love Is the Thing (And More)''.
In 2007, The
Collectors' Choice label reissued the album in conjunction with the final Cole/Jenkins collaboration on a single disc entitled ''Love Is the Thing/Where Did Everyone Go?''
In 2010 the audiophile Analogue Productions label issued a hybrid
SACD
Super Audio CD (SACD) is an optical disc format for audio storage introduced in 1999. It was developed jointly by Sony and Philips, Philips Electronics and intended to be the successor to the Compact Disc (CD) format.
The SACD format allows mul ...
of the album, containing its original 12 tracks in mono, stereo, and three-track multichannel sound.
The original mono edition of the LP (Capitol W 824) contained two tracks not found on the original stereo edition (Capitol SW 824), those being "Maybe It's Because I Love You Too Much" and "Love Letters," neither of which have appeared in stereo on any reissue.
Track listing
#"
Stardust" (
Hoagy Carmichael
Hoagland Howard Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American musician, composer, songwriter, actor and lawyer. Carmichael was one of the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1930s, and was among the first ...
,
Mitchell Parish
Mitchell Parish (born Michael Hyman Pashelinsky; July 10, 1900 – March 31, 1993) was an American lyricist, notably as a writer of songs for stage and screen.
Biography
Parish was born to a Jewish family in Lithuania, Russian Empire in July 190 ...
) – 3:15
#"
It's All in the Game" (
Charles G. Dawes
Charles Gates Dawes (August 27, 1865 – April 23, 1951) was an American banker, general, diplomat, composer, and Republican politician who was the 30th vice president of the United States from 1925 to 1929 under Calvin Coolidge. He was a co-reci ...
,
Carl Sigman
Carl Sigman (September 24, 1909 – September 26, 2000) was an American songwriter.
Early life
Born in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York to a Jewish-American family, Sigman graduated from law school and passed his bar exams to practice in ...
) – 3:07
#"
When I Fall in Love
"When I Fall in Love" is a popular song, written by Victor Young (music) and Edward Heyman (lyrics). It was introduced in the film '' One Minute to Zero'' as the instrumental titled "Theme from One Minute to Zero". Jeri Southern sang on the fir ...
" (
Edward Heyman
Edward Heyman (March 14, 1907October 16, 1981) was an American lyricist and producer, best known for his lyrics to " Body and Soul," "When I Fall in Love," and " For Sentimental Reasons." He also contributed to a number of songs for films.
Biogr ...
,
Victor Young
Albert Victor Young (August 8, 1899– November 10, 1956)"Victor Young, Composer, Dies of Heart Attack", ''Oakland Tribune'', November 12, 1956. was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor.
Biography
Young is commonly said to ...
) – 3:10
#"
Ain't Misbehavin'" (
Harry Brooks,
Andy Razaf
Andy Razaf (born Andriamanantena Paul Razafinkarefo; December 16, 1895 – February 3, 1973) was an American poet, composer and lyricist of such well-known songs as " Ain't Misbehavin'" and " Honeysuckle Rose".
Biography
Razaf was born in Washi ...
,
Fats Waller
Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, violinist, singer, and comedic entertainer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz pi ...
) – 3:17
#"When Sunny Gets Blue" (Marvin Fisher,
Jack Segal
Jack Segal (October 19, 1918 – February 10, 2005) was a pianist and composer of popular American songs, known for writing the lyrics to '' Scarlet Ribbons''. His composition '' May I Come In?'' was the title track for a Blossom Dearie album. ...
) – 2:46
#"Love Is the Thing" (
Ned Washington
Ned Washington (born Edward Michael Washington, August 15, 1901 – December 20, 1976) was an American lyricist born in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Life and career
Washington was nominated for eleven Academy Awards from 1940 to 1962. He won the Bes ...
, Young) – 3:01
#"
At Last
"At Last" is a song written by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren for the musical film '' Sun Valley Serenade'' (1941). Glenn Miller and his orchestra recorded the tune several times, with a 1942 version reaching number two on the US '' Billboard'' ...
" (Gordon,
Harry Warren
Harry Warren (born Salvatore Antonio Guaragna; December 24, 1893 – September 22, 1981) was an American composer and the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song ...
) – 3:00
#"Stay as Sweet as You Are" (
Mack Gordon
Mack Gordon (born Morris Gittler; June 21, 1904 – February 28, 1959) was an American composer and lyricist for the stage and film. He was nominated for the best original song Oscar nine times in 11 years, including five consecutive years betwee ...
,
Harry Revel
Harry Revel ( Glaser; 21 December 1905 – 3 November 1958) was a British-born American composer, mostly of musical theatre, working with various lyricists, notably Mack Gordon. He is also seen as a pioneer of " space age pop".
Early life and c ...
) – 2:59
#"I Thought About Marie" (
Gordon Jenkins
Gordon Hill Jenkins (May 12, 1910 – May 1, 1984) was an American arranger, composer, and pianist who was influential in popular music in the 1940s and 1950s. Jenkins worked with The Andrews Sisters, Johnny Cash, The Weavers, Frank Sinatra, Loui ...
) – 3:06
#"Where Can I Go Without You?" (
Peggy Lee
Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...
, Young) – 2:57
Bonus Tracks
#
"Maybe It's Because I Love You Too Much" (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 Russi ...
) – 2:50
#"Love Letters
A love letter is an expression of love in written form. However delivered, the letter may be anything from a short and simple message of love to a lengthy explanation and description of feelings.
History
One of the oldest references to a l ...
" (Heyman, Young) – 2:46
#"Someone to Tell It To" (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 premier ...
, Dolores Fuller
Dolores Agnes Fuller ( Eble, later Chamberlin; March 10, 1923 – May 9, 2011) was an American actress and songwriter best known as the one-time girlfriend of the low-budget film director Ed Wood. She played the protagonist's girlfriend in ' ...
, Jimmy Van Heusen
James Van Heusen (born Edward Chester Babcock; January 26, 1913 – February 6, 1990) was an American composer. He wrote songs for films, television and theater, and won an Emmy and four Academy Awards for Best Original Song.
Life and care ...
) – 3:17
#"The End of a Love Affair" (Edward Redding) – 3:11
#"If Love Ain't There" ( Johnny Burke) – 3:01
Personnel
*Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...
– vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
*Lee Gillette – producer
* Steve Hoffman – mastering, remaster
Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used.
Mastering
A ...
ing
*Gordon Jenkins
Gordon Hill Jenkins (May 12, 1910 – May 1, 1984) was an American arranger, composer, and pianist who was influential in popular music in the 1940s and 1950s. Jenkins worked with The Andrews Sisters, Johnny Cash, The Weavers, Frank Sinatra, Loui ...
– arranger
In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...
, conductor
*Charlie LaVere
Charles LaVere Johnson, better known as Charlie LaVere (July 18, 1910, Salina, Kansas - April 28, 1983, Ramona, California) was an American jazz pianist, vocalist, bandleader, and composer. He is best known for his extensive work with arranger Go ...
– 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 keyboa ...
*John Kraus – engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
*Marcia McGovern – pre-production
* Bob Norberg – remastering
*Larry Walsh – remastering
Chart positions
Certifications
References
{{Authority control
1957 albums
Nat King Cole albums
Albums arranged by Gordon Jenkins
Capitol Records albums
Albums conducted by Gordon Jenkins
Albums recorded at Capitol Studios