Song Sung Blue
Studio album by
Johnny Mathis
ReleasedSeptember 13, 1972[1]
RecordedApril 3, 1972
June 7, 1972
June 21, 1972
July 24, 1972
July 28, 1972[1]
Genre
Length37:37
LabelColumbia
ProducerJerry Fuller[2]
Johnny Mathis chronology
Johnny Mathis' All-Time Greatest Hits
(1972)		 Song Sung Blue
(1972)		 Me and Mrs. Jones
(1973)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Billboardpositive[3]

Song Sung Blue is an album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released on September 13, 1972,[1] by Columbia Records and featured his renditions of mostly recent chart hits.

The album made its first appearance on Billboard magazine's Top LP's & Tapes chart in the issue dated October 21, 1972, and remained there for 18 weeks, peaking at number 83.[4] In the UK it was retitled Make It Easy on Yourself and reached number 49 on the album chart.[5]

The song "Make It Easy on Yourself" was the first single from the album and "bubbled under" the Billboard Hot 100 to number 103[6] while making it as high as number 16 on the magazine's Easy Listening chart.[7] The song on the flip side, "Sometimes", was written by Henry Mancini and his daughter Felice[8] but was not included on the LP.

Reception

In their capsule review, Billboard enthusiastically announced that "this one is by far one of his best!"[3] They also singled out certain tracks. "Along with 'Song Sung Blue' and 'Play Me', Mathis is in great voice on 'Run to Me', 'Where Is the Love', 'How Can I Be Sure', and 'Alone Again (Naturally)', and he's truly at home with 'Too Young'."[3]

Track listing

Side one

  1. "Play Me" (Neil Diamond) – 3:49
  2. "Alone Again (Naturally)" (Gilbert O'Sullivan) – 4:20
  3. "Where Is the Love" (Ralph MacDonald, William Salter) – 2:32
  4. "Goodbye to Love" (John Bettis, Richard Carpenter) – 3:12
  5. "Too Young" (Sylvia Dee, Sidney Lippman) – 3:16

Side two

  1. "Make It Easy on Yourself" (Burt Bacharach, Hal David) – 3:29
  2. "Lean on Me" (Bill Withers) – 3:51
  3. "How Can I Be Sure" (Felix Cavaliere, Eddie Brigati) – 3:42
  4. "Run to Me" (Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb, Robin Gibb) – 2:58
  5. "Song Sung Blue" (Neil Diamond) – 3:12
  6. "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" (Bob Russell, Bobby Scott) – 3:16

2017 CD bonus tracks

This album's CD release as part of the 2017 box set The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection included two bonus tracks that were previously unavailable:

Recording dates

From the liner notes for The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection:[1]

  • April 3, 1972 – "Make It Easy on Yourself"
  • June 7, 1972 – "How Can I Be Sure", "Morning Has Broken", "Song Sung Blue"
  • June 21, 1972 – "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother", "Too Young", "Where Is the Love"
  • July 24, 1972 – "Alone Again (Naturally)", "I'm on the Outside Looking In", "Lean on Me"
  • July 28, 1972 – "Goodbye to Love", "Play Me", "Run to Me"

Song information

Neil Diamond's "Play Me" reached number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100[9] and spent two weeks at number three on the magazine's Easy Listening chart.[10] "Alone Again (Naturally)" by Gilbert O'Sullivan enjoyed six weeks at number one on both of those charts,[11][12] got as high as number three in the UK,[13] and earned Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America.[14] "Where Is the Love" had its biggest success as a duet by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway that spent a week in the top spot on the magazine's Easy Listening[15] and R&B[16] charts, reached number five pop[17] and number 29 UK,[18] earned Gold certification from the RIAA,[19] and won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus.[20]

"Goodbye to Love" was a number seven pop hit for The Carpenters[21] that also reached number two Easy Listening[22] and number nine in the UK.[23] "Too Young" had the most success as a recording by Nat King Cole that spent five weeks at number one in Billboard magazine in 1951.[24] "Make It Easy on Yourself" had its first chart success as a 1962 hit for Jerry Butler that reached number 20 pop[25] and number 18 R&B.[26] Another Gold record, "Lean on Me" by Bill Withers[27] had its best showing on the pop chart with three weeks at number one[28] compared to just one week at the top of the R&B chart[29] and peak positions at number four Easy Listening[30] and number 18 UK.[31]

The first chart appearance of "How Can I Be Sure" was by The Young Rascals, who took the song to number four on the Billboard Hot 100.[32] "Run to Me" by The Bee Gees made it to number 16 on that same chart[33] as well as number six Easy Listening.[34] Diamond's Gold record "Song Sung Blue"[35] was number one for seven weeks Easy Listening[10] and one week on the pop chart[9] in addition to reaching number 14 in the UK.[36] He also had the best Easy Listening showing of "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother", which he took to number four,[10] but his peak position with the song at number 20 on the Hot 100[9] fell short of the number seven spot that The Hollies attained with their original recording of the song[37] that was released in 1969 and had also been to number three in the UK by the time that Mathis released this album.[38]

Personnel

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 (2017) The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection by Johnny Mathis [CD booklet]. New York: Sony Music Entertainment 88985 36892 2.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 (1972) Song Sung Blue by Johnny Mathis [album jacket]. New York: Columbia Records KC 31626.
  3. 1 2 3 "Album Reviews". Billboard. 1972-10-07. p. 58.
  4. ↑ Whitburn 2010, p. 503.
  5. ↑ "Johnny Mathis". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  6. ↑ Whitburn 2009, p. 628.
  7. ↑ Whitburn 2007, p. 179.
  8. ↑ (1972) "Make It Easy on Yourself/Sometimes" by Johnny Mathis [7-inch single]. New York: Columbia Records 4-45635.
  9. 1 2 3 Whitburn 2009, p. 274.
  10. 1 2 3 Whitburn 2007, p. 79.
  11. ↑ Whitburn 2009, p. 733.
  12. ↑ Whitburn 2007, p. 210.
  13. ↑ "Gilbert O'Sullivan". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  14. ↑ RIAA Gold and Platinum Search for titles by Gilbert O'Sullivan
  15. ↑ Whitburn 2007, p. 98.
  16. ↑ Whitburn 2004, p. 206.
  17. ↑ Whitburn 2009, p. 350.
  18. ↑ "Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  19. ↑ "Gold & Platinum". riaa.com. Retrieved 22 December 2016. Type Roberta Flack in the Search box and press Enter.
  20. ↑ O'Neil 1999, p. 196.
  21. ↑ Whitburn 2009, p. 162.
  22. ↑ Whitburn 2007, p. 44.
  23. ↑ "Carpenters". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  24. ↑ Whitburn 1986, p. 88.
  25. ↑ Whitburn 2009, p. 146.
  26. ↑ Whitburn 2004, p. 94.
  27. ↑ "Gold & Platinum". riaa.com. Retrieved 22 December 2016. Type Bill Withers in the Search box and press Enter.
  28. ↑ Whitburn 2009, p. 1072.
  29. ↑ Whitburn 2004, p. 633.
  30. ↑ Whitburn 2007, p. 300.
  31. ↑ "Bill Withers". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  32. ↑ Whitburn 2009, p. 799.
  33. ↑ Whitburn 2009, p. 80.
  34. ↑ Whitburn 2007, p. 22.
  35. ↑ "Gold & Platinum". riaa.com. Retrieved 22 December 2016. Type Neil Diamond in the Search box and press Enter.
  36. ↑ "Neil Diamond". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  37. ↑ Whitburn 2009, p. 447.
  38. ↑ "Hollies". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 April 2013.

Bibliography

  • O'Neil, Thomas (1999). The Grammys. Perigree Books. ISBN 0-399-52477-0.
  • Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories, 1890-1954. Record Research Inc. ISBN 0898200830.
  • Whitburn, Joel (2002). Joel Whitburn's Top Country Singles, 1944-2001. Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-151-9.
  • Whitburn, Joel (2004). Joel Whitburn Presents Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles, 1942-2004. Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-160-8.
  • Whitburn, Joel (2007). Joel Whitburn Presents Billboard Top Adult Songs, 1961-2006. Record Research Inc. ISBN 978-0898201697.
  • Whitburn, Joel (2009). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 1955-2008. Record Research Inc. ISBN 978-0-89820-180-2.
  • Whitburn, Joel (2010). Joel Whitburn Presents Top Pop Albums, Seventh Edition. Record Research Inc. ISBN 978-0-89820-183-3.
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