It Had to Be You: The Great American Songbook is the first album of American pop standards recorded by British musician Rod Stewart, and his 20th album overall. It was released on 22 October 2002, and became the first in a five-volume series.
The album was Stewart's first release for Sony Music imprint J Records. It included his second recording of "Every Time We Say Goodbye."
A live DVD of the same title was released on 4 February 2003,[1] which featured performances of material from the studio album as well as Stewart's earlier material.
Richard Perry – arrangements (1), basic track arrangement (2)
Don Sebesky – orchestra arrangements and conductor (4, 8, 12), rhythm arrangements and conductor (4, 8, 12), arrangements and conductor (9), acoustic piano (9)
Doug Katsaros – rhythm arrangements (5), arrangements and conductor (6, 10, 14), acoustic piano (6)
Jeremy Lubbock – string arrangements and conductor (11), woodwind arrangements and conductor (11)
Producers – Richard Perry (Tracks 1, 2, 3, 7, 11 & 13); Phil Ramone (Tracks 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12 & 14).
Associate producers on track 1 – Tal Bergman and Renato Neto
Vocal production on track 11 – Phil Ramone
Executive producer – Clive Davis
A&R – Keith Naftaly
Production coordination on tracks 1, 2, 3, 7, 11 & 13 – Ben McCarthy
Music consultant on tracks 1, 2, 3, 7, 11 & 13 – Daphna Kaster
Production manager and music contractor on tracks 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12 & 14 – Jill Dell'Abate
Recording engineers – Mark Valentine (Track 1); Carter Humphrey (Tracks 2 & 3); Jeff "Woody" Woodruff (Tracks 2, 3, 7, 11 & 13); Frank Filipetti (Tracks 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12 & 14).
Additional engineering and Pro Tools technicians on tracks 1, 2, 3, 7, 11 & 13 – J.J. Blair, Brian Cook, Steve Deutsch, Alex Gibson, Bobby Ginsberg, Johnny Kubelka and Trent Slatton.
Additional engineering on tracks 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12 & 14 – Joel Moss, Freddy Pinero, Chris Steinmetz and Jeff "Woody" Woodruff.
Assistant engineers on tracks 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12 & 14 – Wade Childers, Brian Dixon, Andrew Felluss, Nick Howard, Timorhy Olmstead and Ryan Smith.
Pro Tools operation on tracks 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12 & 14 – Steve Deutsch, Andrew Felluss and Pete Karam.
Mix assistants on tracks 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12 & 14 – Andrew Felluss and Timorhy Olmstead
Tracks 1, 2, 3, 7, 11 & 13 mastered by Stephen Marcussen at Marcussen Mastering (Los Angeles, CA); Tracks 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12 & 14 mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound (New York, NY).
Special production support on tracks 1, 2, 3, 7, 11 & 13 – Lauren Wild
Additional production support on tracks 1, 2, 3, 7, 11 & 13 – Larry Emerine at Precision Lacquer (Los Angeles); Drew L. and Don Tyler at Quality CD Duplication (Los Angeles).
Creative director – Alli Truch
Art direction – Jeri Heiden for SMOG L.A.
Photography – Andrew MacPherson
Management – Annie Challis and Arnold Stiefel at Stiefel Entertainment.
^"Discos de Oro y Platino" (in Spanish). Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2017.