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Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head (Andy Williams album)

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Allmusic[1]
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Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head is an album by American pop singer Andy Williams that was released in the spring of 1970 by Columbia Records.[1] Williams was less focused on covering recent hits on this project and instead selected several songs from the singer-songwriter genre. Billboard magazine opined that the album "may well be titled 'A Journey Through Life.' Through carefully selected songs it conveys a message of dreams, hopes, reality, frustrations and ultimate truth."[3]

The album made its first appearance on the Top LP's chart in the issue of Billboard magazine dated June 13, 1970, and remained on the album chart for 19 weeks, peaking at number 43.[4] For its release in the UK, the name of the album was changed to Can't Help Falling in Love, and the song selection and track order were slightly different.[5] It entered the UK album chart that same month, on June 20, and reached number seven over the course of 48 weeks.[6]

The song "Can't Help Falling in Love" was one of the two tracks from the UK version of the album that did not appear on the original release. As a non-album single in the US, it entered Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart in the issue dated February 28, 1970, and spent three weeks there, getting as high as number 88.[7] It also began a three-week run on the magazine's chart of the week's 40 most popular Easy Listening (or Adult Contemporary) songs in that issue, where it eventually made it to number 28.[8] The song debuted on the UK singles chart on March 14, 1970, and lasted there 17 weeks, four of which were spent at number three.[9] The other song that was on the UK album but not the original was "It's So Easy", which entered the UK singles chart on August 1 of that year and peaked at number 13 over the course of 14 weeks.[10]

The track from Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head that was left off of the Can't Help Falling in Love album in the UK was a new recording of "Sweet Memories", a song that Williams originally recorded in March 1968 with Nick DeCaro producing and arranging.[11] That version was released as a non-album single on April 30, 1968, and reached number 75 pop and number four Easy Listening.[7][8]

Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head was released on compact disc for the first time as one of two albums on one CD by Collectables Records on January 22, 2002, the other album being Williams's Columbia release from the fall of 1969, Get Together with Andy Williams.[12] Collectables included this CD in a box set entitled Classic Album Collection, Vol. 2, which contains 15 of his studio albums and two compilations and was released on November 29, 2002.[13]

Liner notes[2]

"About a year ago, I received a call from Mason Williams, excited about an idea he had for Andy. He asked me if I would like to produce this album with him. The concept was to give Andy's fans one complete side of continuous music, without any interruptions, and make it mean something. To me this medley represents a living story of life, which has been led by millions of people. Starting with "Little Boy" and "If Wishes Were Horses", right to the end with "Both Sides Now". The other side of the album is equally satisfying with such songs as "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head", "Bridge over Troubled Water", and "Sweet Memories". All in all this album has been a lot of work and fun. I have worked with a lot of artists, but this has been a personal experience which I am pleased to be a part of as a producer." -- Dick Glasser

"I worked in commercial television for about three years, mostly on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, but I also did two TV specials for Andy. One of the standard forms of TV writing is the medley. In television the medley is usually those parts of popular songs most identifiable to the public, strung together in a musical collage with some kind of theme or storyline connecting them. I always thought it would be a nice experiment, rather than take the most popular parts of songs, to take good parts of good songs (not necessarily popular) and string them together to have a good theme or storyline instead of just a familiar one. It's a slightly different use of the TV medley concept applied to recording. I did this when I was interested in interpolating the forms of one medium into the forms of another. I think it worked out fine for Andy." -- Mason Williams

Reception

Billboard described the album as "a pretty work of art, skillfully created by Andy Williams."[3]

Track listing

North American release

Side one
  1. "Long Time Blues" (Mason Williams) – 3:06
  2. "It's Over" (Jimmie Rodgers) – 2:43
  3. "Sweet Memories" (Mickey Newbury) – 3:06
  4. "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Burt Bacharach, Hal David) – 3:11
  5. "Bridge over Troubled Water" (Paul Simon) – 4:57
Side two
  1. "Little Boy/If Wishes Were Horses" (Mike Settle) – 2:18
  2. Medley – 3:52
    a. "Today" (John Hartford)
    b. "Today" from Advance to the Rear (Randy Sparks)
  3. "Reason to Believe" (Tim Hardin) – 2:58
  4. "Simple Thing As Love" (Hartford) – 2:44
  5. "Both Sides Now" (Joni Mitchell) – 3:43

UK release

Side one
  1. "Bridge over Troubled Water" (Simon) – 4:57
  2. "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Bacharach, David) – 3:11
  3. "Can't Help Falling in Love" (George Weiss, Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore) – 3:15
  4. "It's Over" (Rodgers) – 2:43
  5. "It's So Easy" (Dor Lee, Dave Watkins) – 2:29
  6. "Long Time Blues" (Williams) – 3:06
Side two
  1. "Little Boy/If Wishes Were Horses" (Settle) – 2:18
  2. Medley – 3:52
    a. "Today" (Hartford)
    b. "Today" from Advance to the Rear (Sparks)
  3. "Reason to Believe" (Hardin) – 2:58
  4. "Simple Thing As Love" (Hartford) – 2:44
  5. "Both Sides Now" (Mitchell) – 3:43

Recording dates

North American release

In his review of Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head on AllMusic.com, William Ruhlmann notes that the "LP's catalog number is out of sequence with his other releases, and it may well be that an earlier version was pulled back, since hits like the title track and 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' appear to have been added at the last minute and the recording sessions stretch across more than a year."[1]

UK release (additional tracks)

Song information

"Long Time Blues" was recorded by The Kingston Trio for their 1965 album Somethin' Else,[15] Glenn Yarbrough for his 1965 album Baby the Rain Must Fall,[16] and Mason Williams for his 1968 album The Mason Williams Phonograph Record.[17] Jimmie Rodgers reached number 37 on the Billboard Hot 100[18] and number five on the Easy Listening chart[19] with "It's Over", while Eddy Arnold took the song to number 15 Easy Listening,[20] number 74 pop,[21] and number four Country.[22] Dottie West and Don Gibson peaked at number 32 Country with "Sweet Memories".[23]

"Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" by B. J. Thomas spent four weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100[24] and seven weeks in the top spot on the Easy Listening chart,[25] reached number 38 UK,[26] received Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America[27] and earned songwriters Burt Bacharach and Hal David Academy Awards in the Best Original Song category.[28]Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge over Troubled Water" spent six weeks at number one on the pop chart,[29] six weeks at number one Easy Listening,[30] and three weeks at number one UK,[31] received Gold certification,[32] and brought in Grammy Awards for songwriter Paul Simon in the Song of the Year and Best Contemporary Song categories and for both Simon and Art Garfunkel for Record of the Year and Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s).[33]

"Little Boy" appears on the 1962 album by The Kingston Trio entitled Something Special.[34] The First Edition recorded "If Wishes Were Horses" for their 1967 self-titled debut album.[35] The "Today Medley" is made up of two songs named "Today", the first of which can be found on singer/songwriter John Hartford's 1967 album Looks at Life.[36] The other "Today" comes from the 1964 film Advance to the Rear, where it was performed by The New Christy Minstrels.[37] Their recording of the song reached number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100[38] and number four Easy Listening.[39]

"Reason to Believe" comes from songwriter Tim Hardin's 1966 debut album, Tim Hardin 1.[40] "Simple Thing As Love" originally appeared on songwriter John Hartford's 1968 release, The Love Album.[41] Judy Collins peaked at number eight pop,[42] number three Easy Listening,[43] and number 14 UK[44] with "Both Sides Now", which also earned her a Grammy for Best Folk Performance.[45] Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love" enjoyed one week at number two on the Hot 100,[46] six weeks at number one Easy Listening,[47] and another four weeks in the top spot in the UK[48] in addition to earning Gold certification before Williams made his recording.[49]

Personnel[2]

  • Andy Williams - vocals
  • Dick Glasser - producer
  • Mason Williams - side two concept ("Little Boy/If Wishes Were Horses", "Today Medley", "Reason to Believe", "Simple Thing As Love", "Both Sides Now": conceived by Mason Williams)
  • Al Capps - arranger, conductor
  • Peter Romano - engineer
  • Rafael O. Valentin - engineer
  • Keats Tyler - front and back cover photos
  • Peter James Samerjan - inside photo

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head - Andy Williams". allmusic.com. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 21 October 2010.
  2. ^ a b c (1970) Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head by Andy Williams [album jacket]. New York: Columbia Records CS 9896.
  3. ^ a b c "Album Reviews". Billboard. 1970-06-06. p. 66.
  4. ^ Whitburn 2010, p. 844.
  5. ^ "Can't Help Falling in Love by Andy Williams". rateyourmusic.com. Retrieved 21 October 2010.
  6. ^ "Andy Williams". Chart Stats. Retrieved 21 October 2010.
  7. ^ a b Whitburn 1999, p. 702.
  8. ^ a b Whitburn 1993, p. 256.
  9. ^ "Andy Williams - Can't Help Falling in Love". Chart Stats. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
  10. ^ "Andy Williams - It's So Easy". Chart Stats. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
  11. ^ a b (2002) Album notes for The Complete Columbia Chart Singles Collection by Andy Williams, [CD booklet]. New York: Sony Music.
  12. ^ "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head/Get Together with Andy Williams". allmusic.com. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
  13. ^ "Classic Album Collection, Vol. 2". allmusic.com. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
  14. ^ (2002) Album notes for Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head/Get Together with Andy Williams by Andy Williams, [CD booklet]. New York: Sony Music.
  15. ^ "Somethin' Else - The Kingston Trio". allmusic.com. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
  16. ^ "Baby the Rain Must Fall - Glenn Yarbrough". allmusic.com. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
  17. ^ "The Mason Williams Phonograph Record". allmusic.com. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
  18. ^ Whitburn 1999, p. 548.
  19. ^ Whitburn 1993, p. 202.
  20. ^ Whitburn 1993, p. 19.
  21. ^ Whitburn 1999, p. 22.
  22. ^ Whitburn 2002, p. 16.
  23. ^ Whitburn 2002, p. 382.
  24. ^ Whitburn 1999, p. 648.
  25. ^ Whitburn 1993, p. 239.
  26. ^ "BJ Thomas - Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head". Chart Stats. Archived from the original on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
  27. ^ RIAA Gold and Platinum Search for titles "Raindrops",
  28. ^ Wiley 1996, p. 1102.
  29. ^ Whitburn 1999, p. 589.
  30. ^ Whitburn 1993, p. 219.
  31. ^ "Simon and Garfunkel - Bridge over Troubled Water". Chart Stats. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  32. ^ RIAA Gold and Platinum Search for titles "Bridge over Troubled Water"
  33. ^ O'Neil 1999, pp. 168–169, 172.
  34. ^ "Something Special/Back in Town". allmusic.com. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  35. ^ "The First Edition - The First Edition". allmusic.com. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  36. ^ "Looks at Life - John Hartford". allmusic.com. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  37. ^ "Advance to the Rear (1964) - Soundtracks". imdb.com. Amazon.com. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  38. ^ Whitburn 1999, p. 461.
  39. ^ Whitburn 1993, p. 173.
  40. ^ "Tim Hardin 1 - Tim Hardin". allmusic.com. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 28 October 2010.
  41. ^ "Love Album/Housing Project - John Hartford". allmusic.com. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 28 October 2010.
  42. ^ Whitburn 1999, p. 133.
  43. ^ Whitburn 1993, p. 55.
  44. ^ "Judy Collins - Both Sides Now". Chart Stats. Archived from the original on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2010.
  45. ^ O'Neil 1999, p. 146.
  46. ^ Whitburn 1999, p. 511.
  47. ^ Whitburn 1993, p. 191.
  48. ^ "Elvis Presley - Can't Help Falling in Love/Rock-A-Hula Baby". Chart Stats. Archived from the original on 25 May 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2010.
  49. ^ RIAA Gold and Platinum Search for titles "Help Falling"

Bibliography

  • Whitburn, Joel (1993), Joel Whitburn's Top Adult Contemporary, 1961-1993, Record Research Inc., ISBN 0-89820-099-7
  • Whitburn, Joel (1999), Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 1955-1999, Record Research Inc., ISBN 0-89820-140-3
  • Whitburn, Joel (2010), Joel Whitburn Presents Top Pop Albums, Seventh Edition, Record Research Inc., ISBN 0-89820-183-7
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