Andy Williams' Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (American album)

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Andy Williams' Greatest Hits Vol. 2 is a compilation album by American pop singer Andy Williams that was released in June 1973 by Columbia Records.[4] This collection follows in the footsteps of its predecessor, Andy Williams' Greatest Hits, in that it is not limited to his biggest and most recent hit singles, although his final two US Top 40 entries ("(Where Do I Begin) Love Story" and "Speak Softly Love (Love Theme from 'The Godfather')") were included.[5] It also has an album track not released as a single ("The Impossible Dream (The Quest)"), a couple of hits from his time with Cadence Records ("Lonely Street" and "The Village of St. Bernadette"), two other singles that could have been included on the first volume ("In the Arms of Love" and "Music to Watch Girls By"), and two Easy Listening chart entries that never made the Billboard Hot 100 ("Home Lovin' Man" and "Music from Across the Way").[5][6]

The front and back cover design for the LP (by Anne Garner and Norman Seeff) shows Williams as he is bursting through a wall-sized collage of black-and-white images from various periods of his career, mainly involving the Williams Brothers and his variety program. While the front cover does not show the one foot that it would seem he is standing on, the back cover depicts the front cover setpiece as seen from the reverse angle behind him and is shot so that neither foot is touching the floor, as if to suggest that Williams is literally flying through the wall.

The UK album of the same name had only three of its 12 tracks in common with those on this album and used a different cover photo and design.[7] That version entered the UK album chart 6 months before this album was released and reached number 23 over the course of 10 weeks.[8]

This US version made its first appearance on the Billboard Top LP's chart in the issue dated July 7, 1973, and remained there for five weeks, peaking at number 174.[9]

This album was released on compact disc for the first time by Columbia Records in 1989.[3] A Columbia 3-CD box set including this album along with the US versions of Andy Williams' Greatest Hits and his 1971 album Love Story was released on August 12, 1997.[10]

Track listing

  1. "(Where Do I Begin) Love Story" (Francis Lai, Carl Sigman) – 3:10
  2. "MacArthur Park" (Jimmy Webb) – 5:03
  3. "Music from Across the Way" (James Last, Carl Sigman) – 3:45
  4. "The Village of St. Bernadette" (Eula Parker) – 3:22
  5. "Music to Watch Girls By" (Sid Ramin, Tony Velona) – 2:38
    • Nick DeCaro - arranger, producer[14]
  6. "Speak Softly Love (Love Theme from 'The Godfather')" (Larry Kusik, Nino Rota) – 3:05
  7. "In the Arms of Love" (Ray Evans, Jay Livingston, Henry Mancini) – 2:56
    • Robert Mersey - arranger, conductor, producer[15]
  8. "The Impossible Dream (The Quest)" (Joe Darion, Mitch Leigh) – 2:39
    • Nick DeCaro - arranger, producer[16]
  9. "Lonely Street" (Carl Belew, Kenny Sowder, W.S. Stevenson) – 2:46
  10. "Home Lovin' Man" (Roger Cook, Roger Greenaway, Tony Macaulay) – 3:10
  11. "A Song for You" (Leon Russell) – 3:07

Recording dates

  • August 23, 1959 - "Lonely Street"[1]
  • November 19, 1959 - "The Village of St. Bernadette"[1]
  • June 23, 1966 - "In the Arms of Love"[2]
  • February 21, 1967 - "Music to Watch Girls By"[2]
  • August 29, 1970 - "Home Lovin' Man"[2]
  • December 17, 1970 - "(Where Do I Begin) Love Story"[2]
  • January 4, 1971 - "MacArthur Park"[2]
  • June 10, 1971 - "Music from Across the Way"[2]
  • July 7, 1971 - "A Song for You"[2]
  • February 18, 1972 & February 24, 1972 - "Speak Softly Love (Love Theme from The Godfather)"[2]

Billboard & UK chart positions

Song US debut Hot 100[5] Easy Listening[6] Hot R&B Sides[20] UK debut UK singles chart[21]
"Lonely Street" September 7, 1959 5 20
"The Village of St. Bernadette" December 14, 1959 7
"In the Arms of Love" July 30, 1966 49 1 September 24, 1966 33
"Music to Watch Girls By" March 25, 1967 34 2 May 6, 1967 33
"Home Lovin' Man" October 24, 1970 10 November 21, 1970 7
"(Where Do I Begin) Love Story" February 6, 1971 9 1 March 20, 1971 4
"A Song for You" August 21, 1971 82 29
"Music from Across the Way" January 29, 1972 30
"Speak Softly Love (Love Theme from 'The Godfather')" April 8, 1972 34 7 August 5, 1972 42
"MacArthur Park" August 5, 1972 102 26
"Home Lovin' Man" (reissue) November 4, 1972 27

Personnel

  • Archie Bleyer - arranger/conductor ("The Village of St. Bernadette"), conductor ("Lonely Street")
  • Artie Butler - arranger ("Home Lovin' Man", "MacArthur Park")
  • Al Capps - arranger ("Speak Softly Love (Love Theme from 'The Godfather')")
  • Nick DeCaro - arranger/producer ("The Impossible Dream", "Music to Watch Girls By")
  • Ernie Freeman - arranger ("Music from Across the Way", "A Song for You")
  • Anne Garner - design
  • Dick Glasser - producer (see track listing)
  • Carlyle Hall - arranger ("Lonely Street")
  • Dick Hazard - arranger ("(Where Do I Begin?) Love Story")
  • Robert Mersey - arranger/conductor/producer ("In the Arms of Love")
  • Norman Seeff - design, photography
  • Andy Williams - vocalist

Notes

  1. ^ a b c "The Cadence Era: "Canadian Sunset" brightens Andy's disk career". Billboard. 1967-11-11. p. AW-20.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i (2002) Album notes for The Complete Columbia Chart Singles Collection by Andy Williams [CD booklet]. New York: Sony Music.
  3. ^ a b c "Andy Williams' Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 - Andy Williams". allmusic.com. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  4. ^ a b "Billboard's Top Album Picks". Billboard. 1973-06-23. p. 76.
  5. ^ a b c Whitburn 2009, pp. 1059–1060.
  6. ^ a b Whitburn 2007, p. 295.
  7. ^ (1972) Andy Williams' Greatest Hits Vol. 2 by Andy Williams [album jacket]. London: CBS Records 65151.
  8. ^ "Andy Williams". Chart Stats. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  9. ^ Whitburn 2010, p. 844.
  10. ^ "Greatest Hits/ Greatest Hits, Vol. 2/Love Story". allmusic.com. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  11. ^ a b (1971) Love Story by Andy Williams [album jacket]. New York: Columbia Records KC 30497.
  12. ^ a b c d e f (1972) Love Theme from "The Godfather" by Andy Williams [album jacket]. New York: Columbia Records KC 31303.
  13. ^ (1960) The Village of St. Bernadette by Andy Williams [album jacket]. New York: Cadence Records CLP-25038.
  14. ^ (1967) Born Free by Andy Williams [album jacket]. New York: Columbia Records CS 9480.
  15. ^ (1966) In the Arms of Love by Andy Williams [album jacket]. New York: Columbia Records CS 9333.
  16. ^ (1968) Honey by Andy Williams [album jacket]. New York: Columbia Records CS 9662.
  17. ^ a b (1959) Lonely Street by Andy Williams [album jacket]. New York: Cadence Records CLP-25030.
  18. ^ a b (1972) Alone Again (Naturally) by Andy Williams [album jacket]. New York: Columbia Records KC 31625.
  19. ^ a b (1971) You've Got a Friend by Andy Williams [album jacket]. New York: Columbia Records KC 30797.
  20. ^ Whitburn 2004, p. 624.
  21. ^ "Andy Williams". Chart Stats. Retrieved 16 August 2011.

References

  • 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 0-89820-169-1
  • Whitburn, Joel (2009), Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 1955-2008, Record Research Inc., ISBN 0-89820-180-2
  • Whitburn, Joel (2010), Joel Whitburn Presents Top Pop Albums, Seventh Edition, Record Research Inc., ISBN 0-89820-183-7