Harman Patil (Editor)

The Great Years

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Released
  
1964

Length
  
79:00

Artist
  
Johnny Mathis

Genre
  
Pop music

Recorded
  
1956–1963

The Great Years (1964)
  
This Is Love (1964)

Release date
  
1964

The Great Years httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediaenthumb8

Label
  
exclusiv for streaming partners

Producers
  
George Avakian, Frank De Vol, Al Ham, Mitch Miller, Irving Townsend

Similar
  
Johnny Mathis albums, Pop music albums

The Great Years is a compilation album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released by Columbia Records in July 1964. Billboard magazine described the two-LP set, which included chart hits and album tracks, as "the best of Mathis".

Contents

The album made its first appearance on Billboard's Top LP's chart the following month, in the issue dated August 1, and peaked at number 88 over the course of 10 weeks.

Reception

Billboard opined that "Mathis fans should scream with delight upon discovering this 2-LP package."

Side one

  1. "Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words)" (Bart Howard) – 3:54
  2. recorded on 4/6/56 for his debut album, Johnny Mathis
  3. "Street of Dreams" (Victor Young, Sam M. Lewis) – 2:17
  4. rec. 3/14/56 for Johnny Mathis
  5. "Wonderful! Wonderful!" (Sherman Edwards, Ben Raleigh) – 2:50
  6. rec. 9/20/56, released on 11/5/56; Most Played by Jockeys: #14
  7. "It's Not for Me to Say" from Lizzie (Robert Allen, Al Stillman) – 3:05
  8. rec. 9/20/56, rel. 2/25/57; Most Played by Jockeys: #5
  9. "Chances Are" (Robert Allen, Al Stillman) – 3:03
  10. rec. 6/16/57, rel. 8/12/57; Most Played by Jockeys: #1 (1 week)
  11. "The Twelfth of Never" (Jerry Livingston, Paul Francis Webster) – 2:28
  12. rec. 6/16/57, rel. 8/12/57; B-side of "Chances Are"; Most Played by Jockeys: #9
Personnel
  • George Avakian – producer (tracks 1, 2)
  • Al Ham – producer (tracks 3–6)
  • Mitch Miller – producer (tracks 3–6)
  • A The labels on the singles of these tracks did not provide producer credits, but some CD compilations have. While all of these compilations acknowledge Mitch Miller as a producer on the tracks noted, the ones that credit Al Ham as an additional producer on certain songs disagree on which ones those are. The 2006 collection Gold: A 50th Anniversary Celebration only recognizes Ham as producer on "Wonderful! Wonderful!" and "It's Not for Me to Say" but the 2004 collection The Essential Johnny Mathis also credits him in this capacity on "Chances Are" and "The Twelfth of Never".

    • Side two

    1. "A Certain Smile" from A Certain Smile (Sammy Fain, Paul Francis Webster) – 2:47
    2. rec. 5/12/58, rel. 6/2/58; Billboard Hot 100: #14
    3. "Deep River" (traditional) – 2:51
    4. rec. 1/3/58 for his album Good Night, Dear Lord
    5. "Can't Get Out of This Mood" from Seven Days' Leave (Frank Loesser, Jimmy McHugh) – 3:08
    6. rec. 1958 for his album Swing Softly
    7. "Misty" (Johnny Burke, Erroll Garner) – 3:34
    8. rec. 4/21/59 for his album Heavenly; single rel. 9/59; Billboard Hot 100: #12
    9. "Small World" from Gypsy (Stephen Sondheim, Jule Styne) – 3:18
    10. rec. 4/29/59, rel. 5/25/59; Billboard Hot 100: #20
    11. "When I Fall in Love" (Edward Heyman, Victor Young) – 4:31
    12. rec. 1958 for his 1959 album Open Fire, Two Guitars
    Personnel
  • Al Ham – producer (tracks 1, 4, 5)
  • Mitch Miller – producer (tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 6)

    • Side three

    1. "Maria" from West Side Story (Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim) – 3:48
    2. rec. 11/6/59 for his album Faithfully; single rel. 5/60; Billboard Hot 100: #78; single rel. 11/61; Billboard Hot 100: #88
    3. "Tonight" from West Side Story (Bernstein, Sondheim) – 3:12
    4. rec. 11/6/59 for his album Faithfully
    5. "How to Handle a Woman" from Camelot (Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe) – 3:02
    6. rec. 10/27/60, rel. 11/7/60; Billboard Hot 100: #64
    7. "Stairway to the Stars" (Matty Malneck, Mitchell Parish, Frank Signorelli) – 4:51
    8. rec. 2/7/61 for his album I'll Buy You A Star
    9. "Love Look Away" from Flower Drum Song (Oscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers) – 3:28
    10. rec. 2/7/61 for his album I'll Buy You A Star
    11. "Sweet Thursday" (Jerry Livingston, Paul Francis Webster) – 2:30
    12. rec. 10/9/61, rel. 12/29/61; Billboard Hot 100: #99
    Personnel
  • Mitch Miller – producer (tracks 1–2, 3)
  • Irving Townsend – producer (tracks 4–5, 6)

    • Side four

    1. "Stella by Starlight" (Ned Washington, Victor Young) – 3:33
    2. rec. 1962 for his album Rapture
    3. "Unaccustomed As I Am" (Ray Ellis, Al Stillman) – 2:55
    4. rec. 3/4/61, rel. 4/27/62; non-charting B-side
    5. "Gina" (Leon Carr, Paul Vance) – 2:46
    6. rec. 8/9/62, rel. 9/7/62; Billboard Hot 100: #6, Easy Listening: #2
    7. "What Will Mary Say" (Eddie Snyder, Paul Vance) – 3:09
    8. rec. 8/9/62, rel. 1/4/63; Billboard Hot 100: #9 Easy Listening: #3
    9. "Every Step of the Way" (Robert Allen, Al Stillman) – 3:21
    10. rec. 5/31/60, rel. 5/7/63; Billboard Hot 100: #30 Easy Listening: #10
    11. "September Song" from Knickerbocker Holiday (Maxwell Anderson, Kurt Weill) – 4:07
    12. rec. 1963 for his album Romantically
    Personnel
  • Ernie Altschuler – producer (tracks 1, 3–4, 6)
  • Frank DeVol – producer (track 2)
  • Mitch Miller – producer (track 5)

    • Personnel

  • Johnny Mathis – vocals
  • Don Hunstein – cover photo

    • Songs

    1Fly Me to the Moon3:54
    2Street of Dreams2:17
    3Wonderful! - Wonderful!2:51

    References

    The Great Years Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA