Post by zimmerman on Apr 2, 2013 15:27:15 GMT -8
Available for purchase today at retailers like Amazon.com and specialty music stores and catalog outlets like Heartland and Collectors Choice Music are two CDs consisting of the complete recorded output of Margaret Whiting on the London Records label from 1966 to 1970, consisting of her three albums, Maggie Isn't Margaret Anymore, Pop Country, and The Wheel of Hurt. The first two are released on one CD with three unrelased bonus tracks, while the latter adds thirteen non-LP single bonus tracks to the mix. The CDs also include photos from the Whiting family estate and liner notes by the author of Jazz Singing and Sinatra! The Song Is You, Will Friedwald.
When Margaret Whiting signed with London Records in 1966, pop music was in the height of the British Invasion, with the Beatles and Maggie's new labelmate The Rolling Stones setting the pop music charts ablaze with their groundbreaking music. It seemed like an unusual musical fit for the daughter of Tin Pan Alley songwriter Richard Whiting, but in the end, it turned out to be a good investment for her career, as it brought her back onto the pop music charts in a big way.
Before she went into semi-retirement, Margaret had released a number of non-charting singles and albums on labels like Dot and Verve. When she signed with London, she was assigned to up-and-coming producer Jack Gold, then getting his feet wet in production producing Bobby Goldsboro over at United Artists, and a new arranger by the name of Arnold Goland. Right from the first drumbeat, the team of Whiting, Gold, and Goland scored right out of the box with their first hit, "The Wheel of Hurt", written by Charles Singleton and Eddie Snyder, and becoming her first top forty hit in several years. It also gave her a #1 hit on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Chart.
While "Wheel of Hurt" was kind of in a country direction, it was the singles flip side, "Nothing Lasts Forever" written by Gary Geld and Peter Udell, that really showed off the prowess and potential that this trio would be creating musically for the next few years. Lovely, strings, rhythm and eletric guitar with the occasional burst of horns accompany Margaret's tender vocals as she reassures anyone who has loved and lost not to give up, and the sun will shine again.
Both of those sides appeared on Margaret's first album for the label, The Wheel of Hurt, which also included Maggie's take on such modern classics as "Winchester Cathedral", "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me" and new songs such as "It Hurts To Say Goodbye", written by Gold and Goland, and "You Won't Be Sorry Baby", written by Helen Miller and Roger Atkins and originally recorded by Anne-Marie on MGM in 1966.
That album also included liner notes written by Ed Sullivan and the country-tinged "Where Do I Stand", which later appeared as the flip side of her next big single, a cover version of Gene Pitney's #2 in the fall of 1962 smash, "Only Love Can Break A Heart". That hit led off Margaret's second album released in 1967, Maggie's Isn't Margaret Anymore, one of Maggie's finest albums, including great versions of the Dave Clark Five's "Because", "This Is My Song", a go-go-tinged update of mentor Johnny Mercer's "I Remember You", plus some stunning new songs like the Gold and Goland penned torch ballad "By Now" and the Les Reed and Barry Mason-penned "Just Like A Man" which really took Margaret to new musical territory. This song was also released as a single, wherein it peaked at #132 on the Billboard charts on March 4, 1967.
Her next single, "I Almost Called Your Name", peaked at #108 on Billboard's "Bubbling Under" chart on November 25 1967, written by the composer team behind one of Connie Francis' last charting hits, "The Wedding Cake", and was very Country-tinged in nature. But it was the singles flip side, "Let's Pretend", written by Paul Evans and Paul Parnes, that became a real musical tour-de-force to be reckoned with and surpassed the pop-country nature of the hit side, taking Margaret into exciting musical territory. "Almost Called appeared on Margaret's last London album, Pop Country, released in 1968, and has Margaret's version of such pop-country crossover smashes such as "Release Me", "Gentle On My Mind", "You Don't Know Me" , and a stunning new song, "Am I Losing You", which appeared on the flip side of her next smash hit, "Faithfully", peaking at #117 on Billboard's Bubbling Under the Hot 100 Chart on May 25. 1968.
The follow-up single, her amazing version of Paul Anka's "Can't Get You Out of My Mind", is an amazing musical tour-de-force. Jack Gold had left to produce Ray Conniff and Percy Faith over at Columbia, leaving Arnold Goland in charge of arranging, conducting, and producing Maggie's records similar to what Robert Mersey did over at Columbia with Andy Williams and Anita Bryant. Tangy harpshichord and a chanty monk-sounding group of background vocalists accompany Margaret and the rhythm section, as it managed to become the last London hit of hers to "Bubble Under The Hot 100.", peaking at #124 on the Billboard Charts in early October of 1968. The qausi-baroque-meets 1960's pop superbly accompanies Margaret's tender reading of Paul Anka's lyrics of unrequited love. Even though the man she loves is out of her life, she can't stop thinking about him. He is in her heart, and in her dreams, and she still loves him a lot.
While "Can't Get You Out of My Mind" was still very much musically in the pocket of what Margaret was already creating over at London (and turned out to be a superb selection to boot) , the singles flip side, "Maybe Just One More", successfully merged Maggie's sophisticated pop style with her new sound, which hopefully gave both her old and new fans she acquired with "The Wheel of Hurt" the best of both musical worlds. The piano is front and center as the '60's go-go-tinged traditional pop swirls around Margaret as she sings about not wanting the amazing evening she is having with her man to end, but she has to leave at dawn, so she compromises just a tad by giving her man one more kiss "for the road....but then I gotta go." The brass, piano, and the beat all play a prominent part in this outstanding Margaret Whiting selection.
The remaining two years of her London contract were spent being a singles artist, and she kicked off 1969 with a bang with a great uptempo slice of late-1960's traditional pop along the lines of the Clive Davis-inspired Columbia cover albums of Andy Williams, Robert Goulet, Jerry Vale, and Jim Nabors with "Love's the Only Answer." With a beat similar to what Peggy Lee was creating over at Capitol with with the likes of Mike Melvoin, Mundell Lowe, and producer Phil Wright, Maggie gets into a cookin' groove with this particular selection, as she boldly and excitedly sings about love being the answer "to the problems that we face" and "for Saving the human race." Very strong brass, heavy on the trumpets and the bass saxophones, accompany Maggie's very strong lead vocals.
After two more singles, "Theme From Z" and "Until It's Time For You To Go", Maggie completed her London contract and went back to sophisticated musical territory for the remainder of her career. Now you can go back and recall the brief moment when Margaret Whiting created music on the same level as Dean Martin's Reprise Recordings.
When Margaret Whiting signed with London Records in 1966, pop music was in the height of the British Invasion, with the Beatles and Maggie's new labelmate The Rolling Stones setting the pop music charts ablaze with their groundbreaking music. It seemed like an unusual musical fit for the daughter of Tin Pan Alley songwriter Richard Whiting, but in the end, it turned out to be a good investment for her career, as it brought her back onto the pop music charts in a big way.
Before she went into semi-retirement, Margaret had released a number of non-charting singles and albums on labels like Dot and Verve. When she signed with London, she was assigned to up-and-coming producer Jack Gold, then getting his feet wet in production producing Bobby Goldsboro over at United Artists, and a new arranger by the name of Arnold Goland. Right from the first drumbeat, the team of Whiting, Gold, and Goland scored right out of the box with their first hit, "The Wheel of Hurt", written by Charles Singleton and Eddie Snyder, and becoming her first top forty hit in several years. It also gave her a #1 hit on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Chart.
While "Wheel of Hurt" was kind of in a country direction, it was the singles flip side, "Nothing Lasts Forever" written by Gary Geld and Peter Udell, that really showed off the prowess and potential that this trio would be creating musically for the next few years. Lovely, strings, rhythm and eletric guitar with the occasional burst of horns accompany Margaret's tender vocals as she reassures anyone who has loved and lost not to give up, and the sun will shine again.
Both of those sides appeared on Margaret's first album for the label, The Wheel of Hurt, which also included Maggie's take on such modern classics as "Winchester Cathedral", "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me" and new songs such as "It Hurts To Say Goodbye", written by Gold and Goland, and "You Won't Be Sorry Baby", written by Helen Miller and Roger Atkins and originally recorded by Anne-Marie on MGM in 1966.
That album also included liner notes written by Ed Sullivan and the country-tinged "Where Do I Stand", which later appeared as the flip side of her next big single, a cover version of Gene Pitney's #2 in the fall of 1962 smash, "Only Love Can Break A Heart". That hit led off Margaret's second album released in 1967, Maggie's Isn't Margaret Anymore, one of Maggie's finest albums, including great versions of the Dave Clark Five's "Because", "This Is My Song", a go-go-tinged update of mentor Johnny Mercer's "I Remember You", plus some stunning new songs like the Gold and Goland penned torch ballad "By Now" and the Les Reed and Barry Mason-penned "Just Like A Man" which really took Margaret to new musical territory. This song was also released as a single, wherein it peaked at #132 on the Billboard charts on March 4, 1967.
Her next single, "I Almost Called Your Name", peaked at #108 on Billboard's "Bubbling Under" chart on November 25 1967, written by the composer team behind one of Connie Francis' last charting hits, "The Wedding Cake", and was very Country-tinged in nature. But it was the singles flip side, "Let's Pretend", written by Paul Evans and Paul Parnes, that became a real musical tour-de-force to be reckoned with and surpassed the pop-country nature of the hit side, taking Margaret into exciting musical territory. "Almost Called appeared on Margaret's last London album, Pop Country, released in 1968, and has Margaret's version of such pop-country crossover smashes such as "Release Me", "Gentle On My Mind", "You Don't Know Me" , and a stunning new song, "Am I Losing You", which appeared on the flip side of her next smash hit, "Faithfully", peaking at #117 on Billboard's Bubbling Under the Hot 100 Chart on May 25. 1968.
The follow-up single, her amazing version of Paul Anka's "Can't Get You Out of My Mind", is an amazing musical tour-de-force. Jack Gold had left to produce Ray Conniff and Percy Faith over at Columbia, leaving Arnold Goland in charge of arranging, conducting, and producing Maggie's records similar to what Robert Mersey did over at Columbia with Andy Williams and Anita Bryant. Tangy harpshichord and a chanty monk-sounding group of background vocalists accompany Margaret and the rhythm section, as it managed to become the last London hit of hers to "Bubble Under The Hot 100.", peaking at #124 on the Billboard Charts in early October of 1968. The qausi-baroque-meets 1960's pop superbly accompanies Margaret's tender reading of Paul Anka's lyrics of unrequited love. Even though the man she loves is out of her life, she can't stop thinking about him. He is in her heart, and in her dreams, and she still loves him a lot.
While "Can't Get You Out of My Mind" was still very much musically in the pocket of what Margaret was already creating over at London (and turned out to be a superb selection to boot) , the singles flip side, "Maybe Just One More", successfully merged Maggie's sophisticated pop style with her new sound, which hopefully gave both her old and new fans she acquired with "The Wheel of Hurt" the best of both musical worlds. The piano is front and center as the '60's go-go-tinged traditional pop swirls around Margaret as she sings about not wanting the amazing evening she is having with her man to end, but she has to leave at dawn, so she compromises just a tad by giving her man one more kiss "for the road....but then I gotta go." The brass, piano, and the beat all play a prominent part in this outstanding Margaret Whiting selection.
The remaining two years of her London contract were spent being a singles artist, and she kicked off 1969 with a bang with a great uptempo slice of late-1960's traditional pop along the lines of the Clive Davis-inspired Columbia cover albums of Andy Williams, Robert Goulet, Jerry Vale, and Jim Nabors with "Love's the Only Answer." With a beat similar to what Peggy Lee was creating over at Capitol with with the likes of Mike Melvoin, Mundell Lowe, and producer Phil Wright, Maggie gets into a cookin' groove with this particular selection, as she boldly and excitedly sings about love being the answer "to the problems that we face" and "for Saving the human race." Very strong brass, heavy on the trumpets and the bass saxophones, accompany Maggie's very strong lead vocals.
After two more singles, "Theme From Z" and "Until It's Time For You To Go", Maggie completed her London contract and went back to sophisticated musical territory for the remainder of her career. Now you can go back and recall the brief moment when Margaret Whiting created music on the same level as Dean Martin's Reprise Recordings.
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