Lonely Street (album)
| Lonely Street | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Studio album by Andy Williams | ||||
| Released | 1959 | |||
| Recorded | August 23, 1959 October 15, 1959 October 19, 1959 October 30, 1959 |
|||
| Genre | Early pop/rock Traditional pop Vocal pop Standards |
|||
| Length | 31:43 | |||
| Label | Cadence Records | |||
| Andy Williams chronology | ||||
|
||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| Billboard | |
Lonely Street is an album by American pop singer Andy Williams that was released in late 1959 by Cadence Records. This, his fifth LP of new material for the label, is described by William Ruhlmann on AllMusic.com as "an album full of songs of lost love and loneliness that found Williams using more of the Mel Tormé-like foggy lower register of his voice." The liner notes on the back of the album jacket read, "The selections in Lonely Street, Andy confides, are those for which he feels a special affection. Every vocalist has a few personal favorites... and it is quite clear to the listener that this collection presents songs which Andy Williams believes, feels -- and loves."
Cadence Records founder Archie Bleyer describes the album's title track as a "song from Nashville, which I first heard at the Everly Brothers' home on one of my trips to that city." He later conducted Williams's recording of "Lonely Street" on August 23, 1959, and the song was released as a single with another song recorded at that session, "Summer Love", as its B-side. The A-side entered the Hot 100 in Billboard magazine in the issue dated September 7 of that year and stayed on the chart for 16 weeks, peaking at number five. In the October 26 issue it debuted on the magazine's list of 30 Hot R&B Sides, where it lasted for four weeks and reached number 20.
Once Williams had a hit with "Lonely Street", Ruhlmann suggests that, "in forming an album to exploit its success, he looked to the thematic ballad LPs of Frank Sinatra, such as Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely and In the Wee Small Hours." The liner notes for the original release provide a bit more insight as to how the album came about. "Conceived during a New Orleans engagement late in 1959, the set was molded with the help of Andy's pianist, Dave Grusin, and his guitarist John Abate." Ruhlmann concludes that Williams "didn't have the truly doom-laden style of Sinatra, but he held his own on material not really suited to his usual persona."Lonely Street reached the Top LP's chart in Billboard magazine (a first for Williams) as of the issue dated January 25, 1960, and remained there for four weeks, peaking at number 38 on a list that had 40 positions at the time.
...
Wikipedia