Olé | ||||
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Studio album by Johnny Mathis | ||||
Released | November 1964 | |||
Recorded | March 30, 1964 April 2, 1964 April 9, 1964 |
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Genre | Vocal | |||
Length | 32:49 | |||
Label | Mercury | |||
Producer | Johnny Mathis | |||
Johnny Mathis chronology | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Billboard | positive |
Olé is a Latin American album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released by Mercury Records in November 1964 and includes Spanish-language versions of English-language chart hits by Frank Sinatra ("Granada") and Sarah Vaughan ("Serenata") as well as the signature song of the I Love Lucy character Ricky Ricardo that was played by Desi Arnaz ("Babalu").
This album was Mathis's first non-holiday release since his 1956 debut that didn't make an appearance on Billboard magazine's Top LP's chart.
Olé was released for the first time on compact disc on November 16, 2012, as one of two albums on one CD, the other album being the previous Mathis LP, This Is Love. Both were also included in Sony's Mathis box set The Complete Global Albums Collection, which was released on November 17, 2014.
Mathis described his degree of interest in this project in the liner notes on the back cover of the original album. "'I love everything about Latin American music: the rhythms, the melodies, the sentiment and the passion. There is no music I would rather listen to – no music I would rather sing.'" In an interview for the 2012 CD release, he recalled this intensity. "'All my enthusiasm came out on this particular album.'"
The interview elicited many anecdotes regarding the selections for this album, including the two songs that originated in Orfeu Negro (Black Orpheus), "Manhã de Carnaval (Morning of the Carnival)" and "Samba de Orfeu". "'I remember I got so excited when a friend of mine took me to see Black Orpheus, whose music was written by Luiz Bonfá. His music just blew me away, and I tried to repeat that wonderful opening with the drums going and the voice over the top. Allyn [Ferguson] did the arrangement, and he just mostly transcribed what we heard on the soundtrack.'" Mathis also recalls a bit of Ferguson's personality in the studio. "'The children on the songs were some of Allyn's children and some from a little grammar school in the [San Fernando] Valley. And Allyn was a tyrant with those kids. They were scared to death of him. But those songs just stay with you forever.'"