Let There Be Love (Joni James 1956 album)
Encyclopedia
Let There Be Love was Joni James
's first album
, recorded in 1953 and released by MGM Records
at the end of the year. It was released in a four-disc 10-inch 78-rpm record box, in both a two-disc 7-inch 45-rpm extended-play foldout album and a four-disc 45-rpm regular-play box and on a 10-inch 33⅓-rpm album. The serial number, 222, coincidentally included James's lucky number, "22," which appeared in many of her record serial numbers all over the world. The album is the first to present its songs as a book in music, opening with "Let There Be Love" and closing with "I'll Be Seeing You", with the songs telling a story start to finish. The memorable cover was done at M-G-M Pictures Studios
in Culver City by artist Russ Gale. From the album a single of "Let There Be Love" and "You're Nearer" was shipped to radio stations. Then, by public demand, a single of "You're My Everything" and "You're Nearer" was released. This album offered Joni's second recording of "Let There Be Love," which had been released in an earlier version in 1952 as her first single on Sharp Records in Chicago, then going to M-G-M Records for further distribution. Both recordings were arranged and conducted by Lew Douglas. Let There Be Love went to the top of the album charts and was the sixth-best-selling album of 1953. In 1956 the album was reissued as a 12-inch L.P. and in three single EPs; there was no EP set including the entire album. For this release, four Joni James singles were added, but one of them had never been released. That was "I Need You Now," which was to have followed the hit "My Love, My Love" but was canceled when Eddie Fisher
came out with a version recorded several weeks after Joni's. M-G-M had expected Joni's original version to go straight to #1. For the new album the first four songs and second four songs were switched to get "You're My Everything" in the outside groove of the L.P. to facilitate disc jockey play. So, for 50 years, the story the album tells has been garbled. In 1961 the album got new cover art, a new serial number (E3931), and an electronically simulated stereo release. Released again on compact disk with yet more bonus tracks, the album is in its fifth decade as a best seller. Joni James hopes for yet another release which will restore the original song order. Significantly, for her last M-G-M album, Bossa Nova Style, Joni included new recordings of several songs from Let There Be Love, including a new single of "You're Nearer." That album was arranged by Lew Douglas's protege Chuck Sagle.
Joni James
Joni James is an American singer of traditional pop music and jazz standards.-Biography:...
's first album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, recorded in 1953 and released by MGM Records
MGM Records
MGM Records was a record label started by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946, for the purpose of releasing soundtrack albums of their musical films. Later it became a pop label, lasting into the 1970s...
at the end of the year. It was released in a four-disc 10-inch 78-rpm record box, in both a two-disc 7-inch 45-rpm extended-play foldout album and a four-disc 45-rpm regular-play box and on a 10-inch 33⅓-rpm album. The serial number, 222, coincidentally included James's lucky number, "22," which appeared in many of her record serial numbers all over the world. The album is the first to present its songs as a book in music, opening with "Let There Be Love" and closing with "I'll Be Seeing You", with the songs telling a story start to finish. The memorable cover was done at M-G-M Pictures Studios
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
in Culver City by artist Russ Gale. From the album a single of "Let There Be Love" and "You're Nearer" was shipped to radio stations. Then, by public demand, a single of "You're My Everything" and "You're Nearer" was released. This album offered Joni's second recording of "Let There Be Love," which had been released in an earlier version in 1952 as her first single on Sharp Records in Chicago, then going to M-G-M Records for further distribution. Both recordings were arranged and conducted by Lew Douglas. Let There Be Love went to the top of the album charts and was the sixth-best-selling album of 1953. In 1956 the album was reissued as a 12-inch L.P. and in three single EPs; there was no EP set including the entire album. For this release, four Joni James singles were added, but one of them had never been released. That was "I Need You Now," which was to have followed the hit "My Love, My Love" but was canceled when Eddie Fisher
Eddie Fisher (singer)
Edwin Jack "Eddie" Fisher , was an American entertainer. He was one of the world's most famous and successful singers in the 1950s, selling millions of records and hosting his own TV show. His divorce from his first wife, Debbie Reynolds, to marry his best friend's widow, Elizabeth Taylor, garnered...
came out with a version recorded several weeks after Joni's. M-G-M had expected Joni's original version to go straight to #1. For the new album the first four songs and second four songs were switched to get "You're My Everything" in the outside groove of the L.P. to facilitate disc jockey play. So, for 50 years, the story the album tells has been garbled. In 1961 the album got new cover art, a new serial number (E3931), and an electronically simulated stereo release. Released again on compact disk with yet more bonus tracks, the album is in its fifth decade as a best seller. Joni James hopes for yet another release which will restore the original song order. Significantly, for her last M-G-M album, Bossa Nova Style, Joni included new recordings of several songs from Let There Be Love, including a new single of "You're Nearer." That album was arranged by Lew Douglas's protege Chuck Sagle.
Track listing
| Track number | Song title | Songwriter(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | You're My Everything | |
| 2 | You're Nearer | |
| 3 | Love Is Here To Stay | George Gershwin George Gershwin George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known... /Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century.... |
| 4 | I'll Be Seeing You I'll Be Seeing You (song) "I'll Be Seeing You" is a popular song, with music by Sammy Fain and lyrics by Irving Kahal. Published in 1938, the song was inserted into the Broadway musical Right This Way, which closed after fifteen performances. The song is a jazz standard, and has been covered by countless musicians.The... |
Sammy Fain Sammy Fain Sammy Fain was an American composer of popular music.-Biography:Sammy Fain was born in New York City. In 1923, Fain appeared with Artie Dunn in a short film directed by Lee De Forest filmed in DeForest's Phonofilm sound-on-film process. In 1925, Fain left the Fain-Dunn act to devote himself to... /Irving Kahal Irving Kahal Irving Kahal was a popular lyricist active in the 1920's and '30's. He is best remembered for his collaborations with composer Sammy Fain which started in 1926 when Kahal was working in vaudeville sketches written by Gus Edwards... |
| 5 | Let There Be Love Let There Be Love (1940 song) "Let There Be Love" is a popular song with music by Lionel Rand and lyrics by Ian Grant, published in 1940 .... |
Lionel Rand/Ian Grant |
| 6 | My Romance My Romance (song) "My Romance" is a popular song, with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, written for Billy Rose's musical, Jumbo . In the 1962 movie version of Jumbo, Doris Day performed the song.... |
Richard Rodgers Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II... /Lorenz Hart Lorenz Hart Lorenz "Larry" Milton Hart was the lyricist half of the famed Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart... |
| 7 | The Nearness Of You The Nearness of You "The Nearness of You" is a popular song, written in 1938 by Hoagy Carmichael with lyrics by Ned Washington.The biggest selling 1938 version was recorded by the Glenn Miller Orchestra, with a vocal by Ray Eberle... |
Hoagy Carmichael Hoagy Carmichael Howard Hoagland "Hoagy" Carmichael was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. He is best known for writing "Stardust", "Georgia On My Mind", "The Nearness of You", and "Heart and Soul", four of the most-recorded American songs of all time.Alec Wilder, in his study of the... /Ned Washington Ned Washington Ned Washington was an American lyricist.-Biography:Washington was nominated for eleven Academy Awards from 1940 to 1962... |
| 8 | You're Mine Now | |
| 9 | I Need You Now I Need You Now "I Need You Now" can refer to:*I Need You Now, a 2002 gospel album by Smokie Norful.*"I Need You Now" , a song by Al Jacobs and Jimmie Crane.*"I Need You Now" , a 2009 song by the Swedish singer Agnes Carlsson.... |
Al Jacobs/Jimmie Crane |
| 10 | This Is My Confession | |
| 11 | The Moment I Saw You | |
| 12 | Am I in Love? | Ted Varnick |