Softly, as I Leave You (album)
Encyclopedia
Softly, as I Leave You is a 1964 studio album by the American singer Frank Sinatra
.
This album was Sinatra's first tentative attempt to come to terms with rock and roll
music. Arranged by Ernie Freeman
, "Softly, as I Leave You," "Then Suddenly Love," and "Available" are definitely stabs at incorporating rock and roll into Sinatra's middle-of-the-road pop sound, featuring drum kits, backing vocals, and keyboards.
The rest of the album is pieced together from leftovers from various early-'60s sessions, from many different arrangers and conductors, giving the album a rather uneven finish.
The title track was the first of at least four attempts to mimic the chart success of Dean Martin's #1 hit "Everybody Loves Somebody", using a driving beat, heavy strings and choral tracks. Sinatra, arranger Ernie Freeman and producer Jimmy Bowen would incorporate the same sound to songs like "When Somebody Loves You", "Tell Her You Love Her (Each Day)" and "Somewhere In Your Heart" with only major MOR chart success.
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
.
This album was Sinatra's first tentative attempt to come to terms with rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
music. Arranged by Ernie Freeman
Ernie Freeman
Ernie Freeman was an American pianist, organist and arranger.In 1935 he began playing in local Cleveland area nightclubs, and also formed a classical music trio for local social functions with his father and his sister Evelyn...
, "Softly, as I Leave You," "Then Suddenly Love," and "Available" are definitely stabs at incorporating rock and roll into Sinatra's middle-of-the-road pop sound, featuring drum kits, backing vocals, and keyboards.
The rest of the album is pieced together from leftovers from various early-'60s sessions, from many different arrangers and conductors, giving the album a rather uneven finish.
The title track was the first of at least four attempts to mimic the chart success of Dean Martin's #1 hit "Everybody Loves Somebody", using a driving beat, heavy strings and choral tracks. Sinatra, arranger Ernie Freeman and producer Jimmy Bowen would incorporate the same sound to songs like "When Somebody Loves You", "Tell Her You Love Her (Each Day)" and "Somewhere In Your Heart" with only major MOR chart success.
Track listing
- "EmilyEmily (Johnny Mandel and Johnny Mercer song)"Emily" is a popular song composed by Johnny Mandel, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was the title song to the 1964 film The Americanization of Emily, where it was introduced by Julie Andrews. It has since been recorded by numerous artists, notably Bill Evans and Tony Bennett...
" (Johnny MandelJohnny MandelJohnny Mandel is an American composer and arranger of popular songs, film music and jazz. Among the musicians he has worked with are Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Anita O'Day, Barbra Streisand, and Shirley Horn.-Life:...
, Johnny MercerJohnny MercerJohn Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
) – 2:58 - "Here's to the Losers" (Robert WellsRobert Wells (songwriter)Robert Wells was an American songwriter, composer, script writer and television producer. During his early career, he collaborated with singer and songwriter Mel Tormé, writing several hit songs, most notably "The Christmas Song" in 1945...
, Jack SegalJack SegalJack Segal was a composer of popular American songs...
) – 3:05 - "Dear Heart" (Jay LivingstonJay LivingstonJay Livingston was an American composer and singer best known as half of a songwriting duo with Ray Evans that specialized in songs composed for films. Livingston wrote the music and Evans the lyrics....
, Ray EvansRay EvansRaymond Bernard Evans was an American songwriter. He was a partner in a composing and songwriting duo with Jay Livingston, known for the songs they composed for films...
, Henry ManciniHenry ManciniHenry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. He won a record number of Grammy Awards , plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995...
) – 2:43 - "Come Blow Your Horn" (Sammy CahnSammy CahnSammy Cahn was an American lyricist, songwriter and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premiered by recording companies in the Greater Los Angeles Area...
, Jimmy Van Heusen) – 3:07 - "Love Isn't Just for the Young" (Bernard Knee) – 2:57
- "I Can't Believe I'm Losing You" (Don CostaDon CostaDon Costa was an American pop music arranger and record producer, best known for his work with Frank Sinatra.-Career:...
, Phil Zeller) – 2:43 - "Pass Me By" (Cy ColemanCy ColemanCy Coleman was an American composer, songwriter, and jazz pianist.-Life and career:He was born Seymour Kaufman on June 14, 1929, in New York City to Eastern European Jewish parents, and was raised in the Bronx. His mother, Ida was an apartment landlady and his father was a brickmason...
, Carolyn LeighCarolyn LeighCarolyn Leigh was an American lyricist for Broadway, movies, and popular songs. She is best known as the writer with partner Cy Coleman of the pop standards "Witchcraft" and "The Best Is Yet to Come."-Biography:...
) – 2:25 - "Softly, as I Leave YouSoftly, as I Leave You (song)"Softly, as I Leave You" is a popular song composed by Hal Shaper, Antonio De Vita , with original Italian lyrics by Giorgio Calabrese....
" (Hal Shaper, Antonio DeVito, Giorgio CalabreseGiorgio CalabreseGiorgio Calabrese is a songwriter and frequent collaborator with French pop music star Charles Aznavour.Calabrese wrote the original Italian lyrics for the popular song Softly, as I Leave You, and the Italian version of Aznavour's famous song She, titled Lei.-References:...
) – 2:50 - "Then Suddenly Love" (Ray Alfred, Paul VancePaul VancePaul Vance is an American songwriter and record producer.With over 300 recorded songs, Vance co-wrote such hits as "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini," recorded in 1960 by Brian Hyland, which rose to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and "Catch a Falling Star," recorded in 1957 by...
) – 2:15 - "Available" (Cahn, Ned Wynn, L.B. Marks) – 2:47
- "Talk to Me Baby" (Robert E. DolanRobert E. DolanRobert Emmett "Bobby" Dolan was a Broadway conductor, composer and arranger beginning in the 1920s. He moved on to radio in the 1930s, and then went to Hollywood in the early 1940s as a musical director for Paramount. He scored, arranged, and conducted many musical and dramatic films in the 1940s...
, Mercer) – 3:00 - "The Look of Love" (Cahn, Van Heusen) – 2:43
Personnel
- Frank SinatraFrank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
- vocals - Neal HeftiNeal HeftiNeal Hefti was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, tune writer, and arranger. He was perhaps best known for composing the theme music for the Batman television series of the 1960s, and for scoring the 1968 film The Odd Couple and the subsequent TV series of the same name.He began arranging...
- conductor - Nelson RiddleNelson RiddleNelson Smock Riddle, Jr. was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid 1980s...
- arranger, conductor - Marty PaichMarty PaichMartin Louis "Marty" Paich was an American pianist, composer, arranger, producer, music director and conductor....
- Ernie FreemanErnie FreemanErnie Freeman was an American pianist, organist and arranger.In 1935 he began playing in local Cleveland area nightclubs, and also formed a classical music trio for local social functions with his father and his sister Evelyn...
- Billy MayBilly MayWilliam E. "Billy" May was an American composer, arranger and trumpeter. He composed film and television music, for The Green Hornet , Batman , and Naked City and collaborated on films, such as Pennies from Heaven , and orchestrated Cocoon, and Cocoon: The Return among...
- arranger