Happy Heart is the twenty-third studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams, released in the spring of 1969 by Columbia Records and continued the trend of his recent albums in relying exclusively on contemporary material. This project eschewed offerings from Broadway and Hollywood that had been predominant on his LPs with Columbia.
| Happy Heart | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1969 | |||
| Recorded | 1969 | |||
| Genre |
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| Length | 36:59 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Jerry Fuller[1] | |||
| Andy Williams chronology | ||||
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The album made its first appearance on the Top LP's chart in the issue of Billboard magazine dated May 17, 1969, and remained there for 23 weeks, peaking at number nine.[2] It also debuted on the Cashbox albums chart in the issue dated May 17, 1969, and remained on the chart for 16 weeks, peaking at number 6[3] It entered the UK album chart on July 26, 1969 and reached number 22 over the course of 10 weeks,[4] and the Recording Industry Association of America awarded the album Gold certification on August 20, 1969.[5]
The title song from the album had been released as a single that March and entered the Easy Listening chart in the issue of Billboard dated April 5, 1969, spending 14 weeks there and two of those weeks at number one.[6] The song entered the Billboard Hot 100 one week later and reached number 22 over the course of 11 weeks.[7] In the UK it entered the singles chart for the week of May 10 that year and stayed there for 10 weeks, peaking at number 19.[4]
The album was released on compact disc as one of two albums on one CD by Collectables Records in 1999, along with Williams's Columbia release from 1968, Honey. This same pairing was also released as two albums on one CD by Sony Music Distribution in 2000.[8] The Collectables CD was included in a box set titled Classic Album Collection, Vol. 1, which contains 17 of his studio albums and three compilations and was released on June 26, 2001.[9]
Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [10] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [11] |
| New Record Mirror | [12] |
William Ruhlmann of AllMusic noted the album "didn't really differ much in its approach from Williams' previous album, Honey, which also contained nearly all pop covers. The only real difference was that this time Williams was not waiting so long. "My Way" was just peaking in the charts for Frank Sinatra, for example, as was Elvis Presley's "Memories," and Glen Campbell's "Where's the Playground Susie" had only just come out."[10]
Billboard magazine wrote, "Andy Williams has taken the best of the current hits and in his own warm, sophisticated style makes them sound completely new and exciting. The program is a harvest of first rate material."[13]
New Record Mirror gave the album a postive results, saying "his cool vocals still have that touch of swing and the benefit of years of experience"[12]
Track listing
editSide one
edit- "For Once in My Life" (Ron Miller, Orlando Murden) – 2:54
- "Where's the Playground, Susie?" (Jimmy Webb) – 2:51
- "My Way" (Paul Anka, Claude François, Jacques Revaux) – 3:43
- "Wichita Lineman" (Webb) – 2:55
- "Happy Heart" (Jackie Rae, James Last) – 3:15
- "Gentle on My Mind" (John Hartford) – 3:10
Side two
edit- "Didn't We?" (Webb) – 3:27
- "Memories" (Billy Strange, Mac Davis) – 3:47
- "Little Green Apples" (Bobby Russell) – 4:03
- "Here, There and Everywhere" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) – 3:15
- "Abraham, Martin and John" (Dick Holler) – 3:43
Personnel
editFrom the liner notes for the original album:[1]
- Andy Williams – vocals
- Jerry Fuller – producer
- Al Capps – arranger
- Peter Romano – engineer (except where noted)
- Phil Macy – engineer ("Happy Heart")
- Frank Bez – back cover photo
- Barry Feinstein – front cover photo
Notes
edit- ^ a b (1969) Happy Heart by Andy Williams [album jacket]. New York: Columbia Records CS 9844.
- ^ Whitburn 2010, p. 844.
- ^ Hoffmann, Frank W (1988). The Cash box album charts, 1955-1974. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. p. 406. ISBN 0-8108-2005-6.
- ^ a b "Andy Williams". Official Charts. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
- ^ "Gold & Platinum". riaa.com. Retrieved 9 April 2017. Type Andy Williams in the Search box and press Enter.
- ^ Whitburn 1993, p. 256.
- ^ Whitburn 1999, p. 702.
- ^ "Honey/Happy Heart by Andy Williams". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
- ^ "Classic Album Collection, Vol. 1 – Andy Williams". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
- ^ a b Ruhlmann, William. ""Happy Heart" Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 2024-09-12.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 1498. ISBN 9781846098567. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
- ^ a b "new albums reviewed by RM reviewing panel, new albums reviewed by RM reviewing panel, BIG NJIME ALBUM WEEK Impressions, Proco J Harum, lsleys, Johnny Nash, Ella, Paul Revere,' Seasons, Andy Williams, Sinatra, Foundations, Billie -Holiday etc" (PDF). New Record Mirror. No. 435. 12 July 1969. p. 8. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ "Album Reviews". Billboard. 1969-05-10. p. 106.
References
edit- Whitburn, Joel (1993), Joel Whitburn's Top Adult Contemporary, 1961-1993, Record Research Inc., ISBN 0-89820-099-7
- Whitburn, Joel (1999), Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 1955-1999, Record Research Inc., ISBN 0-89820-140-3
- Whitburn, Joel (2010), Joel Whitburn Presents Top Pop Albums, Seventh Edition, Record Research Inc., ISBN 0-89820-183-7