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Turn on any radio station playing Christmas music today, or walk into any department store celebrating the season, and chances are you'll soon hear Andy Williams joyfully extolling "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year." But that all-time Christmas classic is just part of the story of the vocalist's extraordinary career - one which encompassed six Grammy nominations, 43 albums (seventeen Gold and three Platinum), 53 Pop chart entries, and ten years as host of his own Emmy-winning television variety series. Andy was a mainstay on the Pop charts through 1972-no small feat for an artist who had begun recording almost a quarter-century earlier-and continued to enjoy AC successes through 1976. His cover that year of the Aaron Neville staple "Tell It Like It Is" became the singer's last entry on both the Pop and AC charts until "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" posthumously returned him to the Hot 100 in 2017. His two-decade (1962-1982) run at Columbia Records remains the cherished cornerstone of his discography. In 2020, Real Gone Music released Emperor of Easy: Lost Columbia Masters 1962-72, collecting 20 long-vaulted tracks spotlighting Williams' artistry. Now, Real Gone is set to release its long-awaited follow-up.
On February 2, 2024, When You Fall in Love: Lost Columbia Masters 1977-1982 rounds up eighteen tracks from a period in which Andy was recording prolifically - and Columbia was releasing very little in the United States. Over a dozen never-before-heard recordings premiere here which teamed Andy with producers, songwriters, and arrangers including Steve Dorff, Paul Vance, Kerry Chater, Bob Esty, Bill Justis, Gene Page, Dick Glasser, Robby Adcock, and Steve Popovich. These lost gems range from Chater's soft-rock anthem "If We Get Together Again" to country pop ("Hold Me"), light soul ("Sweet Lady"), and moving balladry ("Christine, You're a Woman Now." Andy, always a fine interpreter of contemporary fare, also brought his distinctive touch to covers of ABBA ("The Way Old Friends Do"), The Everly Brothers ("So Sad"), and current chart queen Brenda Lee ("Losing You").
A handful of rare singles from the U.S. and U.K. premiere on CD here, too, including renditions of the Tom Snow-penned "You," the Francis Lai-composed soundtrack theme "The Music's Too Sweet Not to Dance" from Love Story sequel Oliver's Story, and the Bob Esty-helmed disco version of original Love Story classic "Where Do I Begin." (The latter was released in three edits of varying length; the 12-inch Short Version appears here.) "Sunshine Smiles," the theme from the canine caper For the Love of Benji, also premieres here in a previously unreleased version arranged and produced by frequent Williams collaborator Nick DeCaro.
All tracks on When You Fall in Love: Lost Columbia Masters are mixed and remastered from the original tapes by Ted Carfrae (Doris Day's My Heart, Liza Minnelli's Live in New York 1979). The 20-page booklet designed by John Sellards features new annotation by TSD's Joe Marchese. When You Fall in Love promises to be a cherished addition to the discography of one of pop music's most enduring vocalists. It's due on February 2, and you can find it at the links below. As an Amazon associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Andy Williams, When You Fall in Love: Lost Columbia Masters 1977-1982 (Real Gone Music RGM-1679, 2023) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
- Sunshine Smiles (Previously Unreleased Version)
- Tonight We're Gonna Love Away the Pain
- Every Time I See Laureen (Columbia single 3-10878, 1978)
- If We Get Together Again
- Sweet Lady
- You're Free
- You (CBS U.K. single 6564, 1978)
- The Music's Too Sweet Not to Dance (Columbia single 3-10878, 1978)
- Christine, She's a Woman Now
- The Way Old Friends Do
- If I Only Had One Memory
- Losing You
- So Sad
- Hold Me
- Regrets
- These Tears Just Won't Dry
- When You Fall in Love
- Love Story (Where I Do Begin) (Disco Single Version) (Columbia 12-inch single 23-10953, 1979)
All tracks previously unreleased except as noted.
The Weekend Stream: October 5, 2024
Release Round-Up: Week of February 2
Would be nice to get all of the disco mixes of “Where Do I Begin” released — any plans for the remaining to appear anywhere?
No plans at the current time, but there's always the possibility. The longest version has been released on CD on the "Mondo Disco" volume of the DISCO DISCHARGE series in 2011, so the decision was made to include this new-to-CD "middle" edit clocking in at over seven minutes in length. I, too, hope we'll have the opportunity to reissue the short single edit, too.
Looking forward to this. It is great that the single disco version of Love Story is included. It would have been awesome if the other edits had been included as well, especially the 9:45 edit.
Hi Zubb, it wasn't feasible to include all three versions on this disc, but hopefully the short single edit will appear on CD one day. The 9:45 version was released in 2011 on the DISCO DISCHARGE volume "Mondo Disco" so the decision was made not to repeat that one here.
I am thrilled to see these unreleased tracks finally being made public!
Andy was one of the most respected recording vocalist for many decades and continues to make chart history even after his passing!
Congratulations and thanks to the team who made this project feasible and I look forward to enjoying this new collection for many years to come!
Johnny Mathis, Andy Williams, Tony Bennett, Streisand and of course Dylan and Springsteen.
Columbia had/has quite the roster of legends.
I will be ordering this Andy compilation today.
I've come across several songs that Andy Williams sings in the 1974 movie, "Where The Red Fern Grows" on YouTube. One is entitled, " Morning of My Life". Another is "Gone Away" Any chance of those songs seeing the light of day?
Hi Roy, Andy's songs from the film are quite beautiful. I'd love to see them released; that could take some untangling of various rights related to the movie itself, but I'll certainly look into it.
Any chance of reissuing the ‘Emperor of Easy’ set on Real Gone? It’s become rare and expensive to get that one. Thanks
This is one of the best Andy Williams albums ever, in my humble opinion. Why these songs were scrapped and left unreleased at the time makes no sense; they are all better than much of what Mr. Williams actually released at the time. What this set proves is that Andy could sing most any kind of music, and he did it all quite well, from straight-forward country to light disco. Damn Good Album!!!! (One note: There is a goof in the liner notes. "Sunshine Smiles" was originally recorded by Charlie RICH on Epic; not Charley PRIDE on RCA. Rich did the first "Benji" movie theme, "I Feel Love,": and then did the theme to the sequel. That was "Sunshine Smiles." The soundtrack albums were on Mulberry Street records, but Rich was signed to Epic.)
Mea culpa, Ron! We caught that after the booklet had gone to press...unfortunately, numerous pairs of eyes look at these things, and yet goofs still happen. My apologies. Should there be a second printing, it will be fixed. Anyway, thanks for your kind words about the CD. It was a labor of love for all involved.
I WONDERED why the tracks on WHEN YOU FALL IN LOVE are licensed from Barnaby Records, which was founded by ANDY WILLIAMS. When did Columbia drop out of the equation? Of course, the bigger label already had access to his Cadence-era material through the other. Two possibilities strike me... One is that we have passed a point whereby rights in Columbia work would have reverted to ANDY -- so they have been inherited by his estate which needed somewhere to put them... The second is that Columbia has bought Barnaby and intends to use it as an imprint home for his output. All best wishes...
Hi Bill, the rights to the tracks featured on WHEN YOU FALL IN LOVE have, indeed, reverted to Andy's estate (d.b.a. Barnaby Records) after a contractually specified period of time. This isn't true of all of Andy's Columbia recordings from this period but is true of all the recordings on this collection.
DOES that mean that ANDY made the late-career tracks independently and Columbia bought the rights to release them for only a limited period (which expired)..?
Not quite...Columbia made the recordings but Andy had a reversion clause in his contract that saw they would become his property after a certain number of years. It's likely that these terms emerged from a contract renegotiation; similar deals have been struck over the years by other forward-thinking artists including, perhaps most notably, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme. As always, Andy was ahead of his time! 🙂
This collection compellingly showcases rarely seen sides of Andy's eclectic musical taste and ease in interpreting pop, rock, disco, country, soul and more. I truly appreciate your extensive liner notes and the research and insights that went into them.
Having noticed no composer credits for "Sweet Lady" and "You're Free," I sleuthed the internet and am pleased to fill the gaps (if you haven't already done so post-release). I found two versions of the Barry White composition, "Lady, Sweet Lady," matching Andy's. Both feature Barry singing lead in his signature bass-baritone—one is straight-ahead funky disco, and the other is a dance remix by Carmine Voccia. "You're Free" is an album track on the great Andrew Gold's 1978 "All This and Heaven, Too." Listening to these versions helped me appreciate even more how Andy wanted to present these contemporary songs.
It's intriguing that Dick Glasser would record Andy at Freddie Perren's studio, best known for output by Gloria Gaynor, Peaches & Herb, and other soul artists, but it makes sense when you hear the R&B flavor of Andy's Glasser-produced sides. Love the funkier alternate mix of "You" that was used in this collection, which makes me wonder if Gene Page also arranged "You're Free" and "Sweet Lady."
Kudos to you and the RealGone production team! Hope there will be more to come of Andy's lost Columbia masters.
Hi Ben, Thank you so much for the kind words. This release was truly a labor of love for all involved. Unfortunately, we weren't able to verify the credits for Andrew Gold and Barry White until after our manufacturing deadline, but the omissions will be properly credited in any subsequent issues of this material. Your feedback and support is very much appreciated!
Great collection! What was the story on "Amy Rainbow", the one-off 1980 single? Is it being saved for a future compilation? Has it ever made it to an album? Thanks for getting this highly underrated and artistically diverse period of Andy's career more exposure! -Dave O'Connell
Hi David, there are indeed a few gems left in the Andy vaults that deserve to see reissue. “Amy Rainbow” is among them. While we weren’t able to feature it on this release, it’s on our radar and I sincerely hope we can include it on a future project.
Here’s an article I wrote for the Branson Globe about how Andy Williams continues to be a record-breaking hit maker a dozen years after his passing. https://www.bransonglobe.com/post/andy-williams-star-continues-to-rise
HI, JOE. I RECENTLY asked Real Gone Music if there would be an Andy Williams: Lost Columbia Masters 1973-76 as a follow-up in this series - or any of the singer's missing material from other dates. Unfortunately, they said they did not know because sales of the 1977-1982 collection had been disappointing. Have you any advice on how those who did buy it, and treasure both existing albums, can encourage the outfit to continue its splendid work in this direction? Your help would be more than appreciated by me and all of the Andy Williams followers I know.
Hi Bill, Thanks for reaching out. I, too, would love to see more archival releases from Andy's vault. Unfortunately, there's little we can do to move the needle other than to continue spreading the word about these titles to those both inside and outside of the Andy fan community; the more copies sell, the better the chances we have of seeing future releases. I do wish the most recent volume of Lost Columbia Masters had received more media attention which might have led to an uptick in sales. Truthfully, its lack of familiar songs might have been an impediment to greater success, though I found its material worthwhile and beautifully sung and produced. I remain committed to celebrating Andy's legacy in any way I can, and hope that we can all continue to share in new discoveries of this most extraordinary vocalist.
Hi Joe, I noticed that YouTube postings from several years ago of the disco "Love Story" generated many positive comments from serious disco fans about Andy's strong performance and Bob Esty's cool arrangement and production. I recently decided to plug "Lost Columbia Masters" in a comment on at least three of these posts, mentioning both the 7:25 release and the other Williams-Esty collaboration, "The Music's Too Sweet Not to Dance." To my pleasant surprise, my comments generated modest but immediate positive reactions. Doing whatever I can to spread the word!
Thank you, Ben! It's greatly appreciated! Those are such fantastic performances...I'm always thrilled to hear that they're reaching and touching others, too.
Hi Joe, I'm a frequent Pandora listener and have been pleased to hear a nice variety of tracks from Andy's Columbia catalog, along with tracks from his later albums with Atlantic and Curb. Is The Second Disc or RealGone in a position to persuade streaming services like Pandora to add new Andy tracks from either of the "Lost Columbia Masters" albums? That could be a strategic way to generate well-deserved exposure for these rarities.
Hi Ben, it's wonderful to hear that Pandora has picked up those later Andy gems! I'd love to see them stream tracks from our two rarities collections, but as the third-party licensee, we wouldn't have much sway. Sony Music (for the first volume) and Barnaby (for the second volume) would have to take the reins, and I sure hope they do, too. All the best to you!