For an explanation of CoronaVinyl, click here.
Today's CoronaVinyl category is "L," and given that it's Day 312 of CoronaVinyl, I was hoping to have something with a Chicago connection, but alas, I don't in the remaining "L" albums. So, I decided to go with The Lettermen's second studio album, 1962's Once Upon a Time.
The Lettermen was a vocal trio formed in the late '50s, and they generally sang syrupy pop music with three-part harmonies. Once Upon a Time is a perfect example of that. All of the songs have string arrangements, and they're all pretty schmaltzy. This is the kind of music that your grandparents probably wished your parents listened to in the early to mid '60s. There is nothing controversial, remotely sexual, or dangerous about the album. If you neutered the Beach Boys, took away their instruments, and put a string section behind them, this is what they might have sounded like.
The album is 12 songs, but only 27 minutes long. It went to #30 on the Billboard album chart, and it produced one minor hit for the group, "How Is Julie?," which went to #42 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #16 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart (now the Adult Contemporary chart). The group continued to make music well into the '90s, albeit with several lineup changes. They were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2001, and last year, they got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Favorite song from Side 1: "Young and Foolish"
There isn't much distinction between this and the other songs on this side, so I went with it because we've all been young and foolish at some point.
Favorite song from Side 2: "How Is Julie?"
This song has a little bit more of a doo wop feel to it, and it's about someone pining over his ex-girlfriend who left him last night. Her name was Julie.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment