Goin' Out of My Head (album)
Encyclopedia
Goin' Out of My Head is an album by American
jazz
guitarist Wes Montgomery
, released in 1965. It reached number 7 on the Billboard
R&B
chart. At the 9th Grammy Awards Goin' Out of My Head won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
.
's idea that Montgomery should do a cover
of the title song, a 1964 hit by Little Anthony and the Imperials. At the time Taylor brought the song to Montgomery, he was playing at the Half Note Club
in New York City
with the Wynton Kelly
Trio—sessions that appeared on his acclaimed 1965 release Smokin' at the Half Note
. Taylor said in a later interview: "If you take away the R&B performance and just look at that song, it's an absolutely marvelous song to improvise on. For that time, it had sophisticated changes and the whole structure was great. I was thinking, 'This would be perfect for Wes Montgomery. But how am I going to overcome the fact that here's Wes and his background? He'd be about the last person to listen to Little Anthony and the Imperials.'"
called the album "...little more than a pleasant melody statement... Recordings like this one disheartened the jazz world but made him a household name and a staple on AM radio. Heard three decades later, the recording is at its best when serving as innocuous background music."
Jazz writer Josef Woodard called the release "Commercial firepower and Grammy-winning accessibility notwithstanding, it's a classic big-band album, with smart charts by Nelson and stolen moments of Montgomery's guitar grandeur and romantic truth scattered throughout. The title track that made so much commercial and critical noise is all of 2:12 in duration, but the album also features plenty of jazz fiber..."
At the 9th Grammy Awards Goin' Out of My Head won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
.
Production notes:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
guitarist Wes Montgomery
Wes Montgomery
John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery was an American jazz guitarist. He is widely considered one of the major jazz guitarists, emerging after such seminal figures as Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian and influencing countless others, including Pat Martino, George Benson, Russell Malone, Emily...
, released in 1965. It reached number 7 on the Billboard
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
chart. At the 9th Grammy Awards Goin' Out of My Head won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album is an award that will start being presented in 2012.The Award was previously called Best Instrumental Jazz Album, Individual or Group from 1959 to 2011. The award will formally be discontinued from 2012 in a major overhaul of Grammy categories...
.
History
Goin' Out of My Head was Montgomery's third album in 1965 and his first with sales reaching near one million. It was producer Creed TaylorCreed Taylor
Creed Taylor is an American record producer, best known for his work with CTI Records, which he founded in 1968. Taylor’s career also included work at Bethlehem Records, ABC-Paramount, Verve, and A&M Records...
's idea that Montgomery should do a cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of the title song, a 1964 hit by Little Anthony and the Imperials. At the time Taylor brought the song to Montgomery, he was playing at the Half Note Club
Half Note Club
The Half Note was a jazz club located at 289 Hudson Street in New York City.The club was known for showcasing up-and-coming jazz musicians in the 1950s and 1960s, defraying its costs with live radio broadcasts on Friday nights, hosted by Alan Grant....
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
with the Wynton Kelly
Wynton Kelly
Wynton Kelly was a Jamaican-born jazz pianist, who spent his career in the United States. He is perhaps best known for working with trumpeter Miles Davis from 1959-1962.-Biography:...
Trio—sessions that appeared on his acclaimed 1965 release Smokin' at the Half Note
Smokin' at the Half Note
Smokin' at the Half Note is a jazz album recorded by Wes Montgomery and the Wynton Kelly Trio and released in 1965.-History:The album is considered important to the history of jazz because it paired Miles Davis's rhythm section, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb, with Montgomery...
. Taylor said in a later interview: "If you take away the R&B performance and just look at that song, it's an absolutely marvelous song to improvise on. For that time, it had sophisticated changes and the whole structure was great. I was thinking, 'This would be perfect for Wes Montgomery. But how am I going to overcome the fact that here's Wes and his background? He'd be about the last person to listen to Little Anthony and the Imperials.'"
Reception
In his Allmusic review, music critic Scott YanowScott Yanow
Scott Yanow is an American jazz commentator, known for many contributions to the Allmusic website, for writing ten books on jazz and for reviewing jazz recordings for over 30 years.-Biography:...
called the album "...little more than a pleasant melody statement... Recordings like this one disheartened the jazz world but made him a household name and a staple on AM radio. Heard three decades later, the recording is at its best when serving as innocuous background music."
Jazz writer Josef Woodard called the release "Commercial firepower and Grammy-winning accessibility notwithstanding, it's a classic big-band album, with smart charts by Nelson and stolen moments of Montgomery's guitar grandeur and romantic truth scattered throughout. The title track that made so much commercial and critical noise is all of 2:12 in duration, but the album also features plenty of jazz fiber..."
At the 9th Grammy Awards Goin' Out of My Head won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album is an award that will start being presented in 2012.The Award was previously called Best Instrumental Jazz Album, Individual or Group from 1959 to 2011. The award will formally be discontinued from 2012 in a major overhaul of Grammy categories...
.
Track listing
- "Goin' Out of My HeadGoin' Out Of My Head"Goin' Out of My Head" is a song written by Teddy Randazzo and Bobby Weinstein, initially recorded by Little Anthony & the Imperials in 1964. Randazzo, a childhood friend of the group, wrote the song especially for them, having also supplied the group with their previous Top 20 Hit "I'm On The...
" (Teddy RandazzoTeddy RandazzoTeddy Randazzo was a NYC born pop songwriter who composed 1960s hit songs such as "Goin' Out of My Head", "It's Gonna Take a Miracle", and "Hurt So Bad"...
, Bobby Weinstein) – 2:14 - "Morro"(Vinicius De MoraesVinicius de MoraesMarcus Vinicius de Moraes , known as Vinicius de Moraes and nicknamed O Poetinho , was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Son of Lydia Cruz de Moraes and Clodoaldo Pereira da Silva Moraes, he was a seminal figure in contemporary Brazilian music...
, Antonio Carlos JobimAntônio Carlos JobimAntônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim , also known as Tom Jobim , was a Brazilian songwriter, composer, arranger, singer, and pianist/guitarist. He was a primary force behind the creation of the bossa nova style, and his songs have been performed by many singers and instrumentalists within...
) – 4:46 - "Boss City" (Wes Montgomery) – 3:46
- "Chim Chim Cher-eeChim Chim Cher-ee"Chim Chim Cher-ee" is a song from Mary Poppins, the 1964 musical motion picture. It was originally sung by Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews. "Chim Chim Cher-ee" is also featured prominently in the award winning Cameron Mackintosh/Disney stage musical of the same name which premiered in London at...
" (Richard M. ShermanRichard M. ShermanRichard Morton Sherman is an American songwriter who specializes in musical film with his brother Robert Bernard Sherman....
, Robert B. ShermanRobert B. ShermanRobert Bernard Sherman is an American songwriter who specializes in musical films with his brother Richard Morton Sherman...
) (From Disney's Mary PoppinsMary Poppins (film)Mary Poppins is a 1964 musical film starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, produced by Walt Disney, and based on the Mary Poppins books series by P. L. Travers with illustrations by Mary Shepard. The film was directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, with songs by...
) – 4:51 - "Naptown Blues" (Montgomery) – 3:08
- "Twisted Blues" (Montgomery) – 4:15
- "End of a Love Affair" (Edward Redding) – 3:43
- "It Was a Very Good YearIt Was a Very Good Year"It Was a Very Good Year" is a song composed by Ervin Drake in 1961 for and originally recorded by Bob Shane of The Kingston Trio and subsequently made famous by Frank Sinatra's version in D-minor, which won the Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance, Male in 1966. Gordon Jenkins was awarded...
" (Ervin DrakeErvin DrakeErvin Drake, born Ervin Maurice Druckman is an American songwriter whose works include such American Songbook standards as "It Was a Very Good Year". He has written in a variety of styles and his work has been recorded by musicians from all over the world in a multitude of styles...
) – 3:43 - "Golden Earrings" (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...
, 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....
, Victor YoungVictor YoungVictor Young was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. He was born in Chicago.-Biography:...
) – 5:14
Personnel
- Wes MontgomeryWes MontgomeryJohn Leslie "Wes" Montgomery was an American jazz guitarist. He is widely considered one of the major jazz guitarists, emerging after such seminal figures as Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian and influencing countless others, including Pat Martino, George Benson, Russell Malone, Emily...
– guitar - Phil WoodsPhil WoodsPhilip Wells Woods is an American jazz bebop alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader and composer.-Biography:...
– alto sax, clarinet - Bob Ashton – flute, clarinet, saxophone
- Romeo Penque – tenor saxophone, piccolo, flute, clarinet, oboe, English horn
- Jerry Dodgion – tenor saxophone, piccolo, flute, clarinet
- Donald ByrdDonald ByrdDonaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II, is an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd is best known as one of the only bebop jazz musicians who successfully pioneered the funk and soul genres while simultaneously remaining a...
– trumpet - Ernie RoyalErnie RoyalErnest Andrew Royal was a jazz trumpeter.His older brother was clarinetist and alto saxophonist Marshal Royal, with whom he appears on the classic Ray Charles big band recording The Genius of Ray Charles .He began in Los Angeles as a member of Les Hite's Orchestra in 1937...
– trumpet - Joe Newman – trumpet
- Danny Moore – trombone
- Jimmy Cleveland – trombone
- Quentin Jackson – trombone
- Wayne AndreWayne AndreWayne Andre was an American jazz trombonist, best known for his work as a session musician.Andre's father was a saxophonist, and he took private music lessons from age 15. He played with Charlie Spivak in the early 1950s before spending some time in the U.S. Air Force...
– trombone - Tony Studd – trombone
- Herbie HancockHerbie HancockHerbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
– piano - Roger KellawayRoger KellawayRoger Kellaway is an American composer, arranger, and pianist.Born in Waban, Massachusetts, he is an alumnus of the New England Conservatory...
– piano - George Duvivier – bass guitar
- Dan Bank – drums
- Grady TateGrady TateGrady Tate, , is a hard bop and soul-jazz drummer and singer.He has played with Lional Hampton, Jimmy Smith, Grant Green, Lena Horne, Astrud Gilberto, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Blossom Dearie, Chris Connor, Sarah Vaughan, Ray Charles, Cal Tjader, Peggy Lee, Bill Evans, Duke Ellington, Count...
– drums - Candido CameroCandido CameroCandido de Guerra Camero, also known simply as Candido is a Cuban percussionist who backed many Afro-Cuban jazz and straightforward jazz acts since the 1950s...
– congas
Production notes:
- Creed TaylorCreed TaylorCreed Taylor is an American record producer, best known for his work with CTI Records, which he founded in 1968. Taylor’s career also included work at Bethlehem Records, ABC-Paramount, Verve, and A&M Records...
– producer - Oliver NelsonOliver NelsonOliver Edward Nelson was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, arranger and composer.-Early life and career:...
– arranger, conductor - Rudy Van GelderRudy Van GelderRudy Van Gelder is an American recording engineer specializing in jazz.Often regarded as one of the most important recording engineers in music history, Van Gelder has recorded several thousand jazz sessions, including many widely recognized as classics, in a career spanning more than half a century...
– engineer - Orrin KeepnewsOrrin KeepnewsOrrin Keepnews is an American writer and jazz record producer. In June 2010, he received a lifetime achievement award from the National Endowment for the Arts.- Career :...
– original liner notes
Chart positions
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Billboard R&B Albums | 7 |