Something Wonderful (album)
Encyclopedia
Something Wonderful was the second album by the American vocalist Nancy Wilson
, it was released in 1960 by Capitol Records
, and arranged by Billy May
.
As with her debut album on the label, Like in Love
, she was teamed up with Billy May
, one of its star arrangers, who had come to prominence through his outstanding work with such singers as Nat King Cole
and Frank Sinatra
.
The album spawned one of Wilson's all-time signature songs, "Guess Who I Saw Today
". Another highlight was "What a Little Moonlight Can Do
", which was, as critic Pete Welding
wrote in his liner notes
to the 1996 three-CD
set Ballads, Blues & Big Bands: The Best of Nancy Wilson, "a song so closely associated with the sublime Billie Holiday
(that) few would even have attempted it, let alone brought it off so well, with just the right blend of lightheartedness and sincerity."
In 2003, the UK
label EMI Gold
re-issued Something Wonderful on a 2-for-1 CD, coupled with its natural companion, Like in Love.
Nancy Wilson (singer)
Nancy Wilson is an American singer with more than 70 albums, and three Grammy Awards. She has been labeled a singer of blues, jazz, cabaret and pop; a "consummate actress"; and "the complete entertainer." The title she prefers, however, is song stylist...
, it was released in 1960 by Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
, and arranged by Billy May
Billy May
William 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...
.
As with her debut album on the label, Like in Love
Like in Love
Like in Love! is the debut album by the American vocalist Nancy Wilson, it was released in April of 1960 by Capitol Records, and arranged by Billy May.-Track listing:# "On the Street Where You Live"...
, she was teamed up with Billy May
Billy May
William 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...
, one of its star arrangers, who had come to prominence through his outstanding work with such singers as Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
and Frank Sinatra
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...
.
The album spawned one of Wilson's all-time signature songs, "Guess Who I Saw Today
Guess Who I Saw Today
Guess Who I Saw Today is a popular jazz song written by Murray Grand with lyrics by Elisse Boyd. The song was originally composed for Leonard Sillman's Broadway musical revue New Faces of 1952 in which it was sung by June Carroll.-Notable Recordings:...
". Another highlight was "What a Little Moonlight Can Do
What a Little Moonlight Can Do
"What a Little Moonlight Can Do" is a popular song written by Harry M. Woods in 1934. It was originally recorded by Billie Holiday accompanied by Teddy Wilson & His Orchestra on July 2, 1935. Peggy Lee covered it with a Nelson Riddle arrangement on her 1959 album Jump for Joy. Steve Tyrell...
", which was, as critic Pete Welding
Pete Welding
Pete Welding was an American blues historian, archivist and record producer.Born Peter J. Welding in Philadelphia, he worked as a journalist for Down Beat magazine and occasionally freelanced for other publications including Rolling Stone...
wrote in his liner notes
Liner notes
Liner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:...
to the 1996 three-CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
set Ballads, Blues & Big Bands: The Best of Nancy Wilson, "a song so closely associated with the sublime Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
(that) few would even have attempted it, let alone brought it off so well, with just the right blend of lightheartedness and sincerity."
In 2003, the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
label EMI Gold
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
re-issued Something Wonderful on a 2-for-1 CD, coupled with its natural companion, Like in Love.
Track listing
- "Teach Me TonightTeach Me Tonight"Teach Me Tonight" is a popular song. The music was written by Gene De Paul, the lyrics by Sammy Cahn. The song was published in 1953.Cahn wrote a new verse for Frank Sinatra's 1984 recording on L.A...
" (Gene de PaulGene de PaulGene de Paul was an American pianist, composer and songwriter.-Biography:Born in New York City, he served in the United States Army during World War II....
, 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...
) – 2:51 - "This Time the Dream's on MeThis Time the Dream's on Me"This Time the Dream's on Me" is a song composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was written for the 1941 film Blues in the Night.-Notable recordings:*Chet Baker *June Christy - Something Cool *Harry Connick Jr....
" (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...
, Harold ArlenHarold ArlenHarold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
) – 2:19 - "I'm Gonna Laugh You Out of My Life" (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...
, Joseph Allen McCarthyJoseph McCarthy (lyricist)Joseph McCarthy was an American lyricist whose most famous songs include You Made Me Love You, and I'm Always Chasing Rainbows, based upon the haunting melody from the middle section of Chopin's "Fantasie Impromptu".McCarthy, who was born in Somerville, Massachusetts, was a frequent collaborator...
) – 2:40 - "I Wish You LoveI Wish You Love (song)"I Wish You Love" is a popular song. The music was written by Léo Chauliac, with French lyrics under the title "Que reste-t-il de nos amours ? " by Charles Trenet....
" (Léo Chauliac, Charles TrenetCharles TrenetCharles Trenet was a French singer and songwriter, most famous for his recordings from the late 1930s until the mid-1950s, though his career continued through the 1990s...
) – 2:00 - "Guess Who I Saw TodayGuess Who I Saw TodayGuess Who I Saw Today is a popular jazz song written by Murray Grand with lyrics by Elisse Boyd. The song was originally composed for Leonard Sillman's Broadway musical revue New Faces of 1952 in which it was sung by June Carroll.-Notable Recordings:...
" (Murray GrandMurray GrandMurray Grand was an American singer, songwriter, lyricist, and pianist best known for the song "Guess Who I Saw Today"....
, Elisse Boyd) – 3:27 - "If Dreams Come True" (Edgar SampsonEdgar SampsonEdgar Melvin Sampson was a composer, arranger, saxophonist, and violinist...
, Benny GoodmanBenny GoodmanBenjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...
) – 1:49 - "What a Little Moonlight Can DoWhat a Little Moonlight Can Do"What a Little Moonlight Can Do" is a popular song written by Harry M. Woods in 1934. It was originally recorded by Billie Holiday accompanied by Teddy Wilson & His Orchestra on July 2, 1935. Peggy Lee covered it with a Nelson Riddle arrangement on her 1959 album Jump for Joy. Steve Tyrell...
" (Harry M. WoodsHarry M. WoodsHenry MacGregor Woods was a Tin Pan Alley songwriter and pianist. Woods is sometimes credited as Harry Woods.-Early life:...
) – 2:27 - "The Great City" (Curtis Lewis) – 2:43
- "He's My Guy" (de Paul, Don RayeDon RayeDon Raye , born Donald MacRae Wilhoite, Jr., in Washington, D.C., was an American vaudevillian and songwriter, best known for his songs for the Andrews Sisters such as "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar", "The House of Blue Lights", "Just For A Thrill" and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy."While known for...
) – 2:28 - "Something Happens to Me" (Marvin Fisher, Jack SegalJack SegalJack Segal was a composer of popular American songs...
) – 1:58 - "Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just as Bad)Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just as Bad)"Call It Stormy Monday " is a blues song written by T-Bone Walker and first recorded in 1947. Confusingly, it is also sometimes referred to as "Stormy Monday Blues", although that is the title of a 1942 song by Earl Hines and Billy Eckstine...
" (T-Bone WalkerT-Bone WalkerAaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker was a critically acclaimed American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who was one of the most influential pioneers and innovators of the jump blues and electric blues sound. He is the first musician recorded playing blues with the...
) – 2:28 - "Something Wonderful Happens" (Del Guerico, Gamse, Thorn) – 2:47
Performance
- Nancy WilsonNancy Wilson (singer)Nancy Wilson is an American singer with more than 70 albums, and three Grammy Awards. She has been labeled a singer of blues, jazz, cabaret and pop; a "consummate actress"; and "the complete entertainer." The title she prefers, however, is song stylist...
– vocalSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
s - Ben WebsterBen WebsterBenjamin Francis Webster , a.k.a. "The Brute" or "Frog," was an influential American jazz tenor saxophonist. Webster, born in Kansas City, Missouri, was considered one of the three most important "swing tenors" along with Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young...
– tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble... - 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...
– arrangerArrangementThe American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
, conductorConductingConducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...