'S Wonderful!
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'S Wonderful! is a 1956 album by Ray Conniff, his orchestra and (wordless) chorus. It was his first album released under his name. The album was produced completely in mono by Mitch Miller at Columbia Records' 30th Street Studios in New York City. The album became a hit and Conniff recorded three more albums in a similar style.
Overview
With S' Wonderful, Conniff "combined a chorus of four men and four women with a traditional big band mix of 18 instruments". The success of the album's format resulted in Conniff continuing the pattern over a number of subsequent albums (each starting with "'S" in its title), recording them in a similar style.
Chart performance
The album reached No. 11 on the Billboard Best Selling Pop Albums chart and No. 12 on the Cash Box pop albums chart, where it remained on the chart for 38 weeks. The title track, a recording of "'S Wonderful", was released as a single and peaked at No. 73 on the Billboard Top 100 singles chart.
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |
AllMusic rated the album 4.5 stars while its review by William Ruhlmann stated, "Conniff updated the big band sound to the '50s, retaining its danceable tempos and building upon the unison section innovations of Glenn Miller...Employing standards with familiar melodies, the imaginativeness of his work became all the more noticeable."
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "'S Wonderful" | George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin | 2:29 |
| 2. | "Dancing in the Dark" | Arthur Schwartz, Howard Dietz | 2:46 |
| 3. | "Speak Low" | Kurt Weill, Ogden Nash | 3:55 |
| 4. | "Wagon Wheels" | Billy Hill, Peter de Rose | 3:15 |
| 5. | "Sentimental Journey" | Les Brown, Ben Homer, Bud Green | 2:42 |
| 6. | "Begin the Beguine" | Cole Porter | 2:42 |
| 7. | "September Song" | Kurt Weill, Maxwell Anderson | 2:46 |
| 8. | "I Get a Kick Out of You" | Cole Porter | 3:14 |
| 9. | "Stardust" | Hoagy Carmichael, Mitchell Parish | 2:18 |
| 10. | "I'm an Old Cowhand (From the Rio Grande)" | Johnny Mercer | 2:55 |
| 11. | "Sometimes I'm Happy" | Vincent Youmans, Irving Caesar | 3:02 |
| 12. | "That Old Black Magic" | Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer | 2:47 |
Recording dates
Recording dates based on Ray Conniff's diaries:[citation needed]
- November 11, 1955: Stardust/Begin the Beguine (to be released as a single first)
- March 26, 1956: Dancing in the Dark/That Old Black Magic
- June 15, 1956: September Song/Speak Low/I Get a Kick Out of You/Sometimes I'm Happy
- June 18, 1956: 'S Wonderful/Wagon Wheels/I'm an Old Cowhand/Sentimental Journey
Charts
| Chart (1957) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Best Selling Pop Albums | 11 |
| US Cash Box Best Selling Pop Albums | 12 |