More Songs by Ricky

More Songs by Ricky
Studio album by
ReleasedJuly 1960
Genre
Length27:16
LabelImperial
ProducerCharles "Bud" Dant
Ricky Nelson chronology
Ricky Sings Spirituals
(1960)
More Songs by Ricky
(1960)
Rick Is 21
(1961)
Singles from More Songs by Ricky
  1. "I'm Not Afraid"
    Released: July, 1960

More Songs by Ricky is the fifth album by rock and roll and pop idol Ricky Nelson, released in July 1960.[1] The album was recorded at Master Recorders studios in Hollywood, California, United States.

The album contains old standards from his dad Ozzie Nelson's era, including "When Your Lover Has Gone", "Baby Won't You Please Come Home", "Time After Time", and "Again". The album was the last to credit his first name as "Ricky" and final studio album credited as "Ricky Nelson" during his lifetime. Jimmie Haskell arranged the album and Charles "Bud" Dant produced it.

The album debuted on the Billboard Best Selling LPs chart in the issue dated August 29, 1960, remaining on the chart for 22 weeks and peaking at number 18.[2] It reached No. 24 on the Cashbox albums chart during an 11-week stay on the chart.[3] The only single from the album was "I'm Not Afraid", which debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in the issue dated September 5, 1960, peaking at number 27 during its eight-week stay.[4] and number 40 on the Cashbox singles chart,[5]

The album was released on compact disc by Capitol Records on June 19, 2001, as tracks 1 through 12 on a pairing of two albums on one CD with tracks 19 through 30 consisting of Nelson's 1961 album, Rick Is 21.[6] Bear Family included also the album in the 2001 The American Dream box set.[7]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[9]

Cashbox praised Nelson for his "performances of ballad evergreens 'Again,' 'Time After Time' and 'When Your Lover Has Gone' to the more rousing rockers."[10], Billboard appreciated the effort. "Nelson warbles with easy charm on a group of great standards and a few originals"[11], Variety gave the album a Postive reviews, saying "He has a mixture of familiar and un-familiar songs that he twangs through easily"[12]

William Ruhlmann of AllMusic said that "Nelson turned back to the music of his bandleader father Ozzie, cutting covers of songs from the 1920s ("Baby Won't You Please Come Home," "I'd Climb the Highest Mountain"), the 1930s ("When Your Lover Has Gone"), and the 1940s ("Time After Time," "Again") in arrangements that incorporated not only horns, but also strings and chirpy female backup vocals. It was all a big change from Nelson's previous recordings, and it did not restore his commercial fortunes.[1]

Track listing

Side one

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I'm Not Afraid"Felice Bryant2:37
2."Baby, Won't You Please Come Home"Charles Warfield, Clarence Williams2:10
3."Here I Go Again"John Berry, Don Covay2:10
4."I'd Climb the Highest Mountain"Louis Yule Brown, Sidney Clare2:08
5."Make Believe"Marie Keller2:11
6."Ain't Nothin' But Love"Baker Knight2:20

Side two

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."When Your Lover Has Gone" (From Warner Bros. Pictures Blonde Crazy)Einar Aaron Swan2:23
2."Proving My Love"Baker Knight2:03
3."Hey, Pretty Baby"Dorsey Burnette2:18
4."Time After Time" (From the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film It Happened in Brooklyn)Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne2:12
5."I'm All Through with You"Baker Knight2:45
6."Again" (From 20th Century Fox Pictures Road House)Lionel Newman, Dorcas Cochran1:52

Charts

Album

Chart (1960) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Top Pop Albums (Billboard)[2] 18
U.S. Cashbox[3] 24

Singles

Title U.S. Hot 100[4] U.S Cashbox[5]
"I'm Not Afraid" 27 40

References

  1. ^ a b "Ricky Nelson – More Songs By Ricky: Album Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  2. ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (1996). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Albums: 1955-1996. Menomonee Falls, Wis.: Record Research. p. 556. ISBN 0898201179.
  3. ^ a b Hoffmann, Frank W (1988). The Cash box album charts, 1955-1974. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. p. 268. ISBN 0-8108-2005-6.
  4. ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (2002). Joel Whitburn's top pop singles 1955-2002. Menomonee Falls, Wisc.: Record Research. p. 502. ISBN 0898201551.
  5. ^ a b Downey, Pat (1994). Cash box pop singles charts, 1950-1993. Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited. pp. 244–245. ISBN 1-56308-316-7.
  6. ^ "More Songs By Ricky - Rick Is 21". allmusic.com. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  7. ^ "The American Dream: The Complete Imperial and Verve 1957-1962". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  8. ^ Ruhlmann, William. More Songs by Ricky at AllMusic. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  9. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 1020. ISBN 9781846098567. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  10. ^ Cash Box Popular Pick of The Week: More Songs By Ricky. Cash Box Pub. Co. 1960-07-16. p. 30.
  11. ^ "Billboard Spotlight Pick: More Songs By Ricky". Billboard. July 18, 1960. p. 29.
  12. ^ "Variety Album Reviews: More Songs by Ricky". Variety. Vol. 219, no. 9. July 27, 1960. p. 110.