From Encyclopedia Britannica: - pop ballad, form of slow love song prevalent in nearly all genres of popular music. There are rock ballads, soul ballads, country ballads, and even heavy metal ballads. Here is a selection of some of the most popular “pop ballads” of the 50s, 60s and 70s.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

THE SHADOW OF YOUR SMILE (Tony Bennett)


From Wikipedia:
"The Shadow of Your Smile", also known as "Love Theme from The Sandpiper", is a popular song. The music was written by Johnny Mandel with the lyrics written by Paul Francis Webster. The song was introduced in the 1965 film The Sandpiper with a trumpet solo by Jack Sheldon and later became a minor hit for Tony Bennett (Johnny Mandel arranged and conducted his version as well). It won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year and the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Well-known versions of the song were recorded by Barbra Streisand (on her 1965 album My Name Is Barbra, Two...), singer Shirley Bassey (on her 1966 album I've Got a Song for You), Andy Williams, Percy Faith, Rita Reys, Al Martino, Perry Como, Nancy Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan and Frank Sinatra. It is also the album title from Astrud Gilberto. Connie Francis recorded the song in English, Spanish (La sombra de tu sonrisa), and in Italian (Castelli di sabbia). Trini Lopez included it on his Reprise Records album (Trini). Lill Lindfors recorded it in Swedish as Din skugga stannar kvar. Marvin Gaye recorded several versions of the song. One can be found on Romantically Yours, another on Vulnerable, and a live version on Marvin Gaye: Live at the Copa. Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass recorded an instrumental version for their 1966 album What Now My Love. German singer Udo Lindenberg included a more rock oriented cover of the song on his 1986 single "Germans". In 2006 The Central Band of the Royal British Legion recorded an album with "The Shadow Of Your Smile" as the lead title track.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

I LL NEVER FALL IN LOVE AGAIN (Tom Jones)


From Wikipedia:
Sir Thomas John Woodward,(born 7 June 1940), known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer. Jones is particularly noted for his powerful voice. Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel. Since 1965, Jones has sold over 100 million records.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

A MAN WITHOUT LOVE (The Charlie Santos Group)


A tribute to Engelbert Humperdinck. Track 19 of the album "The British Invaders" produced by me. CASS http://www.charliesantos.com.br/lpr2_mediaplay.swf

Thursday, February 10, 2011

SEA OF LOVE (Phil Phillips)


From Wikipedia:
Phil Phillips (born Philip Baptiste, March 14, 1931, Lake Charles, Louisiana) is an American singer and songwriter, best known for his 1959 hit, "Sea of Love". Philip Baptiste was encouraged to pursue a career as a singer after a school performance of a song called "Sweet Slumber". He performed with his brothers in a gospel group called the Gateway Quartet and worked as a bellhop before he recorded "Sea of Love" in 1959. The song was arranged and produced by Eddie Shuler for neighbor George Khoury's Khoury Records. After three months of work on the arrangement, building up the vocal group and trying out different musicians, the song was ready for release. Baptiste changed his name to Phil Phillips, and dubbed his backing vocalists The Twilights. After a Baton Rouge disc jockey played the song repeatedly, the recording sold heavily and was leased to Mercury Records. "Sea of Love" went to #2 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop chart and spent 14 weeks in the top 40, as well as reaching #1 on the R&B chart. In 1959 it sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. Nonetheless, Phillips was paid only $6800, and received no further royalties for the song or its recording.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

AND I LOVE YOU SO (Shirley Bassey)


From Wikipedia:
Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey, DBE (born 8 January 1937 in Cardiff, Wales), is a Welsh singer who found fame in the late 1950s and has continued a successful career since then worldwide. She is best known for recording the theme songs to the James Bond films Goldfinger (1964), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), and Moonraker (1979), and is a UNESCO Artist for Peace. In the early and mid 1960s, Bassey had numerous hits on the UK charts, and five albums in the top 15. Her 1960 recording of "As Long As He Needs Me" from Lionel Bart's Oliver! reached #2, and had a chart run of 30 weeks. On 13 November 1960, Bassey made her debut performance on American television, appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show. In 1962, Bassey's collaboration with Nelson Riddle and his orchestra produced the album Let's Face the Music (#12) and the single "What Now My Love" (#5). Other top ten hits of the period included her second #1, the double A-side "Reach for the Stars"/"Climb Ev'ry Mountain" (1961), "I'll Get By" (also 1961), and a cover version of the Ben E. King hit "I (Who Have Nothing)" in 1963. During this period, Bassey appeared on the cover of Ebony magazine and sang at a Washington gala celebrating the end of President Kennedy's second year in office. In 1965, Bassey enjoyed her first - and only - U.S. Top 40 Billboard Hot 100 hit with the title song of the James Bond film, Goldfinger. The single peaked at #8, while the original soundtrack of Goldfinger hit #1 in the U.S. that same year. Also in 1965, she sang the title track for the spoof James Bond film The Liquidator, and had a Top 20 live album recorded during a sell-out run at London's Pigalle.