All Alone Am I (album)

All Alone Am I is the eighth studio album by American pop and country artist Brenda Lee. The album was released February 18, 1963 on Decca Records and was produced by Owen Bradley. The album was the first of two studio albums released in 1963 and the album's title track became a Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.

Background and content

All Alone Am I was recorded in four separate sessions at the Bradley Film and Recording Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The first session began August 9, 1962 and the final session took place December 12, 1962, all of which were produced by Owen Bradley.^[1] All Alone Am I contained twelve tracks and many of which were cover versions of previously-recorded Pop music standards. It included cover versions of Tony Bennett's "I Left My Heart in San Francisco", Cole Porter's "It's All Right with Me", and Les Paul's "Lover". Many of the album's tracks were Pop music standards, which tried to reinforce the impression, "that her album market was viewed as being a more mature audience than the more youthful one responsible for buying a high percentage of her smash 45s," according to Richie Unterbeger of Allmusic. While the album included mainly standards, also included was a cover of Fats Domino's "All By Myself", which was a more uptempo Rock and Roll track. Unterberger gave the album three out of five stars, calling it "one of the less imaginative and interesting of her early albums." Unterberger later stated, "Although All Alone Am I featured a classic 1962 hit single as its title track, like some of Brenda Lee's other early albums, it was unduly weighted toward adult pop standards."^[2] The album was originally released on an LP record, containing six songs on the "A-side" of the record and six on the "B-side" of the record.^[3] The album has never been reissued on a compact disc in the United States, but has been reissued as such in the United Kingdom. In addition, the album is also available on extended play in the United States and Brazil.^[4]

Release

All Alone Am I spawned its title track as the first single. Released in September 1962, the single reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became Lee's first single to chart on the Billboard Easy Listening chart, reaching number one in late 1962.^[5] In addition, the single also reached #7 on the UK Singles Chart in the United Kingdom, becoming her first single since 1960 to peak within the Top 10 outside the United States.^[6] The album itself was officially released the following year on February 18, 1963 on Decca Records. The album would later peak at #25 on the Billboard 200 albums chart^[7] and reach #8 on the UK Albums Chart, becoming one of Lee's final entries on the UK album chart and her highest peaking entry on the chart as well.^[8]

Track listing

Side one

1. "All Alone Am I" (Arthur Altman, Manos Hadjidakis) – 2:45
2. "By Myself" (Howard Dietz, Arthur Schwartz) – 2:11
3. "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" (George Cory, Douglass Cross) – 2:48
4. "It's All Right with Me" (Cole Porter) – 2:40
5. "My Coloring Book" (Fred Ebb, John Kander) – 3:50
6. "My Prayer" (Georges Boulanger, Jimmy Kennedy) – 2:45

Side two

1. "Lover" (Lorenz Hart, Richard Rogers) – 2:16
2. "All by Myself" (Irving Berlin) – 2:36
3. "What Kind of Fool Am I" (Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley)
4. "Come Rain or Come Shine" (Harold Arlen, Tommy Dorsey) – 2:32
5. "I Hadn't Anyone Till You" (Ray Noble) – 2:37
6. "Fly Me to the Moon" (Bart Howard)

Personnel

• Harold Bradley – guitar
• Floyd Cramer – piano
• Dottie Dillard – background vocals
• Ray Edenton – guitar
• Buddy Emmons – steel guitar
• Buddy Harman – drums
• Anita Kerr – background vocals
• Douglas Kirkham – drums
• Brenda Lee – lead vocals
• Grady Martin – guitar
• Bill McElhiney – arranger
• Bob Moore – bass
• Cam Mullins – arranger
• Louis Nunley – background vocals
• Boots Randolph – saxophone
• Bill Wright – background vocals

Sales chart positions

Album

Singles

References