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Album Notes
It is
incredible to think that Perry Como had his first major success
in 1945 — and was then already thirty-two years old. His first
love was not music, but hairdressing, having by 1934 opened his
own extremely profitable barber shop. However, thankfully for
music lovers everywhere, Perry (born Pierino) decided that
he wanted to enlarge his horizons and successfully auditioned as
vocalist in a local band, travelling with them for three years
until, in 1937,the then famous Ted Weems, orchestra leader,
heard the golden Como tones and signed him up. It was the
beginning of the long, easy road to stardom for this boy from
Pennsylvania. His casual, relaxed style became immediately
popular, and his handsome Italian looks went down a storm
with the girls.
By the fifties, Como was starring in his
own T.V. series and clocking up an incredible tally of hits.
Then as Rock 'n' Roll music raged through Britain and America,
the cool balladeers who had been top of the tree faded down the
charts and most of them disappeared from the scene entirely. But
Perry continued with his T.V. series at the top of the ratings
and his records still entered the American charts.
But it was in the early seventies that international success
peaked for this true professional. Perry, by then nearly sixty,
took his easy-going singing style a stage further and recorded a
series of contemporary songs written by modern-day stars such as
Don McLean and Kris Kristofferson's "For the Good Times" and
McLean's "And I Love You So" became chart smashes, and his new
albums which featured the new classics like David Gates' "If"
and Leo Sayer's "When I Need You" shot to the No. 1 spot.
Most people would agree that it is on intimate ballads that
Perry sounds at his most comfortable, nut his smooth rich voice
and easy delivery bringing the lyrics to life and somehow closer
to the listener, just hear his faultless recordings of
Streisand's film smash "The Way We Were" and the Carpenters'
"Close To You" and "We've Only Just Begun". As well as his own
transatlantic million-sellers like "It's Impossible" (Perry's
twentieth million-seller, by the way) and the beautifully
wistful "I Think Of You", this new collection from the Master of
Mood brings together all that is wonderful about Perry Como.
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