So Smooth UK EP 7EG8171

So Smooth !

With Mitchell Ayres' Orchestra

and with Henri René's Orchestra and Chorus

Including The Ray Charles Singers

HMV UK 45 EP 7EG-8171

MONAURAL

1956

Seventh son of a seventh son, Perry Como certainly works magic with his voice. Scarcely eleven years old when he started his first job cutting hair in a barbershop Perry has become one of the world's most popular singing stars. No wonder the street where his family lived in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, has had its name changed from Third Avenue to Perry Como Avenue.

On this record Perry interprets tunes by some of America's greatest songwriters: Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer, as well as the man who fits words to his music Cole Porter. To songs by these men, Perry Como brings his own inimitable artistry.

No Other Love has an interesting history. When Richard Rodgers composed the music for a TV film series, "Victory at Sea" he found that viewers particularly enjoyed a tango theme, Beneath the Southern Cross.With words by Oscar Hammerstein II and under a new title, it eventually appeared in the musical show "Me and Juliet".

Cole porter must be America's most sophisticated composer, his music sleek, his lyrics pithy. You Do Something to Me dates back to a 1929 Broadway musical: "Fifty Million Frenchmen" In the Still of the Night was featured in te film "Rosalie" Both songs made ideal material for Perry Como.

Ever since Harold wrote Stormy Weather and found a hit on his hands, he has kept on the habit. One for My Baby, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer, was first heard in "The Sky's the Limit" a film starring Fred Astaire. Perry Como moulds this sing to his own highly personal style.