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Johnny permenently gave up singing pop when he went in the army in 1964, but he's still going strong in the music business today performing 20's and 30's big band era music with his own 16 piece orchastra and the crowds love him as much as ever. http://www.johnnycrawford.com

I don't know about the USA, but here in Canada, we do not hear enough Johnny Crawford on the oldies stations. His voice and the types of songs he recorded in the 60s are part of a style of music that really made people feel good. I recommend this CD both for the great music and the memories it will bring to all those folks who grew up watching Johnny on TV and listening to him on the radio... It is five stars all the way.

Mike Shaw

I didn't discover THE RIFLEMAN or Johnny Crawford until 1975 when I was twelve so it was like falling in love in a vacuum. I was able to get one of his albums from a rare record dealer in New York and absolutely adored it. I can't tell you the thrill I got when I realized this CD was available! It's absolutely fabulous and I'm singing along to all of the songs I know. I'm astonished that a teenager 15-17 had this kind of talent and am so happy to learn that Johnny Crawford grew up to be such a wonderful man!

I have had this CD since it first came out a few yrs. ago, and still enjoy every song on it! I recommend this CD over the others that are available because you get ALL of his the great songs on one CD.

Many people say Ricky Nelson's version of Lonesome Town is superior. It seems more polished and professional. That is the very reason, I love the Johnny Crawford version better. It sounds just like a cowboy picking up his guitar and singing from the heart.

Of the various young early 1960's TV/movie stars pushed into recording studios by executive suits seeking utmost publicity [Shelley Fabares, Paul Petersen, Patty Duke, Annette, and Hayley Mills were some of the others], Johnny Crawford was one of the better ones.

Between his first, Daydreams [# 70 Billboard Hot 100 in June 1961], and his last, Judy Loves Me [# 95 in January 1964] he had six other chsrters: Patti Ann [# 43 in March 1962]; Cindy's Birthday [# 8 and his best hit in June 1962]; Your Nose Is Gonna Grow [# 14 in September 1962 b/w Mr. Blue]; Rumors [# 2 Adult Contemporary/# 12 Billboard Hot 100 in December 1962 b/w No One Really Loves A Clown]; Proud [# 25 in February 1963 b/w Lonesome Town]; and Cindy's Gonna Cry [# 72 in September 1963 b/w Debbie].

Beside each the title on the back of the disc is shown the single Del-Fi label number or LP number from which the song was culled, although they do not show chart performances. There is also another nice shot of Johnny with the liner notes [two pages of text which DO show the highest position attained for each selection].

To many such as Rolling Stone and Irwin Ambler, Johnny Crawford was the epitomy of cloying, high-school soda-pop fluff, but hey, he was only doing what he was told to do and you can't ignore his considerable success over three years.

From the perspective of a completist collector of hit singles this fails to achieve 5 stars only because Ace left off four flipsides - So Goes The Story, Donna, and Something Special which backed his first three hits, and Living In The Past which was the B-side of his last charter.

Even so, one of the better such compilations available.

I was crazy over Johnny Crawford and the Rifleman show.I watched it from the first show to the end.So when JC started his singing career I was one of his most faithful fans and adored his songs and singing.This album brought back great memories.The sound is wonderful now.Being on a cd and with modern technology you will enjoy this like never before.Any fan of the slow rock bee bop of the sixties will adore this.I was surprised how many of the words I remembered.I understand he has a dance orchestra now and sings with it.I hope he puts out his new music for all of us that cannot get to see him in California.This is much fun and will bring a smile to your face! Enjoy!!!

Johnny Crawford was a short lived teen idle in the early sixties who played Chuck Conner's son in the "Rifleman". He was given three months of singing lessons by Del-Fi in an attempt to turn him into a teen idle (according to the CD insert). They succeeded. His songs are ballad to slow rock. Many of his album cuts (not released as singles) were great songs. Many of his songs were re-issued by Rhino on LP in the early eighties. I have been a fan ever since. Now, what about sound quality? Del-Fi recorded the original songs, so it is assumed they would have the best access to the original master tapes. All songs on this CD have good sound quality. The following tracks are in true stereo: 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 11, 13, 15, 18, 19, 20, 23, 24.

Back in 1961, Johnny Crawford appeared on the TV show The Rifleman, playing the son of Chuck Conners. He was a good looking kid who was popular with girls, so LA based independent record label Del-Fi decided to turn him into a singing teen idol. Fortunately, it turned out that he had a pleasant light tenor voice. He went on to become the most successful recording artist that Del-Fi had. He placed eight singles on the Hot 100, including one Top 10 and two Top 20s. His records were all of the teenage pop variety, mostly ballads that didn't rock too hard. Most of them are pretty enjoyable. The first eight songs on this CD are his eight chart singles, in order of how big a hit they were. Then there are 16 other songs, which consist of b-sides, album tracks and flop singles. This is more Johnny Crawford than most people will want to listen to, but it's better too have too many songs than not enough songs.

This is absolutely one of the best CD's I have ever owned. I love it. Just wish I could find his CD Sweepin' the Clouds Away.