Customer Reviews

Definitive Guy Mitchell

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This is a collection of Guys records that any fan of the 1950s singers should have in their collection. It is good to see Wise Man or a Fool in the collection. I am sure that Derek Beeby of the G M A S will be pleased with this selection. Personally I would have been pleased to see the song Belonging in the selection but that is a personal view. If any person has just been reminded of Guys songs then grab this CD it is a pleasure to listen to the memory he has left us. Thank you Guy if there is such an internet where you are

What a voice. As a youngster, I listened to my parents 78 RPMs. I've discovered that many of these songs are marked in my psyche. The songs are simply moving and very pleasant to listen to...

Between 1950 and 1953 Guy Mitchell - born Al Cernick on Feb, 27, 1927 - racked up 17 charted pop hit singles, and in this marvelous collection you get them all. Seldom, in this period, did Guy miss the million seller mark, but for one reason or another he could not reach the top rung in this period, as his highest ever was a # 2 on two occasions.

His first, My Heart Cries For You (based on an 18th Century French melody "Chanson de Marie Antoinette") reached that pinnacle in late 1950/early 1951, unfortunately at a time when Patti Page's huge hit, Tennessee Waltz, was occupying that spot for THIRTEEN weeks. The flip didn't do too badly either, as The Roving Kind (adapted from the English folk song "The Pirate Ship") made it to # 4. The second # 2, My Truly, Truly Fair, reached there in the summer of 1951, and it was kept from the top spot by Rosemary Clooney's Come On-A My House, which hogged the top spot for eight weeks.

His other Top 10 hits for the period covered were: Sparrow In The Tree Top (# 8 in spring 1951 - the flip, Christopher Columbus, also charted at # 27); Belle Belle, My Liberty Belle (# 9 in late summer 1951 - the B-side, Sweetheart Of Yesterday, made it to # 23); and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (# 4 in spring 1952 - the flip, Day Of Jubilo, reached # 26). He was accompanied on all of hits in this period by Mitch Miller & His Orchestra.
After being shut out from the charts in 1954/55 many figured Guy had run into the same stone wall called R&R that had stymied contemporaries like Eddie Fisher and Don Cornell.

ut then, in 1956, he returned to the charts with a # 23 Billboard Pop Top 100 in Ninety-Nine Years (Dead Or Alive) b/w Perfume, Candy And Flowers, and by 1960 had chalked up another ten charters. And ALL of them are here as well, including his monster hit, Singing The Blues which, b/w Crazy With Love, and with the backing of the Ray Conniff orchestra, did finally give him a # 1. In fact, it was there for TEN weeks and spent a total of 26 weeks on the charts, also making it to # 4 R&B. His other # 1, which came in late 1959, was a cover of the Ray Price Country classic, Heartaches By The Number, and it too made the R&B charts at # 19 b/w Two. with the orchestra of Joe Sherman.

His other Top 40 hits from 1955 to 1960 were: Knee Deep In The Blues (# 16 Top 100 in early 1957 b/w Take Me Back Baby (# 47), both with Ray Conniff, and Rock-A-Billy (# 10 Top 100 in late spring 1957 b/w Hoot Owl, with the Jimmy Carroll orchestra. His final Pop hit in summer 1960 was another Ray Price cover, My Shoes Keep Walking Back To You which, with the backing of the Monty Kelly orchestra, reached # 45 b/w Silver Moon Upon The Golden Sands.

In the late 1960s he re-emerged after a six-year chart hiatus with the first of three minor Country single hits: (Traveling Shoes - # 51 in late 1967 b/w Every Night Is A Lifetime); Alabam (# 61 in March 1968 b/w Irene Good-By); and Frisco Line (# 71 in December 1968 b/w It's A New World Every Day) - all for the Starday label. But since the collection under review is a retrospective of his Columbia years, none of these are here.

Sadly, Guy left us on July 7, 1999 at age 72. But his memory will live on in compilations like this desirable double-CD which is about as complete as you're ever going to get. A jewel.

Aside from a duet with Rosemary Clooney (You're just in love), this compilation includes all Guy's American hits from his peak years although several major British hits are missing. As this is an American compilation, that is understandable - his chart successes in the two countries are strikingly different.

Guy's biggest hit - number one in both Britain and America - was Singing the blues, which was originally recorded by a friend of Guy's, the country singer Marty Robbins, who had an American top twenty hit with it. Guy was reluctant to record the song but eventually did so ant it is clear that the public wanted his version of the song although I enjoy both versions and I'm not sure why his version did so much better than Marty's.

Apart from Singing the blues, Guy only had one other American chart-topper - Heartaches by the number, which also made the top five in Britain - but he had three other number ones in Britain, two of which (She wears red feathers, Rock-a- billy), are included here.

Guy had many American hits but his record was patchy as many of them made the top thirty, even the top twenty, but most failed to make the top ten although some of those that did were hugely successful. Apart from the two number one hits, Guy's biggest hits were My heart cries for you, My truly truly fair and Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, all of which made the top five and sold at least a million copies each. It would be interesting to know how popular they were in Britain but UK record charts did not begin until November 1952. During that early period in Guy's career, he also made the American top ten with The roving kind, Sparrow in the tree top and Belle belle my liberty belle.

This is the strongest collection of Guy's American hits that you are ever likely to find. Fans looking for his missing UK hits should seek out a British compilation. One that is worthy of consideration is My truly truly fair, released by ASV Living Era, which contains all the early hits from Britain and America except I can't help it. On that collection you will find his American hit duet with Rosemary Clooney (You're just in love) as well as the UK hits Pretty little black eyed Susie, Look at that girl (a number one hit), Chicka boom, Cloud lucky seven and Sipping soda, none of which are on this otherwise outstanding double CD.