''By Request'' is

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an American singer, actor, and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, from 1943 until 1987 ...

's Ninth

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

12" long-play album. The title made it sound like a number of his earlier LPs, again with the implication that the song choices were made by his audience rather than himself. But where previous records like ''

We Get Letters ''We Get Letters'' is a 1957 album by Perry Como, his second RCA Victor 12" long-play album. The LP's concept is an album of requests from Como's television show, but forgoing the usual big-band sound of Mitchell Ayres' Orchestra and the Ray Ch ...

'' and '' Sing to Me Mr. C'' consisted of old standards (in contrast to the new compositions that made up his single releases), ''By Request'' was, for the most part, a collection of recent material. In several cases, Como was borrowing songs that were recent hits by his competitors: Jack Jones had just scored a hit with "Lollipops and Roses"; Como's RCA Victor labelmate

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

had done the same with "Can't Help Falling in Love", from his film ''

Blue Hawaii ''Blue Hawaii'' is a 1961 American musical romantic comedy drama film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Elvis Presley. The screenplay by Hal Kanter was nominated by the Writers Guild of America in 1962 in the category of Best Written Amer ...

'';

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

was already popularizing the wistful "Once Upon a Time" from the Broadway musical ''All American''; and

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

had claimed the year's Oscar winner, "Moon River" from '' Breakfast at Tiffany's''. The other tracks included "Maria", newly popular due to the movie version of ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...

'',

Rodgers and Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their musical ...

's "My Favorite Things" from the 1959 musical ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...

'', and "The Sweetest Sounds" from Richard Rodgers' new, show ''

No Strings ''No Strings'' is a musical drama with book by Samuel A. Taylor and words and music by Richard Rodgers. ''No Strings'' is the only Broadway score for which Rodgers wrote both lyrics and music, and the first musical he composed after the death o ...

''. Many critics said that the material suited Como especially well, and some even claimed that the singer had made the songs his own. ''By Request'' was Como's best-selling non-holiday LP release in three years.

Track listing

Side one

# "

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

" (music by

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...

, lyrics by

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March22, 1930November26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater, he is credited with reinventing the American musical. He received Lis ...

) – 3:28 # " Lollipops and Roses" (words and music by Tony Velona) – 2:43 # " The Sweetest Sounds" (words and music by

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers wa ...

) – 2:46 # "More than Likely" (music by

Jimmy Van Heusen James Van Heusen (born Edward Chester Babcock; January 26, 1913 – February 6, 1990) was an American composer. He wrote songs for films, television, and theater, and won an Emmy and four Academy Award for Best Original Song, Academy Awards for ...

, lyrics by

Sammy Cahn Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premie ...

) – 2:52 # "Moonglow and Theme from 'Picnic' – 3:23 #* (" Moonglow", words and music by Will Hudson, Eddie DeLange, and Irving Mills) #* (" Theme from 'Picnic'", words by

Steve Allen Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television and radio personality, comedian, musician, composer, writer, and actor. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-creator and ...

, music by George Duning) # " My Favorite Things" (music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by

Oscar Hammerstein II Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and director in musical theater for nearly 40 years. He won eight Tony Awards and two Academy Award ...

) – 2:56

Side two

# "

Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 in storytelling in the English language and has started many narrative ...

" (music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Lee Adams) – 3:50 # "

Can't Help Falling in Love "Can't Help Falling in Love" is a song written by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, and George David Weiss and published by Gladys Music, Inc. The melody is based on " Plaisir d'amour", a popular French love song composed in 1784 by Jean-Paul-� ...

" (words and music by George Weiss, Hugo Peretti, and Luigi Creatore) – 3:07 # "What's New?" (music by Bob Haggart, lyrics by Johnny Burke) – 3:04 # "Somebody Cares" (music by Johnny Robba, Frank Reardon, and Ernest G. Schweikert) – 3:18 # " I'll Remember April" (music by Gene DePaul, lyrics by Patricia Johnston and Don Raye) – 3:02 # "

Moon River "Moon River" is a song composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was originally performed by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 film '' Breakfast at Tiffany's'', winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song. The song also won the 19 ...

" (music by Henry Mancini, lyrics by

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Wallichs Music Cit ...

) – A recording of "

The Bells of St. Mary's ''The Bells of St. Mary's'' is a 1945 American musical comedy-drama film, produced and directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman. Written by Dudley Nichols and based on a story by McCarey, the film is about a priest a ...

" was made during the sessions, but left off the completed album. It was not released until its inclusion on the 2001 compilation CD ''A Perry Como Christmas'', which also includes "My Favorite Things" from this album.

Personnel

* Perry Como – vocals * Peter Gamble – liner Notes

References

External links

Perry Como discography
{{Authority control Perry Como albums 1962 albums Albums produced by Hugo & Luigi RCA Victor albums