Laughing on the Outside
Encyclopedia
Laughing On The Outside is the fourth studio album recorded by soul singer Aretha Franklin
for Columbia Records
. The album was recorded at Columbia Recording Studios in New York and Hollywood, and released in late 1963.
recording Jazz Music
and Pop Music
standards, from Johnny Mercer
to Duke Ellington
. She is backed by the arrangements of Columbia
producer Robert Mersey. One of the most popular songs from the album is Aretha's interpretation of the classic "Skylark". A minute and fifty eight seconds into the song, Aretha sings the word "Skylark" with power and emotion.
This was one of the first times in which Aretha recorded one of her written compositions, "I Wonder (Where Are You Tonight)", on an album.
Though somewhat overlooked in her Columbia catalog, this album was jointly re-released with The Electrifying Aretha Franklin in June 2008.
On "Say It Isn't So", "You've Got Her" and "Here's Where I Came In," the musicians include:
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
for Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
. The album was recorded at Columbia Recording Studios in New York and Hollywood, and released in late 1963.
Release
These sessions found a 21-year-old Aretha FranklinAretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
recording Jazz Music
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and Pop Music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
standards, from Johnny Mercer
Johnny Mercer
John Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
to Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
. She is backed by the arrangements of Columbia
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
producer Robert Mersey. One of the most popular songs from the album is Aretha's interpretation of the classic "Skylark". A minute and fifty eight seconds into the song, Aretha sings the word "Skylark" with power and emotion.
This was one of the first times in which Aretha recorded one of her written compositions, "I Wonder (Where Are You Tonight)", on an album.
Though somewhat overlooked in her Columbia catalog, this album was jointly re-released with The Electrifying Aretha Franklin in June 2008.
Side one
- "SkylarkSkylark (song)"Skylark" is an American popular song with lyrics by Johnny Mercer and music by Hoagy Carmichael, published in 1941. Mercer said that he struggled for a year after he got the music from Carmichael before he could get the lyrics right....
" (Johnny MercerJohnny MercerJohn Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
, Hoagy CarmichaelHoagy CarmichaelHoward Hoagland "Hoagy" Carmichael was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. He is best known for writing "Stardust", "Georgia On My Mind", "The Nearness of You", and "Heart and Soul", four of the most-recorded American songs of all time.Alec Wilder, in his study of the...
) 2:49 - "For All We KnowFor All We Know (1934 song)"For All We Know" is a popular song published in 1934. The music was written by J. Fred Coots and the lyrics by Sam M. Lewis.The first charting versions in 1934 were by Hal Kemp and Isham Jones . A version by Dinah Washington reached #88 on the chart in 1962...
" (Sam M. LewisSam M. LewisSam M. Lewis was a Jewish-American singer and lyricist, born in New York City, New York as Samuel Levine-Biography:...
, J. Fred CootsJ. Fred CootsJohn Frederick Coots was an American songwriter. He wrote over 700 songs.He is most famous for the song "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", a song that became one of the biggest best sellers in American music history....
) 3:25 - "Make Someone HappyDo Re Mi (musical)Do Re Mi is a musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and a book by Garson Kanin, who also directed the original 1960 Broadway production. The plot centers on a minor-league con man who decides to go straight by going into the business of juke boxes and music...
" (Betty ComdenBetty ComdenBetty Comden was one-half of the musical-comedy duo Comden and Green, who provided lyrics, libretti, and screenplays to some of the most beloved and successful Hollywood musicals and Broadway shows of the mid-20th century...
, Adolph GreenAdolph GreenAdolph Green was an American lyricist and playwright who, with long-time collaborator Betty Comden, penned the screenplays and songs for some of the most beloved movie musicals, particularly as part of Arthur Freed's production unit at MGM, during the genre's heyday...
, Jule StyneJule StyneJule Styne was a British-born American songwriter especially famous for a series of Broadway musicals, which included several very well known and frequently revived shows.-Early life:...
) 3:48 - "I Wonder (Where Are You Tonight)" (Aretha FranklinAretha FranklinAretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
, Ted White) 3:16 - "Solitude(In My) Solitude" Solitude" is a 1934 jazz standard, composed by Duke Ellington, with lyrics by Eddie DeLange and Irving Mills.- Notable recordings :* Paul Robeson, bass with orchestra. Recorded in London on October 18, 1937...
" (Duke EllingtonDuke EllingtonEdward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
, Eddie DeLangeEddie DeLangeEddie DeLange was an American bandleader and lyricist. Famous artists who recorded some of DeLange's songs include Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Duke Ellington, and Benny Goodman.-Biography:...
, Irving MillsIrving MillsIrving Mills was a jazz music publisher, also known by the name of "Joe Primrose."Mills was born to Jewish parents in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. He founded Mills Music with his brother Jack in 1919...
) 3:50 - "Laughing on the OutsideLaughing on the Outside (Crying on the Inside)"Laughing on the Outside " is a popular song.The music was written by Bernie Wayne, the lyrics by Ben Raleigh. The song was published in 1946....
" (Bernie Wayne, Ben Raleigh) 3:14
Side two
- "Say It Isn't SoSay It Isn't So (Irving Berlin song)"Say It Isn't So" is a popular song by Irving Berlin, published in 1932.It has been recorded many times by many artists.Notable versions include:* Julie London in her 1955 LP album, Julie Is Her Name....
" (Irving BerlinIrving BerlinIrving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
) 3:05 - "Until The Real Thing Comes AlongUntil the Real Thing Comes Along" Until the Real Thing Comes Along" is a popular song first published in 1936.According to one version of the original sheet music, the songwriting credits read: "Words and Music by Sammy Cahn, Saul Chaplin and L.E. Freeman"....
" (Sammy CahnSammy CahnSammy 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 premiered by recording companies in the Greater Los Angeles Area...
, Saul ChaplinSaul ChaplinSaul Chaplin was an American composer and musical director.He was born Saul Kaplan in Brooklyn, New York.He had worked on stage, screen and television since the days of Tin Pan Alley...
, L.E. Freeman) 3:04 - "If Ever I Would Leave You" (Alan Jay LernerAlan Jay LernerAlan Jay Lerner was an American lyricist and librettist. In collaboration with Frederick Loewe, he created some of the world's most popular and enduring works of musical theatre for both the stage and on film...
, Frederick Loewe) 4:04 - "Where Are YouWhere Are YouThe term Where are You may refer to:*Where Are You? , an album by Frank Sinatra*Where Are You? , an album by Mal Waldron...
" (Harold AdamsonHarold AdamsonFor the Toronto Police Chief see Harold Adamson Harold Adamson was an American lyricist during the 1930s and 1940s.- Biography :...
, Jimmy McHughJimmy McHughJames Francis McHugh was a U.S. composer. One of the most prolific songwriters from the 1920s to the 1950s, he composed over 270 songs...
) 3:50 - "Mr. Ugly" 3:22
- "I Wanna Be AroundI Wanna Be Around"I Wanna Be Around" is a popular song. In the lyrics, the singer declares that he "wants to be around" when the woman who spurned him inevitably gets her heart broken....
" (Johnny MercerJohnny MercerJohn Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
, Sadie Vimmerstedt) 2:25
Mono mixes
- "You've Got Her" (working title "Let Me Be") (Fred Johnson, Leroy Kirkland, Pearl Woods, Terry Melcher) 2:40
- "Here's Where I Came In (Here's Where I Walk Out)" (Art Wayne, Ben Raleigh) 2:53
- "Say It Isn't SoSay It Isn't SoSay It Isn't So is a 2001 American comedy film starring Chris Klein and Heather Graham as two young lovers who come to believe that they are actually siblings. The film is directed by J.B. Rogers and written by Peter Gaulke and Gerry Swallow.-Plot:...
" (Irving Berlin) 3:08
Personnel
- Aretha Franklin - vocals
- Robert Mersey - producer, arranger, conductor
- Earl Van Dyke or Andrew Acker - piano
- C. Bosler - bass
- Hindel Butts - drums
- Don Arnome - guitar
- Jimmy Nottingham - trumpet
- Robert Ascher - trombone
- Bernard Eichenbaum, Julius Schacter, Leo Kahn, Berl Senofsky, Felix Gigol, Max Pollikoff, George Ockner and John Rublowsky - violin
- R. Dickler, Theodore Israel and Jacob Glick - viola
- Anthony Twardowsky and Joseph Tekula - cello
- The contractor was Robert Ascher
On "Say It Isn't So", "You've Got Her" and "Here's Where I Came In," the musicians include:
- Dave Grusin - piano
- William (Billy) Strage - guitar
- Melvin Pollan - bass
- Russe I Bridges (Leon Russell) - piano
- Ray Pohlman - bass
- Hal Blain - drums
- Tommy Tedesco - guitar
- Plas Johnson - saxophone
- Sid Sharp, Tibor Zelig, George poole, Irving Lipschultz, Irving Weinper, Darrel Terwilliger - violin
- Jesse Erlich - cello
- The cotractor was Steven Kreisman (Steve Douglas)