A Special Part of Me

A Special Part of Me
Studio album by Johnny Mathis
Released 1984
Recorded March 9, 1983
April 13, 1983
August 16, 1983[1] at
Sunset Sound Studios,
Hollywood, California [2]
Genre R&B
Vocal
Pop/Rock[3]
Length 36:37
Label Columbia
Producer Denny Diante[2]
Johnny Mathis chronology
Unforgettable – A Musical Tribute to Nat King Cole
(1983)		 A Special Part of Me
(1984)		 Live
(1984)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[3]

A Special Part of Me is an album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released in January 1984 by Columbia Records.[4] It made its first appearance on Billboard magazine's Top LP's & Tapes chart in the issue dated March 10, 1984, and remained there for 19 weeks, peaking at number 157.[5] It also made it to number 45 during a three-week run on the UK album chart that began on September 15 of that year.[6]

The album includes a duet with Deniece Williams, "Love Won't Let Me Wait", that had its chart debut on Billboard magazine's list of the 100 most popular R&B singles in the US in the issue dated February 25, 1984, where it peaked at number 32 over the course of 12 weeks.[7] The March 24 issue marked its first appearance on the magazine's list of the 50 most popular Adult Contemporary records in the US, where it spent 13 weeks and reached number 14.[8] The next issue, dated March 31, saw its debut on the "Bubbling Under the Hot 100" chart, where it got as high as number 106.[9] Another song from the album, "Simple", began a 12-week run on the R&B chart two months later, in the May 19 issue, that took the song to number 43.[7] The Adult Contemporary chart in the following issue, dated May 26, was its next debut and the beginning of a 16-week stay, during which time it made it to number six.[8] It also enjoyed eight weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 that began the following month, in the issue dated June 23, and gave Mathis a number 81 hit.[9]

The fact that the front cover photograph was taken at the Carlyle Hotel in Miami, Florida,[2] and the choice of pastels for both the album design and the clothing Mathis wears in the photo might suggest that the look was inspired by the influential hit show Miami Vice, but the television series debuted on September 16, 1984[10]—eight months after this album was released.

On January 15, 2013, Funkytowngrooves released an expanded edition of the album on compact disc that included two additional versions of "Simple" that came out in 1984 on a separate 12-inch single.[11]

Track listing[2]

  1. "Simple" (Marvin Morrow, Keith Stegall) – 3:43
  2. "Love Won't Let Me Wait" performed with Deniece Williams (Vinnie Barrett, Bobby Eli) – 4:16
  3. "The Best Is Yet to Come" (Alan Roy Scott, Brian Short) – 4:14
  4. "Lead Me to Your Love" (Michel Colombier, Kathy Wakefield) – 4:21
    • Dennis Belfield – bass
    • Paulinho da Costa – percussion
    • Michel Colombier – Fender Rhodes, piano, Jupiter 8
    • Bill Cuomo – Prophet
    • Marty Walsh – acoustic guitar
  5. "You're a Special Part of Me" performed with Angela Bofill (Angela Bofill, Loree Gold) – 4:13
  6. "Love Never Felt So Good" (Paul Anka, Michael Jackson, Kathy Wakefield) – 4:20
  7. "Priceless" (Leon Ware) – 4:05
  8. "One Love" (Eric Kaz, Wendy Waldman) – 3:58
    • Dennis Belfield – bass
    • Michel Colombier – Fender Rhodes, piano, Jupiter 8
    • Bill Cuomo – Prophet
    • Marty Walsh –guitar
  9. "Right Here and Now" (Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil) – 3:27

Funkytowngrooves CD Bonus Tracks

These two tracks were mixed by David Todd and Nick Martinelli and released in 1984 as a 12-inch single:[1]

  1. "Simple" (Vocal Version) (Marvin Morrow, Keith Stegall) – 5:55
  2. "Simple" (Instrumental Version) (Marvin Morrow, Keith Stegall) – 4:52

Recording dates[1]

Song information

The only cover on this album, "Love Won't Let Me Wait", was a number one R&B hit for Major Harris in 1975[12] that also reached number five pop,[13] number 33 Easy Listening,[14] and number 37 on the UK singles chart.[15] The Harris record also earned Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America for selling one million units in the US.[13]

Additionally, the song "Love Never Felt So Good" was based on a demo track by pop singer Michael Jackson, recorded in 1983. The following year, writer Paul Anka gave Mathis permission to use the song, at which point Mathis recorded an R&B remix with revised lyrics by Anka and Kathleen Wakefield.[16] The Jackson version was eventually leaked online in 2006, and received a proper release under Jackson's branding in 2014 as a part of his posthumous album Xscape.

Personnel

Original album[2]

Performers
Production
  • Denny Diante – producer
  • Michel Colombier – arranger; all string arrangements
  • Larry Hirsch – recording engineer, mixing engineer
  • Bill Jackson – additional engineer
  • Terry Christian – additional engineer
  • Mike Reese – mastering engineer
  • Jo-Anne McGettrick – A&R Coordinator
  • F. G. Bodner – front cover wardrobe
  • Nancy Donald – design
  • Tony Lane – design
  • David Vance – photographer
  • Mixed at Sunset Sound Studios, Hollywood, California
  • Mastered at the Mastering Lab, Los Angeles, California

Funkytowngrooves reissue[1]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 (2012) A Special Part of Me by Johnny Mathis [CD booklet]. New York: Funkytowngrooves FTG 310.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 (1984) A Special Part of Me by Johnny Mathis [album jacket]. New York: Columbia Records FC 38718.
  3. 1 2 "A Special Part of Me - Johnny Mathis". allmusic.com. All Media Network, LLC. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  4. ↑ (1993) The Music of Johnny Mathis: A Personal Collection by Johnny Mathis [CD booklet]. New York: Columbia Records C4K-48932.
  5. ↑ Whitburn 2010, p. 504.
  6. ↑ "Johnny Mathis - Albums". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  7. 1 2 Whitburn 2004, p. 383.
  8. 1 2 Whitburn 2007, p. 179.
  9. 1 2 Whitburn 2009, p. 628.
  10. ↑ Brooks 1995, p. 674.
  11. ↑ "A Special Part of Me - Johnny Mathis - Release Information, Reviews and Credits". allmusic.com. All Media Network, LLC. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  12. ↑ Whitburn 2004, p. 246.
  13. 1 2 Whitburn 2009, p. 425.
  14. ↑ Whitburn 2007, p. 119.
  15. ↑ "Love Won't Let Me Wait". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  16. ↑ "Michael Jackson 'New' Single Written with Paul Anka Is Actually 31 Years Old". Showbiz411.com. May 1, 2014. Retrieved May 2, 2014.

References

  • Brooks, Tim; Earle Marsh (1995), The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows (1946—Present): Sixth Edition, U.S.A.: Ballantine Books, ISBN 0345397363  *Whitburn, Joel (2004), Joel Whitburn Presents Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles, 1942-2004, Record Research Inc., ISBN 0898201608 
  • Whitburn, Joel (2007), Joel Whitburn Presents Billboard Top Adult Songs, 1961-2006, Record Research Inc., ISBN 0898201691 
  • Whitburn, Joel (2009), Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 1955-2008, Record Research Inc., ISBN 0898201802  *Whitburn, Joel (2010), Joel Whitburn Presents Top Pop Albums, Seventh Edition, Record Research Inc., ISBN 0-89820-183-7 
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