The Night Has a Thousand Eyes (album)

The Night Has a Thousand Eyes is the ninth studio album by American singer Bobby Vee, and released in February 1963 by Liberty Records.[1] Ernie Freeman arranged the album, while Snuff Garrett produced it.

The Night Has a Thousand Eyes
Studio album by
ReleasedFebruary 1963
GenrePop
Length26:28
LabelLiberty
ProducerSnuff Garrett
Bobby Vee chronology
Merry Christmas from Bobby Vee
(1962)
The Night Has a Thousand Eyes
(1963)
Just for Fun
(1963)
Singles from The Night Has a Thousand Eyes
  1. "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes"/"Anonymous Phone Call"
    Released: November 23, 1962

The album features the tracks "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes", "Anonymous Phone Call", and the first recording of "Go Away Little Girl".[2] Released as a single prior to the album, "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes" peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and number 2 on the Middle Road Singles chart in the United States and at number 3 in the United Kingdom.

The album debuted on the Billboard Top LPs chart in the issue dated April 13, 1963, peaking at No. 102. It reached No. 51 on the Cashbox albums chart and No. 15 on the UK Albums Album Chart.

The album was released on compact disc for the first time by Beat Goes On on September 16, 1998 as tracks 1 through 12 on a pairing of two albums on one CD with tracks 13 through 24 consisting of the other album being Vee's Collaborative album from June 1963, Bobby Vee Meets the Ventures.[3] It was also released as one of two albums on one CD by Collectables Records on October 17, 2000, the other being a Vee's Collaborative album from July 1962, Bobby Vee Meets the Crickets.[4]

Reception

edit
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [1]
New Record Mirror     [5]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music     [6]

Bruce Eder of AllMusic stated that "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes marked Bobby Vee's plunge into pop music", calling the title track "quintessential teen idol pop" and describing the rest of the album as "quality soft pop...but without anything resembling a dynamic or threatening edge."[1]

Billboard selected the album for a "Spotlight Album" review and believed it "should turn into another strong-selling album" for Vee"[7]

Cash Box claimed Vee's "wide-range voice and distinctive phrasing carry him in good stead on a host of pop favorites."[8]

Record Mirror raved, "Bobby's innumerable fans will be flocking to the shops to purchase copies and many folks will discover they like what they hear even though they may not be regular customers for Bobby's discs."[9]

The Hartford Courant noted that Vee is "backed by a full orchestra and a good choral group" and "rambles through many pleasing current ballads".[10]

Track listing

edit

Side one

edit
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Go Away Little Girl"Carole King, Gerry Goffin2:14
2."It Might Rain Until September"Carole King, Gerry Goffin2:04
3."It Couldn't Happen to a Nicer Guy"Mike Anthony, Paul Mann1:56
4."Theme for a Dream"Mort Garson, Earl Shuman2:02
5."Silent partner" 2:16
6."The Night Has a Thousand Eyes"Ben Weisman, Dorothy Wayne, Marilyn Garrett2:35

Side two

edit
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."You Won't Forget Me"Jackie DeShannon, Sharon Sheeley2:08
2."Anonymous Phone Call"Burt Bacharach, Hal David2:17
3."If She Were My Girl"Carole King, Gerry Goffin2:12
4."Lover's Goodbye"Bobby Vee, Thomas Lesslie "Snuff" Garrett2:27
5."Dry Your Eyes" 2:07
6."What About Me?"Carole King, Gerry Goffin2:08

Charts

edit
Chart (1963) Peak
position
US Billboard Top LPs[11] 102
US Cash Box[12] 51
UK Albums Chart[13] 15
Singles
Year Single Chart Peak
1963 "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes"
Canada CHUM[14] 2
UK Singles (OCC)[15] 3
US Billboard Hot 100[16] 3
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[17] 2
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[18] 8
US Cash Box[19] 4
"Anonymous Phone Call" US Billboard Hot 100[20] 110
US Cash Box[citation needed] 108

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c Eder, Bruce. Bobby Vee – The Night Has a Thousand Eyes: Review at AllMusic. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  2. ^ Young, Brian C. (2023-06-30). RUNAWAY - The Del Shannon Story. Xlibris Corporation. ISBN 979-8-3694-0147-7.
  3. ^ "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes/Bobby Vee Meets the Ventures". allmusic.com. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  4. ^ "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes/Bobby Vee Meets the Crickets". allmusic.com. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  5. ^ Watson, Jimmy (28 September 1963). "Bobby Vee: The Night Has a Thousand Eyes" (PDF). New Record Mirror. No. 18. p. 10. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  6. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 1020. ISBN 9781846098567. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  7. ^ "Album Reviews: Pop Spotlight: The Night Has a Thousand Eyes". Billboard. Vol. 75, no. 9. March 2, 1963. p. 31.
  8. ^ "Album Reviews". Cash Box. Vol. 24, no. 24. February 24, 1963. p. 22.
  9. ^ "U.S. Beat LPs" (PDF). Record Mirror. September 28, 1963. p. 10.
  10. ^ "A Look at the Record". Hartford Courant. April 28, 1963. p. 140. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  11. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1996). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Albums: 1955–1996. Menomonee Falls, Wis.: Record Research. p. 814. ISBN 978-0-8982-0117-8.
  12. ^ Hoffmann, Frank W (1988). The Cash box album charts, 1955-1974. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. p. 388. ISBN 0-8108-2005-6.
  13. ^ "BOBBY VEE". Official Charts. 1961-01-25. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
  14. ^ CHUM Hit Parade, January 07, 1963
  15. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  16. ^ "Bobby Vee Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  17. ^ "Bobby Vee Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  18. ^ "Bobby Vee Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  19. ^ Downey, Pat (1994). Cash box pop singles charts, 1950-1993. Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited. pp. 362–363. ISBN 1-56308-316-7.
  20. ^ "Bobby Vee Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography". MusicVF. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
edit