Search - Rosemary Clooney :: 16 Biggest Hits

Great hit collection by a zesty singer

Joel L. Gandelman | San Diego, CA USA | 07/27/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This a GREAT CD for both young people just interested in great American singing and Clooney as well as for Clooney's longtime fans. Anyone who has liked or just discovered that he/she likes Rosemary Clooney will play a lot of it over and over. It is not a mere nostalgia piece. Most of it holds up quite well. In fact, you could call it The Good, the Bad (in the modern sense as "GREAT") and the ugly (as in "UGLY.").

The CD, comprised of 16-pristine 1950s recordings, contains Clooney's biggest commercial hits from Columbia and a few bonuses. It artfully displays not only the commercial Clooney who could take a silly song shoved down her talented throat and turn it into a hit -- but foreshadows the later critically acclaimed Comeback Clooney, whose career was tragically cut short by her death from cancer. Here are a few of the songs that fall into categories such as:--The GOOD: "This Ole House" still holds up as a lively FUN novelty number. `Come On-A-My-House'' is the silly 1951 song Clooney balked at recording until Columbia honcho Mitch Miller threatened to fire her. So she recorded it, it was a huge hit and made her a star. She makes it good with her verve and humor punching every silly word.
--The GREAT: `Mangos', a wonderful, beautiful tune where each word and note is given pizzazz, sensuality and humor. In "Tenderly" and "Hey There" she displayed her respect for lyrics and notes. In "Mambo Italiano' Clooney's zest, turns a zippy song into a throatily erotic and good humored classic worth several listenings. When she ends it with a
"That's-a-nice!" and the all-male chorus gives a final "UHHH!" we agree. In "Sophisticated Lady' With the Duke Ellington orchestra she shows the potential realized in later years. Special treat: a super show-biz sounding version of Cole Porter's
"From This Moment On," previously unreleased in the US -- with a great smash ending.
--The UGLY: No question. " Botch-A-Me'. Clooney is very enthusiastic doing this entry in her best-selling Italian novelty song series forced on her by Columbia's Miller. But the song's truly excruciating lyrics (and tune) make you suspect she's really thinking: "I can't believe I'm singing this
..." This CD deserves five stars due to its great variety (literally something for everyone), orchestrations, production quality...and ALMOST deserves a star (or two!) taken off for the pain inflicted on listeners by Botch-A-Me...but let's not blame that on Rosey! If you're just discovering Clooney due to news stories about her recent death (and her relation to a certain popular actor) this CD will delight you enough so that you'll want to order her more recent, critically acclaimed CDs."

The elegant and dramatic vocal phrasings of Rosemary Clooney

Lawrance M. Bernabo | The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota | 04/24/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

""16 Biggest Hits" is a misnomer as a title because these are not, literally, the 16 biggest hits in the music career of Rosemary Clooney. Two of her Top 10 hits, "Beautiful Brown Eyes" and "The Night Before Christmas Song," are not included, which proves the point. But it is still a solid collection with a couple of tracks you might not have in your music library that would well be worth the adding. My top choice would be the duet "Sisters," the Irving Berlin song from the classical holiday film "White Christmas," which Rosemary sings with her sister Betty Clooney. These songs are taken from her successful years recording for Columbia in teh 1950s after leaving the Tony Pastor Orchestra (and her sister) but before switching to RCA Victor in 1957. Included on the play list are all four of her Number 1 singles, "Come on-a My House," "Half as Much," "Hey There," and "This Ole House." There is also the Oscar winning song "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening," recorded with Harry James and His Orchestra as well as "Sophisticated Lady," done with Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. The main thing here is that these are all songs that show the strengths of Rosemary Clooney as a lyric interpreter of song. With her it is the phrasing more than the singing. For that reason I have always enjoyed listening to Clooney sing rather than watching her in a film, because the drama was always in the singing and not the way she looked (invariably cool, calm, and collected). This is one of the reasons why, like Frank Sinatra, she could continue to sing effectively for audiences even after her voice started to decline."

Sublime---BRAVO, ROSEMARY CLOONEY !!!

Matthew G. Sherwin | last seen screaming at Amazon customer service | 03/21/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sixteen (16) Biggest Hits is a very strong Rosemary Clooney CD that showcases Rosemary in excellent form during the 1950s. Each track has excellent sound quality and the artwork is very well done.



"The Ole House" starts the album with Rosemary singing better than ever; and her excellent timing and diction bolsters her performance. The backup vocals help the song along but make no mistake about it--this is Rosemary's number, not anyone else's! The musical accompaniment makes good use of the guitar and percussion. "Tenderly" features Rosemary singing a much slower, romantic tune that she makes timeless with her sublime interpretation of this ballad. The strings enhance the beauty of "Tenderly" and I really like "Tenderly" a lot. It's perfect for slow dancing with your sweetheart in your living room!



"Half As Much" is another charming romantic number that showcases Rosemary's excellent vocal range; she sings this so well it sounds like I'm listening to silk! The strings help to carry the song along very well. Listen also for "Hey There;" Rosemary makes this a masterpiece in her capable hands. This love song shines like gold and I could never tire of hearing Rosemary Clooney singing "Hey There." "In The Cool, Cool, Cool Of The Evening" also gets a fine treatment from Rosemary who delivers this peppy little tune with panache--great brass, too!



"Come On-A My House" has a stunning arrangement; and Rosemary never misses a beat! "Blues In The Night" with Percy Faith & His Orchestra sounds beautiful when Rosemary sings this song, too. "Botch-A-Me (Ba-Ba-Baciami Piccina)" is a playful tune that doesn't take itself too seriously--it's not as bad as some may say. I love that keyboard sound--I think it's a harpsichord.



"Mambo Italiano" never came off better than when Rosemary sang it; she delivers this like the pro she always was! The Mellomen make a great backup group for Rosemary on "Mambo Italiano," too. Sophisticated Lady is yet another huge hit when Rosemary sings it; the musical arrangement uses the brass and strings to great advantage. The album ends with a marvelous version of "From This Moment On;" Rosemary sings this Cole Porter song with grace--not to mention all her heart and soul. It's an excellent ending for this album.



Rosemary Clooney rightly deserves much credit for being one of the greatest entertainers of the twentieth century. This fine CD gives us a great sampling of her vocal talents. Casual fans will be enchanted by this album; and people who enjoy classic pop vocals will also appreciate this CD. Diehard fans may want to consider box sets instead of this album; two suggestions are the box set entitled The Songbook Collection and Songs From The Girl Singer-A Musical Autobiography.

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