Solitaire (Andy Williams album)

Solitaire
Studio album by
Andy Williams
Released1973
Recorded1973
Genre
Length37:32
LabelColumbia
ProducerRichard Perry[2]
Andy Williams chronology
Andy Williams' Greatest Hits Vol. 2
(1973) 		Solitaire
(1973) 		The Way We Were
(1974)

Solitaire is the thirty-first studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams, released in the fall of 1973 by Columbia Records and was an attempt to move away from his formulaic series of recent releases that relied heavily on songs that other artists had made popular.

The album debuted on Billboard magazine's Top LPs & Tapes chart in the issue dated November 17, 1973, and remained there for six weeks, peaking at number 185.[3] it also debuted on the Cashbox albums chart in the issue dated November 3, 1973, and remained on the chart for 8 weeks, peaking at number 112.[4] It entered the UK albums chart on December 22, 1973, and stayed there for 26 weeks, peaking at number three.[5] On January 1, 1974, the newly formed British Phonographic Industry awarded the album with a Silver certification for sales of 60,000 units in the UK, and Gold certification from the BPI, for sales of 100,000 units, followed on January 1, 1975.[6]

The first single from the album was the title track, which entered Billboard's list of the 40 most popular Easy Listening songs of the week in the U.S. in the issue dated October 6, 1973, and stayed on the chart for nine weeks, peaking at number 23.[7] Although the song did not make the magazine's Hot 100, it did make the top five in the UK, where it entered the singles chart two months later, on December 8, and reached number four during an 18-week stay.[5] Williams's rerecording of another song from the album, "Remember", as a duet with his daughter Noelle resulted in another Easy Listening chart entry as of the January 5, 1974, issue that made it to number 30 over the course of seven weeks.[7] A third song, "Getting over You", entered the UK singles chart four months later, on May 18, and lasted there five weeks, eventually getting to number 35.[5]

Solitaire was released on compact disc as one of two albums on one CD by Collectables Records on February 19, 2002, with the other album being Williams's 1972 release, Alone Again (Naturally).[8] Collectables included this CD in a box set entitled Classic Album Collection, Vol. 2, which contains 15 of his studio albums and two compilations, which was released on November 29, 2002.[9] Solitaire was paired with the UK version of Alone Again (Naturally) (entitled The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face)) as two albums on one disc by Sony Music Distribution in 2003.[10]

  1. ^ "Solitaire - Andy Williams". allmusic.com. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
  2. ^ (1973) "Solitaire" by Andy Williams [album jacket]. New York: Columbia Records KC 32383.
  3. ^ Whitburn 2010, p. 844.
  4. ^ Hoffmann, Frank W (1988). The Cash box album charts, 1955-1974. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. p. 406. ISBN 0-8108-2005-6.
  5. ^ a b c "Andy Williams". Official Charts. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  6. ^ "BPI search results". British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on 24 September 2009. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
  7. ^ a b Whitburn 2007, p. 296.
  8. ^ "Alone Again (Naturally)/Solitaire - Andy Williams". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
  9. ^ "Classic Album Collection, Vol. 2". allmusic.com. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
  10. ^ "Solitaire/Alone Again Naturally". allmusic.com. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 28 January 2011.