I Remember Russ

I Remember Russ
Jerry Vale with a woman looking at a moon
Studio album by
Jerry Vale
ReleasedJuly 1958 (1958-07)
RecordedJuly 14, 1958
StudioColumbia 30th Street Studio
GenreTraditional pop
Length39:24
LabelsColumbia
CS-8175/CL-1164
Jerry Vale chronology
I Remember Buddy
(1958)		 I Remember Russ
(1958)		 The Same Old Moon
(1959)

I Remember Russ is a studio album by American singer and actor Jerry Vale released in mid 1958 by Columbia Records. The album contains 12 tracks, all cover songs of Russ Columbo hits. It received a mostly positive reception, with all the reviewers also praising Glen Osser's arrangements, but the album failed to chart.

Background, recording, and release

Jerry Vale was a ballad singer, originally breaking out in the early 1950s with pop hits such as "You Can Never Give Me Back My Heart" and "Two Purple Shadows". In early 1958, Columbia let Vale record his first solo-studio-album, a tribute to Buddy Clark, titled I Remember Buddy. The album's success on the charts prompted Columbia to get Vale back to the studio a cut a second tribute album.

This time, it was to Russ Columbo, a vocalist most popular in the early 1930s, recording most of his material in a few years before his death. Under producers Mitch Miller and Al Ham, Vale recorded the album in one session on July 14, 1958, in Columbia 30th Street Studio at New York City. Arrangements and the orchestra was provided by Glen Osser. It was released the same month, and Vale went on to promote the album via appearences on shows, with people such as Bob Crosby. I Remember Russ missed the charts after its release.

Later reissues

After Vale's comeback with I Have But One Heart in 1962, Columbia repressed the album in the US. In 2000, Legacy Records reissued the album as a compact disc, under producers Darcy Proper and Didier C. Deutsch. Credited also was Harold Chapman as the engineer.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStar
BillboardStarStarStarStar
The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular MusicStarStar
CashboxPositive (Pop Picks)

The album received a positive critical reception upon its release. Cashbox in its album reviews stated that Vales handles the songs "with vibrance, and the caresses of good crooning," adding: "The Glenn Osser ork lushly supports the full Vale delivery." Giving it four stars to showcase "very strong sales potential", Billboard believed that "The tunes themselves, plus certain vocal characteristics of Jerry Vale as well, are reminiscent of Russ Colunbo in this attractive new set."

Retrospectives were more mixed. William Ruhlmann of AllMusic said that "Vale, for his part, just applied his usual smooth, ringing sound to every song with little variance in mood, an effect echoed in Osser's arrangements," calling it a "worthy follow-up to" I Remember Buddy. On the other hand, The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music gave the album a two-star rating, believing the album had "flaws".

Track listing

Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Just Friends"
2:57
2."You're My Everything"
3:26
3."Call Me Darling"
3:54
4."You Call It Madness"
3:39
5."Poor Butterfly"
3:14
6."You Try Somebody Else"
2:44
Total length:19:54

Personnel

All credits are adapted from the liner notes of I Remember Russ.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Album Reviews: Popular" (PDF). Cashbox. Vol. XIX, no. 48. August 16, 1958. p. 32. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 26, 2025. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  2. ↑ Popoff, Martin (September 8, 2009). Goldmine Record Album Price Guide. Penguin. p. 2228–2229. ISBN 9781440229169. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Ruhlmann, William. "I Remember Russ". AllMusic. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  4. 1 2 Hoffmann, Frank W. (1975). The Cash Box Album Charts, 1955–1974. Scarecrow Press. p. 381. Retrieved October 26, 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 Vale, Jerry (July 1958). I Remember Russ (LP Information). Columbia. CS-8016 (Stereo)/CL-1164 (Monaural) (Monaural).
  6. ↑ "Network TV > Throw Away That Script, Bob Crosby" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 70, no. 32. August 11, 1958. p. 6. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 12, 2026. Retrieved November 12, 2026 – via worldradiohistory.com.
  7. ↑ Vale, Jerry (2000). I Remember Russ (CD Information). Legacy. CK 63549).
  8. 1 2 "Reviews and Ratings of New Popular Albums: Popular 4-stars" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 70, no. 32. August 11, 1958. p. 27. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 12, 2026. Retrieved November 12, 2026 – via worldradiohistory.com.
  9. 1 2 Larkin, Colin (2002). The Virgin encyclopedia of fifties music. Omnibus Press. p. 458. ISBN 9781852279370. Retrieved November 12, 2026.