Bewitched (Jack Jones album)

Bewitched
Studio album by
ReleasedEarly 1964
Recorded1964[1]
Genre
  • Early Pop
  • Easy Listening
  • Vocal Jazz
Length35 minutes 19 seconds
LabelKapp Records (KL 1365, KS 3365)[2]
ProducerMichael Kapp
Jack Jones chronology
Wives and Lovers
(1963)
Bewitched
(1964)
Where Love Has Gone
(1964)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
BillboardPositive, "Spotlight" pick[4]
CashboxPositive, Pop pick[2]
Record WorldPositive[5]

Bewitched is a studio album by American singer Jack Jones released in early 1964 on Kapp Records.

Background

Jones, who just had his most successful single in 1963, "Wives and Lovers", and was voted the most promising male vocalist by American disc jockeys in Billboard's 16th annual record artist popularity poll and Cashbox's in 1962 and again in 1963,[6] chose to record another album filled with standards and new hits, mainly film and musical songs.

Overview

Bewitched was the second of four albums that Jones released in 1964, with it being shortly released after his hit single "Love with the Proper Stranger", (title song from the movie starring Natalie Wood) which reached No. 17 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart.[7] The album was produced by Michael Kapp himself and arranged and conducted by Jack Elliot, Pete King and Shorty Rogers.[5] The album featured covers of recent pop hits and other standards, as well as his own songs.

Chart performance

Cashbox also said "Watch this one zoom to the upper chart area", and that it did; the album debuted on Billboard magazine's Top LP's chart in the issue dated June 20, 1964, peaking at No. 43 during a nineteen-week run on the chart.[8] It debuted on Cashbox magazine's albums chart in the issue dated June 14, 1964, peaking at No. 19 on the Top 50 Stereo Albums chart during an eleven-week run on it. The album reached No. 22 on the magazine's Top 100 Albums (Monoraul) chart during a longer sixteen-week run on it.[9]

Reception

Billboard reviewed the album saying "...His boyish charm and clean-cut appearance enraptures the gals. Jack has also associated himself with winning new tunes - one of which, 'Love A Proper Stranger' is featured here. Other selections include 'Bewitched', 'I'm Old Fashioned', and 'It Only Takes a Moment' (from "Hello, Dolly")."[4]

Cashbox magazine wrote "The songster, just voted 1963's best vocalist, wraps up a dozen melodic gems in his distinctive vocal manner. Jones fans will dig his readings of 'Bewitched,' 'Love With A Proper Stranger' and a haunting newie in the 'Ebb Tide' tradition tabbed, 'Far Away.'"[2]

Record World said "Grammy winning Jack presents a delectable spell-caster with variety the key word. The flexible Jack-here working frequently with a jazz undercurrent-is able not only to freshen up the oft-done title tune but to do a Streisand fave ('Don't Rain on My Parade') definitively, as well as an Allan Joneser, 'Rosalie'".[5]

Track listing

Side one

Side two

Charts

Album

Chart (1964) Peak
position
US Billboard Top LPs[8] 43
US Cashbox Top 50 Stereo[9] 19
US Cashbox Top 100 Albums[9] 22
US Record World 100 Top LP's[10] 22

Singles

Year Single Chart Peak
position
1964 "Love with the Proper Stranger" US Billboard Hot 100[11] 62
US Easy Listening[7] 17
US Cashbox[12] 59

References

  1. ^ a b Music, All. "Jack Jones - Bewitched - Reviews and information". AllMusic. Retrieved November 30, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Cashbox magazine, June 6, 1964: Album Reviews, Pop Picks. page 22, retrieved December 8, 2025 via worldradiohistory.com
  3. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 766. ISBN 9781846098567. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  4. ^ a b Billboard magazine, June 13, 1964: Album Reviews, Billboard Spotlight Pick. page 46, retrieved December 8, 2025 via worldradiohistory.com
  5. ^ a b c "Record World Album Reviews". Record World. Vol. 18, no. 887. June 6, 1964. p. 10. Retrieved December 5, 2025 – via worldradiohistory.com.
  6. ^ Billboard magazine, May 30, 1964. "Now watch this new one!", page 33
  7. ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (2007). Joel Whitburn presents Billboard top adult songs, 1961-2006. Menomonee Falls, Wis. : Record Research Inc. p. 142. ISBN 978-0-89820-169-7.
  8. ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (1973). Top LPs, 1945–1972. Record Research. p. 75. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  9. ^ a b c Hoffmann, Frank W. (1975). The Cash Box Album Charts, 1955–1974. Scarecrow Press. p. 187. Retrieved November 30, 2025.
  10. ^ "Record World 100 Top LP's" (PDF). Record World. Vol. 18, no. 894. September 18, 1964. p. 24. Retrieved December 5, 2025 – via worldradiohistory.com.
  11. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Joel Whitburn's top pop singles 1955-2002. Menomonee Falls, Wisc.: Record Research. p. 366. ISBN 0898201551.
  12. ^ Downey, Pat (1994). Cash box pop singles charts, 1950-1993. Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited. p. 182. ISBN 1-56308-316-7.