the vinyl is final
Finally have all of her A&M releases. I think.
I see Claudine as very similar to Scott Walker, my other favorite late 60s crooner. 4-5 excellent albums, a life of fame and fortune, followed by decades of obscurity. Yet while I often see Claudine at thrifts, I NEVER see Scott Walker. They’re the yin-yang of their era. So alike and yet so opposite too.
See my Claudine page for more posts.
I’ve loved this track my entire life. I would probably put it in my top 5 favorite songs. So it was a “now it all makes sense” moment when I learned recently that “Love is Blue” was #1 on the charts for five weeks leading up to my entering the world March 1968. So I’ve loved this track for my entire life plus, and buy every record I find with it. There are more than you might think!
Good luck finding the first disc below (top left) in a thrift store. But I’ve seen the Paul Muriat #1 version with equally lovely cheesecake cover a few times. The 101 Strings was a great find for me, and Johnny Mann had one of his best tracks with it. Claudine Longet’s version is nicely done, but not my favorite, which would be the 101 Strings. An “eyes bug out” moment and a three category match: 101 Strings, Love is Blue and Cheesecake.
I’ve picked up all of these for $3 or less each, except for the first one, which I am hoping to find someday!
Married to Andy Williams, backed by top LA producers and session musicians, the albums of Claudine Longet are a delight. They are easily found alongside her hubby’s albums in thrift stores everywhere.
It looks as though love and life in the fast lane took it’s toll on Claudine. The cover to We’ve Only Just Begun was taken soon after her separation (and eventual divorce) from Andy Williams, and near the end of her career. A fascinating but sad story: she was found guilty in 1976 of negligent homicide of her boyfriend, but sentenced to only 30 days in jail, and has spent the rest of her years in relative solitude.
Sandy was the first to play her music via itunes, and I was dismissive for many years. But that was mainly because she only played the “Happy Talk” mp3 that was too happy even for me. But a glorious $0.10 sale at Goodwill allowed me to pick up a couple of her early albums (Claudine, The Look of Love), and I was surprised to hear a few excellent tracks in the mix.
Claudine’s records fall into another collector category: they feature the Wrecking Crew. Being married to Andy Williams gave Claudine access to the best of everything in terms of music production. Tracks like “Sunrise Sunset”, “Man in a Raincoat”, “How Insensitive” and my favorite version of “Both Sides Now” are glorious works of music. But each album has it’s fair share of stinkers and hits.
She is no longer a household name, though I’m guessing she would have kept a bit more in the public eye if it were not for her legal problems. We’ve all seen her on tv in the Peter Sellers movie The Party, and her album cover for Colours is iconic. Yes, I have the hots for Claudine Longet.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudine_Longet
http://www.discogs.com/artist/Claudine-Longet