100 Strings and Joni

March 2025 100 Strings and Joni studio Joni James File:100StringsandJoni.jpg May 2, 1959MGM Releases 17 LP's For May Cash Box 9 May 1959 40 https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/50s/1959/CB-1959-05-09.pdf 22 May 2022"100 Strings & Joni" Promo Cash Box 9 May 1959 56 https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Cash-Box-IDX/50s/1959/CB-1959-05-09-OCR-Page-0052.pdf#search=%22joni%20james%20strings%22 22 May 2022Hodes Bernie Joni Enthralls Fans at Carnegie Billboard 11 May 1959 14 https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1959/Billboard%201959-05-11-OCR-Page-0014.pdf#search=%22joni%20james%20strings%22 22 May 2022 January 1959Henshaw Laurie No rock for me Melody Maker 17 January 1959 7 https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Melody-Maker/50s/Melody-Maker-1959-01-17-OCR.pdf 28 June 2022 EMI, LondonConcerts and television for all-star American contingent Record Mail January 1960 1 https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Record-Mail/IDX/Record-Mail-1960-01-OCR-Page-0001.pdf#search=%22joni%20james%20100%20strings%22 22 May 2022 Traditional pop symphonic pop 43:50 MGM Acquaviva Joni Sings Irish Favo(u)rites 1959 Joni at Carnegie Hall 1959 100 Strings and Joni is a studio album by the American traditional pop singer Joni James, released on May 2, 1959 by MGM Records. Recorded at EMI Recording Studios, Abbey Road, the album utilizes a 100-piece symphony orchestra and was produced by Tony Acquaviva (credited under the mononym Acquaviva), James' husband, manager and conductor.Bell Bill 2000-10-28 Joni James: A Melancholy Baby Returns https://www.nydailynews.com/2000/10/28/joni-james-a-melancholy-baby-returns/ 2025-03-21 New York Daily News en-US1986-10-02 Anthony Acquaviva, Composer, Dies at 61 https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-10-02-mn-3954-story.html 2025-03-21 Los Angeles Times en-US British composers Tony Osbourne and Geoff Love arranged the album's twelve tracks and the album was recorded with assistance from EMI A&R manager Norman Newell. 100 Strings and Joni Joni James 1959 liner MGM A commercial success upon release, the album initiated a series of "100 Strings" albums for James. Recording James' husband and manager Tony Acquaviva formulated the idea of backing the singer with a 100-piece orchestra, but initially found MGM reluctant. The project came to fruition in January 1959 during James' first tour of Great Britain, following a successful appearance on ATV's Sunday Night at the London Palladium.Castle John Just for the record Record Mail July 1959 8 https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Record-Mail/IDX/Record-Mail-1959-07-OCR-Page-0008.pdf#search=%22joni%20james%20100%20strings%22 22 May 2022 The album was initially reported to be titled 100 Men and a Girl and recording began at EMI Recording Studios, Abbey Road on 17 January 1959. Utilising the facilities at the studios and aided by the prolific British arrangers Tony Osbourne and Geoff Love as well as British musicians and technicians including A&R man Norman Newell, the project was achieved at a fraction of the expenditure it would have cost stateside.Planer Lindsay 100 Strings and Joni AllMusic https://www.allmusic.com/album/100-strings-and-joni-mw0000019027 23 May 2022 James considered the orchestra in the room to be "one of the most beautiful sounds I ever heard". The album consists of arrangements of standards from the Great American Songbook recorded under the musical supervision of Acquaviva. Release The album was issued on May 2, 1959, rush released to coincide with James' debut concert at Carnegie Hall, also titled "100 Strings and Joni", which took place on May 3, 1959.Record Ramblings Cash Box 2 May 1959 34 https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Cash-Box-IDX/50s/1959/CB-1959-05-02-OCR-Page-0032.pdf#search=%22joni%20james%20strings%22 22 May 2022Joni James To Appear At Carnegie Cash Box 28 March 1959 43 https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Cash-Box-IDX/50s/1959/CB-1959-03-28-OCR-Page-0041.pdf#search=%22joni%20james%20strings%22 22 May 2022 Backed by Arturo Toscanini's Symphony of the Air, the concert made James among the first pop singers to perform a solo concert at the venue.Seelye Katharine Q. Joni James, 91, Heartfelt Chanteuse of the 1950s, Dies The New York Times 4 March 2022 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/04/arts/music/joni-james-dead.html 23 May 2022nb The concert itself was later issued as a live album, Joni at Carnegie Hall.MGM Swinging Cash Box 13 February 1960 49 https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Cash-Box-IDX/60s/1960/CB-1960-02-13-OCR-Page-0049.pdf#search=%22joni%20james%20strings%22 22 May 2022 The event's opulent setup, unusual for a pop singer, led to speculation about its cost in the music press. Tail Pieces NME 8 May 1959 12 https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/New-Musical-Express/1959/nme-1959-05-08-s-ocr.pdf 23 May 2022 MGM, who considered James their "album queen" commercially, strongly promoted 100 Strings, with window displays in over two-hundred New York record stores.Album Endurance Billboard 20 April 1959 16 https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1959/Billboard%201959-04-20-OCR-Page-0016.pdf#search=%22joni%20james%20strings%22 22 May 2022 Issued in a gatefold sleeveThe Billboard spotlight winners of the week Billboard 27 April 1959 24 https://books.google.com/books?id=giEEAAAAMBAJ 30 May 2022 and advertised as a "deluxe album",The queen of song Joni James Billboard 23 March 1959 13 https://books.google.com/books?id=QSAEAAAAMBAJ&dq=100+strings+and+joni&pg=PA13 30 May 2022 the album was available in stereo and monaural and its tracks were issued over three volumes of mono EPs. According to James' liner notes, the first copy of the album was sent to Princess Margaret, then aged nineteen and "a great record fan". The album was issued on CD in 2002 by Collectors' Choice Music. Critical reception AllMusic 4 5 Upon release, Cash Box assessed the album positively, singling out James' "tenderly" vocals and "the lush velvet backdrops by the orchestra". They concluded "her many fans will regard this as representative of her best work to date".Album Reviews Cash Box 2 May 1959 44 https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/50s/1959/CB-1959-05-02.pdf 22 May 2022 Billboard praised "Acquaviva's lush backing behind the thrush's distinctive piping". In a retrospective review, Lindsay Planer of AllMusic commented "the blend of warm and vibrant acoustics at Abbey Road as well as the fresh scores of timeless material give James an inviting sonic canvas that she and the assembled musicians impeccably utilize". Planer noted "James delicately balances an authoritative intonation with tasteful restraint and the purity of innocence" and praised "Imagination", "But Beautiful" and "Hi Lili, Hi Lo" as "a few of the more exquisite and accomplished performances", but added "it is admittedly difficult to find fault with any of them". Aftermath and legacy left|thumb|180px|James in 1962 Following the album's release, James was presented with a gold plaque reading "many thanks to Joni James who has sold one million albums since joining MGM Records".Record Ramblings Cash Box 18 July 1959 38 https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Cash-Box-IDX/50s/1959/CB-1959-07-18-OCR-Page-0038.pdf#search=%22joni%20james%20strings%22 22 May 2022 James toured extensively with the full orchestra over 1959 and 1960.Record Ramblings Cash Box 23 July 1960 20 https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Cash-Box-IDX/60s/1960/CB-1960-07-23-OCR-Page-0018.pdf#search=%22joni%20james%20strings%22 22 May 2022 Her two-week residency at Los Angeles's Cocoanut Grove in June and July 1960 was described as "one of the biggest orchestral complements ever to appear in a single night club offering".Huge Ork Backing For Joni Billboard 23 May 1960 2 https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1960/Billboard%201960-05-23-OCR-Page-0002.pdf#search=%22joni%20james%20strings%22 22 May 2022 On December 20, 1959, James arrived in Britain with plans to record several "100 Strings" albums in the country.Joni is Back Melody Maker 26 December 1959 1 https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Melody-Maker/50s/Melody-Maker-1959-12-26-OCR.pdf 22 May 2022 The first of these, I'm in the Mood for Love, was issued in May 1960. The album was launched at the British Trade Show at New York Coliseum, where it was played on British equipment in a "typical comfortable living room setting" designed by Lord & Taylor.Between Two Continents Cash Box 9 July 1960 37 https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Cash-Box-IDX/60s/1960/CB-1960-07-09-OCR-Page-0035.pdf#search=%22joni%20james%20strings%22 22 May 2022Eight MGM Albums For May Cash Box 14 May 1960 61 https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Cash-Box-IDX/60s/1960/CB-1960-05-14-OCR-Page-0061.pdf#search=%22joni%20james%20strings%22 22 May 2022 Another follow-up album, 100 Strings and Joni in Hollywood, was announced by MGM at their Puerto Rico distribution meeting in July 1960.MGM's "Starpower" LP Release Cash Box 30 July 1960 144 https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Cash-Box-IDX/60s/1960/CB-1960-07-30-18th-Anniversary-OCR-Page-0024.pdf#search=%22joni%20james%20strings%22 22 May 2022 It was released simultaneously with 100 Strings and Joni on Broadway in August 1960.Album Reviews Cash Box 10 September 1960 32 https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Cash-Box-IDX/60s/1960/CB-1960-09-10-OCR-Page-0030.pdf#search=%22joni%20james%20strings%22 22 May 2022MGM The Starpower Label Billboard 1 August 1960 35 https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Cash-Box-IDX/60s/1960/CB-1960-08-13-OCR-Page-0005.pdf#search=%22joni%20james%20strings%22 22 May 2022 An album of religious songs for the holiday season, 100 Voices, 10 Strings & Joni James, followed in December.Album Reviews Cash Box 10 December 1960 28 https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Cash-Box-IDX/60s/1960/CB-1960-12-10-OCR-Page-0028.pdf#search=%22joni%20james%20strings%22 22 May 2022 The album was included in Jody Rosen's "60 Great Albums You Probably Haven't Heard" article for Vulture. Rosen praised James' "subtle" vocal performances and commented "there are symphonic pop albums—and then there's 100 Strings and Joni".Rosen Jody 60 Great Albums You Probably Haven't Heard https://www.vulture.com/2013/11/60-great-albums-you-probably-havent-heard.html Vulture.com 23 May 2022 Track listing Side one "My Heart Tells Me" (Harry Warren, Mack Gordon) – 3:29 "Imagination" (Johnny Burke, Jimmy Van Heusen) – 4:57 "All Through the Day" (Oscar Hammerstein II, Jerome Kern) – 2:44 "Too Young" (Sid Lippman, Sylvia Dee) – 3:32 "It Never Entered My Mind" (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) – 3:19 "Body and Soul" (Johnny Green, Edward Heyman, Robert Sour and Frank Eyton) – 3:57 Side two "I Can Dream, Can't I?" (Sammy Fain, Irving Kahal) – 3:33 "Hi Lili, Hi Lo" (Bronislau Kaper, Helen Deutsch) – 3:10 "But Beautiful" (Burke, Van Heusen) – 3:38 "Wait and See" (Warren, Johnny Mercer) – 4:17 "It Could Happen to You" (Burke, Van Heusen) – 3:35 "Maybe You'll Be There" (Rube Bloom, Sammy Gallop) – 3:52 Notes nb References Category:Joni James albums Category:1959 albums Category:MGM Records albums Category:Orchestral pop albums