A Taste of "Sherry!" is a studio album by American singer Marilyn Maye. It was released in February 1967 by RCA Victor and contained 12 tracks. The album featured Maye's first commercially successful singles: "Cabaret" and "Sherry". Both were featured in Broadway musicals of the same names and both reached the top ten on the American adult contemporary chart. A Taste of "Sherry!" received positive reviews from several publications following its release.
Background
Marilyn Maye had been recording for RCA Victor since 1965 after being discovered by television host Steve Allen. She put out several albums with the label beginning with Meet Marvelous Marilyn Maye.[2] On her debut album, Maye recorded the song "I Love You Today", which Steve Allen had written for a musical. This gave Maye's producer (Joe René) the idea to have her record songs that would be featured in upcoming Broadway musicals. Among these was the song "Cabaret", which became commercially successful.[3] The song was featured in her fourth RCA album A Taste of "Sherry!".[4]
Recording and content
The album was recorded at two New York City locations: RCA Studio A and Webster Hall. The latter was not an official studio. However, the technical procedures used to record there classified A Taste of "Sherry! a studio album. The entirety of the project was produced by Joe René. It featured arrangement by Sid Bass, Claus Ogerman, Marty Manning, Jimmy Wisner and liner notes by Gene Lees[4]
A Taste of "Sherry!" was originally released by the RCA Victor label in February 1967. It was first offered as a vinyl LP in both mono and stereo versions. Six songs appeared on "Side A" while five songs appeared on "Side B". It was Maye's fourth studio album and fifth album overall.[4] In later decades, it would be re-released in a digital format to retailers such as Apple Music.[7] It received positive reviews from several publications following its original release. Billboard magazine found that Maye's Broadway covers were performed with a "captivating flair". They also added, "She's a hard-sell singer who makes every performance pay off".[1]Cashbox magazine commented that Maye's pop covers demonstrated her "smooth artistry" and concluded, "The artist sings effortlessly with warmth and conviction, and the set is likely to garner much critical acclaim."[8]Record World magazine found that Maye's vocal delivery on the album to be both "smooth" and "sweet".[9]
Singles
A total of four singles were included on A Taste of "Sherry!". It was first was originally released in August 1965 called "Long Ago".[10] It was then followed in June 1966 by the release of "I've Learned the Way to Sing the Blues".[11] "Cabaret" was then issued as a single in August 1966.[12] It became Maye's first charting single, reaching the number nine position on the Billboardadult contemporary chart in October 1966.[13] Its fourth and final single was the title tune in January 1967.[14] It became her second charting single and second top ten single, peaking at number eight on the Billboard adult contemporary chart in March 1967.[13]
