He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not (album)

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not
Studio album by
Chris Connor
ReleasedNovember 1956 (1956-11)
Genre
LabelAtlantic
Chris Connor chronology
Chris Connor
(1956) 		He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not
(1956) 		I Miss You So
(1957)

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not is a studio album by American singer, Chris Connor. It was released in November 1956 by Atlantic Records and was her fifth studio album. The jazz LP contained 12 tracks of ballads, including covers of "High on a Windy Hill" and "Suddenly, It's Spring". It also featured an orchestra conducted by Ralph Burns. The album received positive critical reviews from Billboard, Cash Box and DownBeat.

Background, recording and content

After several albums of jazz recordings for the Bethlehem label, Chris Connor moved to Atlantic in 1956. Her first-label LP was a 1956 eponymous album, and she would record 11 more albums with Atlantic. The projects were either consist of a quartet, a nonet (nine session players) or a string orchestra. He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not immediately followed her eponymous release and was backed by a string orchestra conducted by Ralph Burns.[3] The project consisted of 12 tracks in total[4] that were all covers performed in a ballad style. Among them were "High on a Windy Hill", "Suddenly It's Spring"[1] and "Round About".[5]

Release and critical reception

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not was released by Atlantic Records in November 1956 and originally distributed as a vinyl LP with six tracks on each side of the disc.[4] According to Billboard, the LP placed in the top ten of the "Best-Selling Jazz" albums on December 29, 1956.[6] It received a positive critical response as well. Billboard described the LP as "vocal mood music" and found there was "plenty of meat here for both pop and jazz jocks."[1] Cash Box believed the product would produce sales in the pop field and concluded by writing, "A Chris Connor treat. Superb follow-up to her debut LP on Atlantic—a recent chart album."[7] Robert Clay of DownBeat described it as an album with a "romantic mood" with a "superb" track listing and believed it was Connor's "best LP" to date.[5] AllMusic rated it three out of five stars.[2]

Track listing

Side one[4]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."High on a Windy Hill"
3:44
2."Round About"
3:56
3."Angel Eyes"
3:41
4."You Stepped Out of a Dream"
3:48
5."Why Can't I"Rodgers and Hart3:41
6."Suddenly, It's Spring"
3:09
Side two[4]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."About the Blues"Arthur Hamilton3:41
2."Oh! You Crazy Moon"
  • Burke
  • Van Heusen
3:40
3."But Not for Me"
3:47
4."I Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry"
3:27
5."I Wonder What Became of Me"
4:11
6."Thursday's Child"
3:54

Personnel

All credits are adapted from the liner notes of He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not.[4]

  • Earl Brown – Recording engineer
  • Ralph Burns – Conductor (orchestra), arrangements
  • Chris Connor – Vocals
  • Nesuhi Ertegun – Supervision
  • John Cue – Recording engineer
  • Tom Dowd – Recording engineer
  • Marvin Israel – Cover design
  • Jay Maisel – Cover photo
  • John S. Wilson – Liner notes

Release history

Release history and formats for He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not
Region Date Format Label Ref
Various November 1956 LP mono
[4][8]
Japan 1991–2013 Compact disc (CD) Atlantic Records [9]
Various Circa 2020
  • Music download
  • streaming
[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Review Spotlight On: Jazz". Billboard. November 10, 1956. p. 86. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  2. ^ a b "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not: Chris Connor: Album". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  3. ^ Will Friedwald (2010). A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers. Knopf Doubleday. pp. 112–113. ISBN 9780307379894.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Connor, Chris (1956). "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not (Disc Information)". Atlantic Records. US. SD-1240 (LP mono).
  5. ^ a b Clay, Robert (December 23, 1956). "Popular Records" (PDF). DownBeat. p. 20. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  6. ^ "The Billboard's Monthly Recap of Best Selling Classical and Jazz Packaged Records". Billboard. December 29, 1956. p. 20. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  7. ^ "Album Reviews: Jazz" (PDF). Cash Box. November 3, 1956. p. 31. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  8. ^ Connor, Chris (1956). "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not (Disc Information)". London Records. UK. HA-K2066 (LP mono).
  9. ^ Connor, Chris (1956). "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not (various CD releases)". Atlantic Records. Japan. AMCY-1058 (1991 album); WPCR-25173 (2007 album); WPCR-27348, 7 (2013 album).
  10. ^ "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not - Album by Chris Connor". Apple Music. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
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