{{Infobox song | name = All My Love's Laughter | cover = File:All My Love's Laughter Single by Ed Ames.png | alt = | type = single | artist = [[Ed Ames]] | album = [[The Very Best of Ed Ames]] | B-side = I'll Stay Lonely | released = July 1968 | recorded = | studio = RCA's Music Center of the World, [[Hollywood, California]] | venue = | genre = {{hlist|[[Pop music|Pop]]<ref name="Billboard Review Single" />|[[easy listening]]<ref name="Cashbox Review" />}} | length = 2:32 | label = [[RCA Victor Records]] | writer = [[Jimmy Webb]] | producer = [[Jim Foglesong]] | prev_title =[[Apologize (Ed Ames song)|Apologize]] | prev_year = 1968 | next_title = [[Dear World|Kiss Her Now]] | next_year = 1968 }}
"'''All My Love's Laughter'''" is a 1968 song written by popular [[country pop]] composer and singer [[Jimmy Webb]]. It was most notably performed by [[Ed Ames]], whose version was released as a single and hit the charts in the summer of 1968. It received positive reviews from music publications and critics and was later included on several [[RCA Records]] compilation albums.
== Background and release == [[File:Ed Ames and Jimmy Webb 1968.png|thumb|left|Singer [[Ed Ames]] standing with songwriter [[Jimmy Webb]] in the recording studio in mid-1968.<ref name="Record World Notice" />|234x234px]] American singer [[Ed Ames]] achieved [[easy listening]] success with "[[Try to Remember]]" and "[[My Cup Runneth Over (song)|My Cup Runneth Over]]" in 1965 and 1967.<ref name="Hot100" /> Wanting to repeat the success, he collaborated with hit songwriter [[Jimmy Webb]], whose song "[[Up, Up and Away (song)|Up, Up and Away]]" had just won multiple awards at the [[10th Annual Grammy Awards]] hosted in February 1968. He subsequently wrote "All My Love's Laughter" especially for Ames.<ref name="Record World Notice">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/60s/68/RW-1968-08-03.pdf |title=Webb of Hits |magazine=[[Record World]] |volume=23 |issue=1104 |page=54 |date=August 3, 1968 |access-date=May 18, 2026 |via=worldradiohistory.com}}</ref> It was released as a [[Gramophone record|seven-inch single]] in July 1968 by [[RCA Victor Records]].<ref name="Liner Notes" /> The [[B-side]], "I'll Stay Lonely" was later included as a track on his ''[[The Windmills of Your Mind (Ed Ames album)|The Windmills of Your Mind]]'' album, while "All My Love's Laughter" remained a non-album single.<ref name="Liner Notes" /> The song was noted by critics as to having "strong bass lines with light touches behind key phrases".<ref name="Cashbox Review">{{Cite magazine |last= Albert |first= George |date=July 27, 1968 |title=Record Reviews: ''Picks of the Week'' |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/60s/1968/CB-1968-07-27.pdf |magazine=[[Cash Box|Cashbox]] |issue=52 |volume=XXIX |page=34 |access-date=May 18, 2026 |via=worldradiohistory.com}}</ref> The single was produced by [[Jim Foglesong]], and arranged by [[Perry Botkin Jr.]] on both sides.<ref name="Liner Notes">{{cite journal |last1=Ames |first1=Ed |title="All My Love's Laughter"/"I'll Stay Lonely" (7" single Information) |journal=[[RCA Records|RCA Victor]] |date=July 1968 |id=47-9589}}</ref>
== Critical reception == {{Music ratings | rev1 = [[Billboard (magazine)|''Billboard'']] | rev1Score = ''Positive'' (Special Merit Spotlight)<ref name="Billboard Review Single" /> | rev2 = [[Cashbox (magazine)|''Cashbox'']] | rev2Score = ''Positive'' (Pick of the Week)<ref name="Cashbox Review" /> | rev3 = ''[[Record World]]'' | rev3Score = ''Positive'' (Single of the Week)<ref name="Record World Review" /> }}
The single received a positive critical reception upon its release. ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' magazine stated that "Penned by Jim Webb and performed beautifully by Ames, this potent ballad is a fine topper for his recent '[[Apologize (Ed Ames song)|Apologize]].'"<ref name="Billboard Review Single">{{cite magazine | date= July 27, 1968 | title= Singles Reviews: Special Merit Spotlight | url= https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/60s/1968/Billboard%201968-07-27.pdf | magazine= [[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] | page= 77 | volume= 80 | issue= 30 | access-date= May 18, 2026}}</ref> ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cashbox]]'' described it as a "Mysterious love imagery of Jim Webb is presented in a hymn-like melodic piece that brings Ed Ames back in the running with his newest single." The publication concluded that it's an "especially powerful outing that is bound to click with teen and adult format shows."<ref name="Cashbox Review" /> ''[[Record World]]'' put the song in its "Singles of the Week" section, and said that "Ed Ames introduces a gorgeous, rolling new Jim Webb song called 'All My Love's Laughter.'"<ref name="Record World Review">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/60s/68/RW-1968-07-27-Annual.pdf |title=In the opinion of the editors, this week the following records are the Single Picks of the Week |magazine=[[Record World]] |volume=23 |issue=1103 |page=1 |date=July 27, 1968 |access-date=May 18, 2026 |via=worldradiohistory.com}}</ref>
== Chart performance == "All My Love's Laughter" debuted on the US [[Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles|''Billboard'' Bubbling Under the Hot 100]] in the issue dated August 10, 1968, peaking at No. 122 during a four-week run on the chart.<ref name="Hot100">{{Cite book |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |url=https://archive.org/details/joelwhitburnsbub0000whit/page/8/mode/2up |title=Joel Whitburn's Bubbling under the hot 100, 1959-1981 |date=1982 |publisher=Record Research |isbn=978-0-8982-0047-8 |location=Menomonee Falls, Wis |pages=8 |url-access=registration |access-date=May 18, 2026}}</ref> The single reached a higher No. 106 on the [[Cash Box Top 100 Pop Singles|''Cashbox'' Looking Ahead Top 100 Singles]].<ref name="CashboxCharts2">{{Cite book |last=Downey |first=Pat |url=https://archive.org/details/cashboxpopsingle00down/page/6/mode/2up |title=Cash box pop singles charts, 1950-1993 |date=1994 |publisher=Libraries Unlimited |isbn=1-56308-316-7 |location=Englewood, Colo. |pages=6 |url-access=registration |access-date=May 18, 2026}}</ref> The single also climbed to No. 12 on the ''Billboard'' [[Adult Contemporary (chart)|Easy Listening]] chart.<ref name="EasyListening">{{Cite book |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |url=https://archive.org/details/joelwhitburnpres0000whit/page/10/mode/2up |title=Joel Whitburn presents Billboard top adult songs, 1961-2006 |date=2007 |publisher=Menomonee Falls, Wis. : Record Research Inc. |isbn=978-0-89820-169-7 |pages=10 |url-access=registration |access-date=May 18, 2026}}</ref> The single was ranked higher on the ''[[Record World]]'' Top-Non Rock survey at No. 10.<ref name="Record World Chart">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/60s/68/RW-1968-09-14.pdf |title=Top-Non Rock Chart |magazine=[[Record World]] |volume=23 |issue=1110 |page=20 |date=September 14, 1968 |access-date=May 18, 2026 |via=worldradiohistory.com}}</ref>
== Charts == {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |+Chart performance for "All My Love's Laughter" by Ed Ames ! Chart (1968) ! Peak<br />position |- ! scope="row" | US [[Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles|''Billboard'' Bubbling Under the Hot 100]]<ref name="Hot100" /> | 122 |- ! scope="row" | US [[Adult Contemporary (chart)|''Billboard'' Easy Listening]]<ref name="EasyListening" /> | 12 |- ! scope="row" | US [[Cash Box Top 100 Pop Singles|''Cashbox'' (Looking Ahead) Top 100 Singles]]<ref name="CashboxCharts2" /> | 106 |- ! scope="row" | US [[Record World|''Record World'' Top-Non Rock]]<ref name="Record World Chart" /> | style="text-align:center;"|10 |- |}
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Ed Ames}}
{{authority control}}
[[Category:1968 songs]] [[Category:1968 singles]] [[Category:Songs written by Jimmy Webb]] [[Category:Ed Ames songs]] [[Category:RCA Victor singles]]