Sings Apologize

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2026}} {{Infobox album | name = Sings Apologize | type = studio | artist = [[Ed Ames]] | cover = File:Sings Apologize by Ed Ames LP.png | released = {{start date|1968|07}} | studio = RCA's Music Center of the World, [[Hollywood, California]] | genre = [[Pop music|Pop]]<ref name="Cashbox Review" /> | label = [[RCA Records|RCA Victor]] | producer = [[Jim Foglesong]] | prev_title = [[Who Will Answer?]] | prev_year = 1968 | next_title = [[The Hits of Broadway and Hollywood]] | next_year = 1968 | misc = {{Singles | name = Sings Apologize | type = studio | single1 = [[Apologize (Ed Ames song)|Apologize]] | single1date = April 1968 }} }} '''''Sings Apologize''''' is a [[studio album]] by American pop singer [[Ed Ames]]. It was released in July 1968 via [[RCA Records|RCA Victor]] and was the eleventh studio album of his career. ''Sings Apologize'' contained 11 tracks, including the [[namesake]] single "[[Apologize (Ed Ames song)|Apologize]]", which reached the top-10 of the [[Adult Contemporary (chart)|''Billboard'' Easy Listening]] and the top-80 of the ''Billboard'' [[Hot 100]] charts. The album received positive reviews from several contemporary publications and became another charting release for Ames.

== Background and recording == Ed Ames had been a recording artist for RCA Victor since the 1950s, during his time with the [[Ames Brothers]]. In 1966, his solo career took off with the chart-topping hit "[[My Cup Runneth Over (song)|My Cup Runneth Over]]".<ref name="Pop Songs" /> He continued to have hit singles and best-selling albums. The songs for ''Sings Apologize'' were recorded at RCA's Music Center of the World, located in [[Hollywood, California]]. All of them were produced by [[Jim Foglesong]].<ref name="Liner Notes">{{cite journal |last1=Ames |first1=Ed |title=''Sings Apologize'' (Disc Information) |journal=[[RCA Records|RCA Victor]] |date=July 1968 |id=LSP-4028 (Stereo)/LPM-4028 (Mono)}}</ref> [[Arrangements]] were provided by [[Claus Ogerman]] and [[Perry Botkin Jr.]].<ref name="Liner Notes" />

== Content and release == Most of its tracks were covers of songs that made America's ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Pop music|pop]] music chart. This included [[Roger Williams (pianist)|Roger Williams]]' "[[Born Free (Matt Monro song)|Born Free]], [[Bobby Hebb]]'s "[[Sunny (song)|Sunny]]", [[Simon & Garfunkel]]'s "[[Scarborough Fair (ballad)|Scarborough Fair]]", [[Bobby Goldsboro]]'s "[[Honey (Bobby Goldsboro song)|Honey]]", and [[Andre Popp]]'s "[[L'amour est bleu|Love Is Blue]]".<ref name="Pop Songs">{{cite book |last1=Whitburn |first1=Joel |title=Joel Whitburn, Top Pop Singles 1955-1999 |date=2000 |publisher=Record Research |location=Menomonee Falls, WI |page=various}}</ref> "[[Apologize (Ed Ames song)|Apologize]]" was an Ames original and was chosen as the title track. "The Color of Snow" was an Ames original as well, and was later featured on his ''[[The Best of Ed Ames]]'' compilation the following year.<ref name="Record World">{{cite magazine |title=Album Reviews: Pick Hits |magazine=[[Record World]] |date=September 30, 1969 |page=14 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/60s/69/RW-1969-09-30.pdf |access-date=April 30, 2026}}</ref> "Elvira" was a [[ballad]] adapted into a song by [[David Carroll (musician)|David Carroll]] with lyrics by [[Hank Cochran]].<ref name="Liner Notes" />

''Sings Apologize'' was originally released in July 1968 by RCA Victor.<ref name="Releasemonth">{{cite magazine |title=Billboard: New Album Releases (Popular); (RCA Victor) |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=July 13, 1968 |page=75 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/60s/1968/Billboard%201968-07-13.pdf |access-date=April 30, 2026}}</ref> It was the eleventh studio album of Ames's career, and also the second of the year. The label originally offered it as a [[Gramophone record|vinyl LP]], with six songs on "Side A" and five songs on "Side B".<ref name="Liner Notes"/> ''Sings Apologize'' was available both in [[monoraul|mono]] and [[stereo]] sound.<ref name="goldmine">{{cite book |last=Kinslow |first=Chris |title=Goldmine Record Album Price Guide |publisher=Penguin |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-68145-973-8 |page=1881 |url=https://www.google.lt/books/edition/Goldmine_Record_Album_Price_Guide/vBVjDwAAQBAJ?hl=lt&gbpv=1&dq=ed+ames+love+of+the+common+people&pg=PA1881&printsec=frontcover |access-date=May 11, 2026}}</ref> In a few weeks, the label made it available on an [[8-track cartridge]] format as well.<ref name="Release8track">{{Cite magazine |editor= |date=July 27, 1968 |title=New Cartridge Releases (RCA Victor) |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/60s/1968/Billboard%201968-07-27.pdf |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |issue=30 |volume=80 |page=72 |access-date=April 30, 2026 |via=worldradiohistory.com}}</ref> Decades later, the album was re-released for streaming to digital sites.<ref name="Apple">{{cite web |title=''Sings Apologize'' by Ed Ames |url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/ed-ames-sings-apologize/1359372697 |website=[[Apple Music]] |access-date=May 10, 2026}}</ref>

== Critical reception == {{Music ratings | rev1 = ''[[AllMusic]]'' | rev1Score = {{rating|2.5|5}}<ref name="AllMusic">{{Cite web |last=Music |first=All |title=Ed Ames - Sings Apologize - Reviews and information |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/apologize-mw0000863116 |access-date=May 12, 2026 |website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref> | rev2 = ''[[The Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]'' | rev2Score = {{rating|3|5}}<ref name="LarkinGE">{{cite book| title=The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music| editor-link=Colin Larkin| editor-last=Larkin| editor-first=Colin| url=https://archive.org/details/guinnessencyclop0001unse_u1w4/page/78/mode/2up?q=%22ed+ames%22| publisher=[[Guinness World Records|Guinness Publishing]]| year=1992| edition=First| isbn=978-0-8511-2939-6| pages=77–78| volume=I| access-date=June 14, 2022}}</ref> | rev3 = ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' | rev3Score = ''Positive'' "Star Performer" | rev4 = ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cashbox]]'' | rev4Score = ''Positive'' "Pop Pick" }} The album received a positive critical reception upon its release. ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' magazine stated that "this Ed Ames package also packs power with some favorites like 'Honey,' 'Sunny' and 'Love Is Blue.'" They believed that "Two other tunes that will help sell this album are 'Scarborough Fair' and 'Thirty Days Hath September.'"<ref name="Billboard Review">{{cite magazine |title=Album Reviews: Star Performer Pick |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=August 3, 1968 |page=69 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/60s/1968/BB-1968-08-03.pdf |issue= 31 |volume= 80 |access-date=April 30, 2026}}</ref> ''[[The Memphis Press-Scimitar]]'' stated that "The master of moods, Ed Ames lends his rich baritone to a jazzed-up version of 'Sunny', 'Apologize', and 'Love Is Blue'". They believed that "The latter seems to be written with Ames in mind".<ref name="Memphis">{{cite news |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=August 16, 1968 |title=Ed Ames Sings "Apologize" (RCA Victor) |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/799827319/?match=3&terms=ed%20ames%20sings%20apologize%20written |location=[[Memphis, Tennessee]] |work=[[The Memphis Press-Scimitar]] |access-date=May 12, 2026 |page=41 |url-access=subscription |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

Putting the album in its "Pop Picks" section, ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cashbox]]'' magazine noted that "the chanter offers a vocal version of the 'Elvira Madigan' theme and a pretty [[ballad]], 'The Color Of Snow,'" calling to "Expect heavy airplay and sales" on the album.<ref name="Cashbox Review">{{Cite magazine |last= Albert |first= George |date=July 27, 1968 |title=Album Reviews: Pop Picks |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=44 |access-date=April 30, 2026 |via=worldradiohistory.com}}</ref> The ''[[Anaheim Bulletin]]'' believed that Ames "will never need to apologize for that performance", they described the tunes as "big, all the way to the wire".<ref name="Breeze">{{cite news |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=September 7, 1968 |title=Album Reviews: Ed Ames on ''Sings Apologize'' (RCA) |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/967740421/?match=6&terms=ed%20ames%20sings%20apologize |location=[[Anaheim, California]] |work=[[Anaheim Bulletin]] |access-date=May 12, 2026 |page=8 |url-access=subscription |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

== Chart performance and singles == ''Sings Apologize'' would reach the US album charts in the late summer, though its performance on them varied. It debuted on ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' magazine's [[Billboard 200|Top LP's]] chart in the issue dated August 10, 1968, peaking at No. 135 during a fourteen-week run on the chart.<ref name="Whitburn" /> The album debuted on ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cashbox]]'' magazine's Top 100 Albums chart in the issue dated July 27, 1968, peaking at No. 87 during a nine-week run on it.<ref name="CB" /> It debuted on the ''[[Record World]]'' 100 Top LP's chart in the issue dated August 3, 1968, peaking at No. 87 as well, during a shorter six-week run on it.<ref name="Record World Chart" />

One lead single was included on ''Sings Apologize''. "[[Apologize (Ed Ames song)|Apologize]]" was first released by RCA Victor as a single in April 1968.<ref name="apologize">{{cite journal |last1=Ames |first1=Ed |title="Apologize"/"The Wind Will Change Tomorrow (Cuando Sali De Cuba)" (7" vinyl single) |journal=[[RCA Records|RCA Victor]] |date=April 1968 |id=47-9517}}</ref> It became a top-10 single on America's ''Billboard'' [[Adult contemporary (chart)|Easy Listening]] chart,<ref name="Adult">{{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}}</ref> and reached the pop top-80 as well.<ref name="pop">{{Cite book |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |url=https://archive.org/details/joelwhitburnstop00whitbur/page/16/mode/2up |title=Joel Whitburn's top pop singles 1955-2002 |date=2002 |publisher=Record Research |isbn=0898201551 |location=Menomonee Falls, Wisc. |pages=16}}</ref> In Canada, the single reached number 47.<ref name="canada">{{cite web|title=Searched: Ed Ames on the RPM charts |url=https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Home/Result?q_type_1=q&q_1=Ed%20ames&DataSource=Library%7CRPM&DataSourceSel=Library&ST=SAD&&tag=101149& |website=[[Library and Archives Canada]] |access-date=May 3, 2026}}</ref> {{Clear}}

==Track listing==

{{track listing | headline = Side one<ref name="Liner Notes"/><ref name="Apple"/> | title1 = Travelin' Band | writer1 = {{hlist|Kessler|Kemp}} | length1 = 2:13 | title2 = [[Only One Life: The Songs of Jimmy Webb|After All the Loves of My Life]] | writer2 = [[Jimmy Webb|Webb]] | length2 = 2:30 | title3 = The Color of Snow | writer3 = {{hlist|Jones|Green}} | length3 = 2:26 | title4 = [[Apologize (Ed Ames song)|Apologize]] | writer4 = {{hlist|[[Jimmy Griffin|Griffin]] | [[Michael Z. Gordon|Z. Gordon]]}} | length4 = 2:02 | title5 = [[Scarborough Fair/Canticle]] | writer5 = [[Simon & Garfunkel]] | length5 = 3:27 | title6 = [[Born Free (song)|Born Free]] | writer6 = {{hlist|[[Don Black (lyricist)|Black]]|[[John Barry (composer)|Barry]]}} | length6 = 2:06 }}

{{track listing | headline = Side two<ref name="Liner Notes"/><ref name="Apple"/> | title1 = [[Sunny (Bobby Hebb song)|Sunny]] | writer1 = [[Bobby Hebb|Hebb]] | length1 = 3:09 | title2 = [[Love Is Blue]] | writer2 = {{hlist|[[André Popp|Popp]]|Blackburn}} | length2 = 2:44 | title3 = Elvira | extra3 = | writer3 = {{hlist|[[Hank Cochran|Cochran]]|[[David Carroll (musician)|Carroll]]}} | length3 = 2:26 | title4 = [[Honey (Bobby Goldsboro song)|Honey]] | writer4 = [[Bobby Russell|Russell]] | length4 = 3:47 | title5 = Thirty Days Hath September | writer5 = {{hlist|Krondes|Jacobson}} | length5 = 2:17 }}

== Charts == {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |+Chart peaks for ''Sings Apologize'' |- ! scope="col"| Chart (1968) ! scope="col"| Peak<br /> position |- ! scope="row" | US [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' Top LP's]]<ref name="Whitburn">{{cite book | last = Whitburn | first = Joel | title = Top LPs, 1945–1972 | year = 1973 | publisher = Record Research | page = 10 | url = https://archive.org/details/joelwhitburnstoplp00whit/page/10/mode/2up | lccn = 74075179 |url-access=registration | access-date = April 30, 2026}}</ref> | 135 |- ! scope="row" | US [[Cashbox (magazine)|''Cashbox'' Top 100 Albums]]<ref name="CB">{{Cite book |last=Hoffmann |first=Frank W |url=https://archive.org/details/cashboxalbumchar0000hoff/page/6/mode/2up |title=The Cash box album charts, 1955-1974 |date=1988 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=0-8108-2005-6 |location=Metuchen, N.J. |page=6 |url-access=registration |access-date=May 3, 2026}}</ref> | 87 |- ! scope="row" | US [[Record World|''Record World'' 100 Top LP's]]<ref name="Record World Chart">{{cite magazine |title=100 Top LP's (Tear-out Guide) |magazine=[[Record World]] |date=August 31, 1968 |page=28 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/60s/68/RW-1968-08-31.pdf |volume=23 |issue=1108 |access-date=April 30, 2026}}</ref> | 87 |- |}

==Release history== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |+ Release history and formats for ''Sings Apologize'' |- ! scope="col" | Region ! scope="col" | Date ! scope="col" | Format ! scope="col" | Label ! scope="col" | Ref. |- ! scope="row" rowspan="1" | North America | rowspan="2" | July 1968 | {{hlist|[[Monoraul|LP Mono]]|[[Stereo|LP Stereo]]}} | rowspan="3" | [[RCA Victor Records]] | <ref name="Liner Notes" /> |- ! scope="row" rowspan="1" | United States | [[8-track cartridge|8-track cartridge tape]] | <ref name="Release8track" /> |- ! scope="row" rowspan="1" | New Zealand | rowspan="1" | Late 1968 | {{hlist|LP Mono|LP Stereo}} | <ref name="Liner Notes New Zealand">{{cite journal |last1=Ames |first1=Ed |title=''Sings Apologize'' (Disc Information) |journal=[[RCA Records|RCA Victor]] |date=1968 |id=LSP-4028 (Stereo/Mono) |others=Distributed by – Radio Corporation of New Zealand Ltd.}}</ref> |- ! scope="row" rowspan="1" | Worldwide | Circa 2020 | {{hlist|Music download|streaming}} | [[Sony Music Entertainment]] | <ref name="Apple" /> |}

== Personnel == All credits are adapted from the [[liner notes]] of ''Sings Apologize''.<ref name="Liner Notes" />

* [[Ed Ames]] – vocals * [[Jim Foglesong]] – producer * [[Claus Ogerman]] – arranger, conductor * [[Perry Botkin Jr.]] – arranger, conductor * Mickey Crofford – recording engineer

==References== {{reflist}}

{{Ed Ames}}

[[Category:1968 albums]] [[Category:Ed Ames albums]] [[Category:RCA Victor albums]]