{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2026}} {{Infobox album | name = The Best of Ed Ames | type = compilation | artist = [[Ed Ames]] | cover = File:The Best of Ed Ames by Ed Ames LP.png | released = {{start date|1969|09}} | studio = RCA's Music Center of the World, [[Hollywood, California]] | genre = {{hlist|[[Pop music|Pop]]<ref name="Billboard Review" />|[[Easy listening]]}} | label = [[RCA Records|RCA Victor]] | producer = {{hlist|[[Jim Foglesong]]|[[Joe Reisman]]}} | prev_title = [[The Windmills of Your Mind (Ed Ames album)|The Windmills of Your Mind]] | prev_year = 1969 | next_title = [[Love of the Common People (Ed Ames album)|Love of the Common People]] | next_year = 1969 | misc = {{Singles | name = The Best of Ed Ames | type = studio | single1 = [[Try To Remember]] | single1date = December 1964 | single2 = [[My Cup Runneth Over (song)|My Cup Runneth Over]] | single2date = November 1966 | single3 = [[Time, Time (song)|Time, Time]] | single3date = April 1967 | single4 = [[When the Snow Is on the Roses]] | single4date = September 1967 | single5 = [[Who Will Answer? (song)|Who Will Answer?]] | single5date = December 1967 | single6 = [[Apologize (Ed Ames song)|Apologize]] | single6date = April 1968 | single7 = [[Dear World|Kiss Her Now]] | single7date = October 1968 | single8 = [[Changing, Changing]] | single8date = February 1969 }} }} '''''The Best of Ed Ames''''' is a [[compilation album]] by American pop singer [[Ed Ames]]. It was released in September 1969 via [[RCA Records|RCA Victor]] and was the sixteenth studio album of his career. ''The Best of Ed Ames'' contained 11 tracks, including multiple singles by Ames that topped the [[Adult Contemporary (chart)|''Billboard'' Easy Listening]] chart, and received pop sales as well. The album received positive reviews from several contemporary publications and became another charting release for the singer, reaching the charts in October.
== Background and recording == Ed Ames had been a recording artist for the RCA Victor label since the 1950s, during his time in the [[Ames Brothers]] vocal group. In 1966, his solo career took off with the hit "[[My Cup Runneth Over (song)|My Cup Runneth Over]]".<ref name="Adult" /> He continued to have hit singles and best-selling albums.<ref name="Adult" /> The songs for ''The Best of Ed Ames'' were recorded at RCA's Music Center of the World, located in [[Hollywood, California]]. All of them were produced by [[Jim Foglesong]] and one was also produced by [[Joe Reisman]].<ref name="Liner Notes">{{cite journal |last1=Ames |first1=Ed |title=''The Best of Ed Ames'' (Disc Information) |journal=[[RCA Records|RCA Victor]] |date=September 1969 |id=LSP-4381 (Stereo)}}</ref> [[Arrangements]] were provided by [[Jimmy Wisner]], [[Sid Bass (songwriter)|Sid Bass]], and [[Perry Botkin Jr.]].<ref name="Liner Notes" /> [[Claus Ogerman]] is credited with conducting "[[Try to Remember]]".<ref name="Liner Notes" />
== Release == ''The Best of Ed Ames'' was originally released in September 1969 by RCA Victor.<ref name="Releasemonth">{{cite magazine |title=RCA New Album Releases for September (Victor) |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=May 5, 2026 |page=76 |volume=81 | issue= 37 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/60s/1969/Billboard%201969-09-13.pdf |access-date=April 30, 2026}}</ref> The label also made it available on an [[8-track cartridge]] tape.<ref name="Releasemonth" /> It was the first compilation album of Ames's solo career. 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"/> The album hasn't been rereleased to digital streaming platforms. However, its tracks can be found in various other rereleased albums.<ref name="Apple">{{cite web |title=Ed Ames to stream on digital sites |url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/sing-away-the-world/1545707396 |website=[[Apple Music]] |access-date=May 5, 2026}}</ref>
== Critical reception == The album received a positive critical reception upon its release. ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' magazine believed that "One of the most popular and distinctive of male vocalists, Ed Ames has enjoyed much deserved success recently, and this 'Best of' album clearly shows why." They also stated that "Here also are such Ames gems as 'Bon Soir Dame,' 'Apologize,' 'Time, Time'".<ref name="Billboard Review">{{cite magazine |title=Album Reviews: A Spotlight Pick |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=June 20, 1970 |page=94 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/60s/1969/Billboard%201969-09-20.pdf |access-date=April 30, 2026}}</ref> ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cashbox]]'' said that "this album will be picked up in great numbers by the following that he has gathered over the years." They highlighted "The Impossible Dream," "Try To Remember," and "My Cup Runneth Over," noting that ''The Best of Ed Ames'' "will show chart movement shortly."<ref name="Cashbox Review">{{Cite magazine |last= Albert |first= George |date=September 13, 1969 |title=Album Reviews: Pop Picks |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Cash-Box-IDX/60s/1969/CB-1969-09-13-OCR-Page-0041.pdf#search=%22the%20best%20of%20ed%20ames%22 |magazine=[[Cash Box|Cashbox]] |issue=7 |volume=XXXI |page=41 |access-date=April 30, 2026 |via=worldradiohistory.com}}</ref>
== Chart performance and singles == ''The Best of Ed Ames'' debuted on ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' magazine's [[Billboard 200|Top LP's]] chart in the issue dated October 18, 1969, peaking at No. 119 during a sixteen-week run on the chart.<ref name="Whitburn" /> It was his only charting compilation.<ref name="Whitburn" />
A total of eight singles were included on ''The Best of Ed Ames''. Only one 1969 release was included, the message-oriented "[[Changing, Changing]]" which had "[[Bubbling Under Hot 100|bubbled under]]" the [[Hot 100]], with a final position of No. 130.<ref name="Bubbles">{{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 second most recent single on the project was released in October 1968, titled "Kiss Her Now" from the musical ''[[Dear World]]''.<ref name="kisshernow">{{cite AV media |last1=Ames |first1=Ed |title="Kiss Her Now"/"Gloves, Pictures, Dreams (Doors, Mirrors and Heartaches)" (7" vinyl single) |journal=[[RCA Records|RCA Victor]] |date=October 1968 |id=47-9647}}</ref> It became a top-25 single on America's ''Billboard'' [[Adult contemporary (chart)|adult contemporary]] chart, rising to the number 21 position.<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> In Canada the single reached the pop charts instead, peaking at No. 65 on the [[RPM (magazine)|''RPM'']] Top 100 Singles chart.<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>
The first single was his first solo success, "[[Try to Remember]]". It became a success on the [[easy listening]] charts, reaching the top-20, and scraped the pop charts in 1965 as well.<ref name="Adult" /> The main highlight was the second single released at the end of 1966, "[[My Cup Runneth Over (song)|My Cup Runneth Over]]", which topped the easy listening charts, and reached the top-10 on the pop charts in both the US and Canada; his only single to have achieved this success.<ref name="canada" /> Four other well-charting singles were released in 1967 and 1968, "[[Time, Time (song)|Time, Time]]," "[[When the Snow Is on the Roses]]," "[[Who Will Answer? (song)|Who Will Answer?]]," "[[Apologize (Ed Ames song)|Apologize]]".<ref name=":0">{{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> {{Clear}}
==Track listing== {{track listing | headline = Side one<ref name="Liner Notes"/><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> | title1 = [[My Cup Runneth Over]] | writer1 = {{hlist|[[Harvey Schmidt]]|[[Tom Jones (lyricist)|Tom Jones]]}} | length1 = 2:44 | title2 = [[Apologize (Ed Ames song)|Apologize]] | writer2 = {{hlist|[[Jimmy Griffin]] | [[Michael Z. Gordon]]}} | length2 = 2:04 | title3 = [[When the Snow Is on the Roses]] | writer3 = {{hlist|[[Eddie Snyder]]|[[Ernst Bader]]|[[James Last]]|[[Larry Kusik]]}} | length3 = 2:45 | title4 = [[Try to Remember]] | writer4 = {{hlist|[[Harvey Schmidt]]|[[Tom Jones (lyricist)|Tom Jones]]}} | length4 = 3:57 | title5 = [[Changing, Changing]] | writer5 = {{hlist|Sheila Davis}} | length5 = 3:19 | title6 = Bon Soir Dame | writer6 = {{hlist|Bud Dashiell}} | length6 = 2:48 }}
{{track listing | headline = Side two<ref name="Liner Notes"/><ref name="Record World" /> | title1 = [[Who Will Answer? (song)|Who Will Answer? (Aleluya No. 1)]] | writer1 = {{hlist|[[Luis Eduardo Aute]]|Sheila Davis}} | length1 = 3:40 | title2 = [[Time, Time (song)|Time, Time]] | writer2 = {{hlist|Renato Canfora|Giuseppe Baselli|[[Mort Shuman]]}} | length2 = 2:50 | title3 = [[Dear World|Kiss Her Now]] | writer3 = {{hlist|[[Jerry Herman]]}} | length3 = 2:08 | title4 = The Color of Snow | writer4 = {{hlist|[[Tom Jones (lyricist)|Jones]]|Green}} | length4 = 2:26 | title5 = [[The Impossible Dream (The Quest)]] | writer5 = {{hlist|[[Joe Darion]]|[[Mitch Leigh]]}} | length5 = 2:33 }}
== Charts == {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |+Chart peaks for ''The Best of Ed Ames'' |- ! scope="col"| Chart (1969) ! 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> | 119 |- |}
== Personnel == All credits are adapted from the [[liner notes]] of ''The Best of Ed Ames''.<ref name="Liner Notes" />
* [[Ed Ames]] – vocals * [[Jim Foglesong]] – producer * [[Claus Ogerman]], (tracks: A4) – conductor * [[Perry Botkin Jr.]], (tracks: A1 to A3, A5, B1 to B4) – arranger, conductor * [[Sid Bass (songwriter)|Sid Bass]], (tracks: B5) – arranger, conductor * [[Jimmy Wisner]], (tracks: A6) – arranger, conductor
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Ed Ames}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Best of Ed Ames}} [[Category:1969 compilation albums]] [[Category:Ed Ames albums]] [[Category:RCA Victor albums]]