Lonely Girl (album)

• Julie London – Vocals
• Al Viola – Guitar
• Bobby Troup – Producer
• John Neal – Engineer
• Ray Jones – Cover photography
• Chris Ingham – Liner Notes

For the reissue

• Andy Morten – Producer, design
• Joe Foster – Producer, recreation
• Norman Blake – Recreation
• Bob Norberg – Remastering

As frequently told by Al Viola...the guitarist for the album "Lonely Girl." Julie had scored a huge success with her freshman debut "Julie is Her Name" Volume 1 and Liberty Records was anxious to capitalize on that success. The company arranged for Julie to get another record out immediately and a large orchestral pre-record was made for "Calendar Girl." Julie however, had not had much experience singing except in intimate settings with just a few instruments, typically jazz artist musician friends of her husband, songwriter pianist Bobby Troup. She was intimidated by the lush pre-record and having a difficult time laying down any tracks. She was vocally tense and getting stuck when her husband's best friend Al Viola who happened to be recording some overdubs on another project at the same studio stopped in to say "Hello." The recording engineer asked Al if he'd mind sitting in with Julie to help her relax. Unbeknownst to Al or Julie, the engineer John Neal started recording them. After the first number, John asked them to do another. Thinking that they were just stretching out the effect was evident on playback that there was something worth pursuing. Al was due at a gig in a few hours, so he called the leader and sent a substitute. Julie called Bobby, credited as Producer on the album. Bobby told them to go for it even though there were no A&R representatives present and Liberty Records had no knowledge of what was being recorded. Julie and Al talked about tunes they both knew then worked out intros and endings...if Julie was unsure about a lyric, the lyricist was called. If Al was unsure about a chord change, the composer was called (waking one up well after midnight, although he was glad to help and have his tune correctly represented.) Recording all night, the tracks used on the album were all from the 1st take, although for prosperity several takes were made. To Al, this is what made the album so exceptional and delicious. After recording all night, Al arrived home in the wee small hours of the morning knowing what they had done was without a doubt a truly magical, improvised album.<ref></ref Julie Morgan>

• Lonely Girl at AllMusic

• Lonely Girl on Rate Your Music site