GURYAN,MARGO
WORDS & MUSIC (OPAQUE GREY) - LP

UPC: 825764108591
Label: NUMERO GROUP
Format: LP
Release Date: June 7, 2024
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Witness to revolutions in jazz and pop, Margo Guryan earned her place in the songwriting pantheon and then some. That she was largely unknown for decades is not the stuff of crushed dreams, but a result of her own choices and priorities. From humble beginnings to the peaks of her 1968 baroque pop masterpiece Take a Picture and the collected Demos to the recent viral ubiquity of “Why Do I Cry”, Words and Music captures the entirety of Guryan’s career, featuring 16 previously unreleased recordings and a 32-page booklet telling the whole story.

Guryan released just one album in her heyday: 1968’s Take A Picture. But, as Margo was disinterested in performing, touring, and promoting the work, the album went barely noticed at the time. Nevertheless, by the 1990s, the record had become a highly sought after cult favorite. Then, a new generation of listeners came to learn about her work when Take A Picture was reissued in 2000, followed shortly thereafter by the collected 27 Demos, supervised by Margo herself, an incredible compilation of unearthed alternate takes and new-to-the-public songs. Guryan’s life in the intervening years remained filled with music; she became a music teacher, kept writing songs, and cultivated friendships with a growing circle of acolytes.

Her early tunes were recorded by bebop pioneer Dizzy Gillespie, bossa nova icon Astrud Gilberto, the famed South African singer and activist Miriam Makeba, and folk hero Harry Belafonte. Jazz singers Anita O'Day and Carmen McRae all released takes on her material, as did pop singer Claudine Longet and folk-rock icon Mama Cass Elliot. "Sunday Morning," Margo's biggest hit, was first popularized by soft-rockers Spanky & Our Gang, followed by recordings from torch singer Julie London and country royalty Glen Campbell and Bobbie Gentry. In 1967, Billboard called Margo "one of the most sought-after writing talents in the music business."

Track List

1. If I Lose
2. You Promised
3. The Wise Man
4. The Morning After
5. Moon Ride
6. More Understanding Than a Man
7. More Understanding Than a Man (Instrumental)
8. There I Was
9. Kiss & Tell
10. Half-Way In Love
11. Goodbye July
12. Four Letter Words
13. Hurry On Home
14. I Ought To Stay Away From You
15. I Love
16. Under My Umbrella
17. I Don't Intend To Spend Christmas Without You
18. Sunday Morning
19. Thoughts
20. Love Songs
21. Don't Go Away
22. Take A Picture
23. Sun
24. What Can I Give You
25. Come To Me Slowly
26. The 8.17 Northbound Success Merry-Go-Round
27. Something's Wrong With The Morning
28. Think Of Rain
29. Can You Tell
30. Someone I Know
31. Love
32. Why Do I Cry
33. Spanky And Our Gang
34. Most Of My Life
35. It's Alright Now
36. Timothy Gone
37. The Hum
38. Please Believe Me
39. Yes I Am
40. I Think A Lot About You
41. I’d Like To See The Bad Guys Win
42. Values
43. California Shake
44. Hold Me Dancin'
45. Shine
46. Goodbye July