Whatever Happened To Benny Santini? (album)

Whatever Happened To Benny Santini is Chris' début album, released in 1978. The album originally did not perform well, eventually finding favour by Chris' fanbase in the years after its release. The album is generally remembered for the success of the single version of Fool (If You Think It's Over).

Personnel

 * Chris Rea - songwriter, slide guitar, piano, synthesiser, lead vocals, keyboards
 * Robert Ahwai - guitar
 * Eddie Guy - guitar
 * Paul Keogh - guitar
 * Phil Curtis - bass
 * Pat Donaldson - bass
 * Dave Markee - bass
 * Eoghan O'Neill - bass
 * Rod Argent - keyboards, electric piano
 * Kevin Leach - keyboards
 * Max Middleton - keyboards
 * Pete Wingfield - keyboards, piano
 * Steve Gregory - saxophone
 * Dave Mattacks - drums
 * Norman Nosebait - drums
 * Adrian Rea - drums
 * Martin Ditchman - percussion
 * Gus Dudgeon - percussion, tambourine, producer
 * Frank Ricotti - percussion, conga, tabla
 * George Woodhead - percussion
 * Doreen Chanter, Irene Chanter, Stuart Epps - backing vocals
 * Pete Stanley - banjo
 * Richard Hewson - orchestral arrangement

1974-1977
So Much Love was released in 1974, but apparently left little to no impact on the British public. Rea's previous band "The Beautiful Losers" disbanded in 1977, so the idea of Chris recording an album's worth of solo material was brought about. Magnet suggested Chris adopt a pseudonym in order to make him more sellable and sound more "croony". Chris sarcastically suggested "Benny Santini", a name he mocked in the title track of this album. An album's worth of material was recorded at some point during 1977 but was incinerated as, according to Magnet co-found Michael Levy, it did not capture his whole talent.

1978
Chris began recording material for Santini in early 1978, though his professed love for blues and soul music and desire to include it in his album's music was a sentiment not shared by Magnet executives, and interference by both them and the engineers during the production of the album led to it sounding more in the vein of California Sound recordings, and not the Memphis feel Chris was trying to capture. Chris has retrospectively made the claim that he was unsatisfied with the production of the album, as it was not the type of music he wanted to make, but felt at the time he had no choice but to listen to the record company and do what they wanted as he thought they knew best. In later years he has made songs mocking his past work, and indeed the record producers who tried to steer him away from what he wanted to do.

Release
The album was released in late 1978 and had little success in the UK. It peaked at no 49 on the Billboard Hot 200, charting for 12 weeks. Fool went on to become Rea's most popular hit song in the United States, and was later covered by other artists. The most well-known is Elkie Brooks' version from 1982.

Tracklisting

 * 1) Whatever Happened to Benny Santini?
 * 2) The Closer You Get
 * 3) Because Of You
 * 4) Dancing With Charlie
 * 5) Bows and Bangles
 * 6) Fool (If You Think It's Over)
 * 7) Three Angels
 * 8) Just One Of Those Days
 * 9) Standing In Your Doorway
 * 10) Fires Of Spring

Rea's dissatisfaction with the production of the album led to him retrospectively referring to it in a mostly negative light, though curiously he worked with producer Gus Dudgeon for his next album, Deltics, despite having a tense working relationship with him. The reasoning for this has never been explained, though this may have been a decision on the part of Magnet staff.

Singles released

 * Fool (If You Think It's Over), backed with Midnight Love
 * Whatever Happened To Benny Santini?, backed with Three Angels