A Little Bit of Heaven

On his third RCA solo album, So Tenderly, in the summer of 1964, John Gary let some of his Celtic influences show on such songs as Lerner and Loewe's "Come to Me, Bend to Me." He then made a duet album of show music with Ann-Margret (David Merrick Presents Hits from His Broadway Hits) and a holiday album (The John Gary Christmas Album) for release in the fall before spending three days in late September really giving his Celtic muse a workout on the songs for the Irish-themed album A Little Bit of Heaven. Gary's dramatic tenor was made for songs like "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen," which allowed him to indulge his tendency to drift upwards until he had reached his falsetto voice without any obvious break. He did not sing the familiar Irish airs with the emotional fervor of John McCormack, nor with the paternalistic tone of Bing Crosby, to name perhaps the two best-known practitioners of Irish song in the 20th century, but instead steered a middle course that treated the material somewhat dispassionately, as if it had become a particular ethnic breed of art song. While the approach was not designed to produce either a tear or a smile, it served the songs well, rendering them as compositions that were also appropriate vehicles for Gary's vocal flights.