Whatever Happened to Benny Santini? is the debut album by Chris Rea, released in 1978.
The first single lifted from the album, "Fool (If You Think It's Over)", is arguably Rea's best known song, and remains his biggest hit in the United States, peaking at number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100 and reaching number one on the Adult Contemporary Singles chart. Unlike most of Rea's other singles, "Fool..." was not a great success on the UK Singles Chart, failing to chart on its first release and only reaching number thirty when re-released in early 1979 to capitalise on its U.S. success. This success was also helped by being played extensively by Radio Caroline, as it was dedicated to the British Home Office, who were trying to put the station off the air.
The title of the album is a reference to a name Rea's UK record label (Magnet) had considered christening him with to make him sound more attractive commercially.
Whatever Happened to Benny Santini? was produced by Gus Dudgeon, who's perhaps most famous for producing most of Elton John's album output in the 1970s. Rea was reportedly dissatisfied with the final mix of the album; he later went some way to rectify this to his satisfaction starting with 1988s greatest hits compilation New Light Through Old Windows, where "Fool..." was presented in a newly recorded version. Dudgeon went on to produce Rea's next effort, Deltics.
Chris Rea (/ˈriːə/ REE-ə; born Christopher Anton Rea, 4 March 1951) is an English singer-songwriter, recognisable for his distinctive, husky voice and slide guitar playing. The British Hit Singles & Albums stated that Rea was "one of the most popular UK singer-songwriters of the late 1980s. He was already a major European star by the time he finally cracked the UK Top 10 with his 18th chart entry; 'The Road to Hell (Part 2)'." By 2009, Rea had sold more than 30 million albums worldwide.
He is well known for his 1978 hit song "Fool (If You Think It's Over)" that charted #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent three weeks at #1 on the U.S. Billboard adult contemporary chart. The song was later covered by Elkie Brooks and was a top 20 hit in the UK.
Although Rea had limited success in the United States, two of his albums, The Road to Hell and Auberge, topped the UK Albums Chart. The book Guinness Rockopedia described him as a "gravel-voiced guitar stalwart".
Retrieved from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Rea
A8
Because this tape is sealed new and we cannot inspect for play-ability, we offer no warranty or guarantees on how well this tape will perform once it is opened and removed from the cellophane package. Because this sealed new 8-track tape is very old, the foam pad and glue on the foil splice most often has a tendency to deteriorate over many years of time. Always inspect and replace if necessary those items before playing any sealed new 8-track tape, or damage to the tape and player may occur.
If you would like this new sealed tape gently opened and inspected for play-ability with a new pad and foil splice added, please go to "New 8-track tape repair" in the New 8-track tape category and we will gladly perform the work for you. Please be sure to select the number of repairs needed for the amount of sealed tapes you are purchasing.
