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:: Theme From Dr.Kildare (Three Stars Will Shine Tonight) ::

:: A Kiss to Build a Dream On ::

:: All I Have to Do is Dream ::

:: Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo ::

I spent the ‘60s twinkling in my daddy’s eye, so I never thought of Richard Chamberlain as a teen idol for his starring role on Dr. Kildare. Had I been around, I might’ve known he’d enjoyed a brief stint as a pop star, topping the charts with six songs off of his 1962 debut, Richard Chamberlain Sings, released to capitalize on his television popularity. I became aware of Chamberlain later, when he was getting pissed on in Shōgun and doing his part to usher in an era of bad television mini-series movies. So, when I came across these two singles from that debut album, I was thinking I might be getting some good “golden throat” type celebrity stuff, but surprisingly found the music is pretty good. Well, pretty good in a bland, tame sort of way.

Today we’ve got his most popular hit, “Theme from Dr. Kildare,” which went to number 4 on the US charts that year, and a Louis Armstrong favorite on the b-side, “A Kiss to Build a Dream On.” Next is a single released the following year in 1963, both sides containing songs whose best known versions were recorded by the Everly Brothers – “All I Have to Do is Dream” and “Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo.” Chamberlain’s versions went to #6 and #18 respectively on the US charts that year.


Phil

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