2002 Rod Stewart – It Had To Be You… The Great American Songbook
It Had to Be You: The Great American Songbook is the 20th studio album by British singer Rod Stewart, released on October 22, 2002. It was his first release under J Records and served as the debut volume in what would become a highly successful five-volume series of pop standards. The album features Stewart reinterpreting classic songs from the 1930s, 40s, and 50s originally written by legendary composers like Cole Porter, George Gershwin, and Jerome Kern.
Tracks
1 You Go to My Head (J. Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie)
2 They Can’t Take That Away from Me (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin)
3 The Way You Look Tonight (Dorothy Fields, Jerome Kern)
4 It Had to Be You (Isham Jones, Gus Kahn)
5 That Old Feeling (Lew Brown, Sammy Fain)
6 These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You) (Harry Link, Holt Marvell, Jack Strachey)
7 The Very Thought of You (Ray Noble)
8 Moonglow (Eddie DeLange, Will Hudson, Irving Mills)
9 I’ll Be Seeing You (Sammy Fain, Irving Kahal)
10 Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye (Cole Porter)
11 The Nearness of You (Hoagy Carmichael, Ned Washington)
12 For All We Know (J. Fred Coots, Sam M. Lewis)
13 We’ll Be Together Again (Carl T. Fischer, Frankie Laine)
14 That’s All (Alan Brandt, Bob Haymes)
Biography
Musicians
1 You Go To My Head
| Bass | Dave Carpenter |
| Drums | Tal Bergman |
| Drums (programming) | Tal Bergman |
| Guitar | Jim Fox |
| Guitar | Jimmy Rip |
| Piano | Renato Neto |
| Piano | Will Hollis |
| Clarinet | Dan Higgins |
| Strings (synthesizer) | Renato Neto |
| Vocals | Rod Stewart |
2 They Can’t Take That Away From Me
| Bass | Reginald McBride |
| Drums | John Ferraro |
| Guitar | Jimmy Rip |
| Piano | Will Hollis |
| Sax | Dan Higgins |
| Strings (synthesizer) | Will Hollis |
| Vocals | Rod Stewart |
3 The Way You Look Tonight
| Bass | Bob Magnusson |
| Drums | Allan Schwartzberg |
| Guitar | Bob Mann |
| Piano | Randy Kerber |
| Synthesizer | Will Hollis |
| Synthesizer | Andy Chukerman |
| Strings (synthesizer) | Randy Kerber |
| Vocals | Rod Stewart |
4 It Had To Be You
| Bass | David Finck |
| Drums | Shawn Pelton |
| Guitar | Jeff Mironov |
| Keyboards | Philippe Saisse |
| Keyboards | Rob Mounsey |
| Piano | Rob Mounsey |
| Sax | Michael Brecker |
| Vocals | Rod Stewart |
5 That Old Feeling
| Bass | David Finck |
| Drums | Shawn Pelton |
| Guitar | Jeff Mironov |
| Keyboards | Philippe Saisse |
| Keyboards | Rob Mounsey |
| Piano | Rob Mounsey |
| Trumpet | Arturo Sandoval |
| Vocals | Rod Stewart |
6 These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)
| Bass | David Finck |
| Drums | Shawn Pelton |
| Guitar | Jeff Mironov |
| Keyboards | Philippe Saisse |
| Piano | Doug Katsaros |
| Sax | Dave Koz |
| Vocals | Rod Stewart |
7 The Very Thought of You
| Bass | Bob Magnusson |
| Drums | Allan Schwartzberg |
| Guitar | Bob Mann |
| Piano | Randy Kerber |
| Synthesizer | Randy Kerber |
| Synthesizer | Andy Chukerman |
| Percussion | John Ferraro |
| Percussion | Tal Bergman |
| Vocals | Rod Stewart |
8 Moonglow
| Bass | David Finck |
| Drums | Shawn Pelton |
| Guitar | Jeff Mironov |
| Keyboards | Philippe Saisse |
| Keyboards | Rob Mounsey |
| Piano | Russ Kassoff |
| Flugelhorn | Arturo Sandoval |
| Vocals | Rod Stewart |
9 I’ll Be Seeing You
| Bass | David Finck |
| Drums | Shawn Pelton |
| Guitar | Jeff Mironov |
| Keyboards | Philippe Saisse |
| Piano | Lee Musiker |
| Piano | Don Sebesky |
| Vocals | Rod Stewart |
10 Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye
| Bass | David Finck |
| Drums | Shawn Pelton |
| Guitar | Jeff Mironov |
| Keyboards | Philippe Saisse |
| Piano | Russ Kassoff |
| Sax | Dave Koz |
| Vocals | Rod Stewart |
11 The Nearness Of You
| Bass | Chuck Domanico |
| Drums | Harvey Mason Sr |
| Drums (programming) | Tal Bergman |
| Guitar | Dennis Budimir |
| Piano | Randy Waldman |
| Synthesizer | Andy Chukerman |
| Vocals | Rod Stewart |
12 For All We Know
| Bass | David Finck |
| Drums | Shawn Pelton |
| Guitar | Jeff Mironov |
| Keyboards | Philippe Saisse |
| Piano | Russ Kassoff |
| Vocals | Rod Stewart |
13 We’ll Be Together Again
| Bass | Bob Magnusson |
| Drums | Allan Schwartzberg |
| Guitar | Bob Mann |
| Piano | Randy Kerber |
| Synthesizer | Randy Kerber |
| Synthesizer | Renato Neto |
| Synthesizer | Andy Chukerman |
| Trumpet | Chris Botti |
| Vocals | Rod Stewart |
14 That’s All
| Bass | David Finck |
| Drums | Shawn Pelton |
| Guitar | Jeff Mironov |
| Keyboards | Philippe Saisse |
| Piano | Russ Kassoff |
| Vocals | Rod Stewart |
Liner Notes
Producer – Richard Perry (Tracks 1, 2,3, 7, 11, 13)
Producer – Clive Davis, Phil Ramone (Tracks 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14)
Produced By (Vocals) – Phil Ramone (Track 11)
Arranged By – Renato Neto, Richard Perry, Tal Bergman (Track 1)
Arranged By – Bob Mann (Tracks 3, 7 ,13)
Arranged By – Doug Katsaros (Tracks 6, 10, 14)
Arranged By – Don Sebesky (Track 9)
Arranged By (Basic Tracks) – (Track 2)
Arranged By (Rhythm) – Don Sebesky (Tracks 4, 8, 12)
Arranged By (Rhythm) – Rob Mounsey (Track 4)
Arranged By (Rhythm) – Doug Katsaros (Track 5)
Arranged By (Orchestra) – Don Sebesky (Tracks 4, 8, 12)
Arranged By (Orchestra) – Philippe Saisse (Track 5, 8, 12)
Arranged By (String Synthesizers, Solo) – Will Hollis (Track 2)
Arranged By (Strings, Woodwinds) – Jeremy Lubbock (Track 11)
Conductor – Don Sebesky (Tracks 4, 8, 9, 12)
Conductor – Philippe Saisse (Track 5, 8, 12)
Conductor – Doug Katsaros (Tracks 6, 10, 14)
Conductor – Jeremy Lubbock (Track 11)
Engineer (Additional) – Chris Steinmetz, Freddy Pinero, Woody Woodruff, Joel Moss, Trent Slatton, Johnny Kubelka, Bobby Ginsberg, JJ Blair, Steve Deutsch, Alex Gibson, Brian Cook
Engineer (Assistant) – Andrew Felluss, Brian Dixon, Nick Howard, Ryan Smith, Timothy Olmstead, Wade Childers
Mastered By – Stephen Marcussen, Ted Jensen
Mixed By – Frank Filipetti (Tracks 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14)
Mixed By (Assistant) – Andrew Felluss, Timothy Olmstead
Mixed By – Carter Humphrey (Tracks 1, 2, 3, 7, 11, 13)
Recorded By – Carter Humphrey, Frank Filipetti, Woody Woodruff, Mark Valentine
Art Direction – Jeri Heiden, SMOG, LA
Photography – Andrew MacPherson
Mastered At Sterling Sound, NYC
Mastered At Marcussen Mastering, LA, CA
Mixed At Right Track Studios, NYC
Mixed At Tyrell Studios, LA
Recorded At Right Track Recording, NYC
Recorded At Signet Sound, LA, CA
Recorded At Chicago Recording Company, Chicago, IL
Recorded At Crescent Moon Studios, Miami, FL
Recorded At Tyrell Studios
Recorded At Henson Recording Studios
Recorded At Tal² Studios
Recorded At Record Plant, LA, CA
Recorded At Conway Studios
Recorded At Cello Studios, LA
Recorded At Westlake Studios, LA
Phonographic Copyright BMG
Copyright BMG
vinyl_fan1988
April 16, 2026 @ 16:25
This is a fantastic collection. I always appreciate an artist revisiting classic standards like this one – it’s a lovely way to hear them fresh.