Years from now, if you should look back at "the good old days" and think of the "good old songs," you're likely to think of most of the songs in this album, because they are more than just hits of the day. They're among the small percentage of songs which eventually become standards. One of the most important factors in making a pop hit into a standard is the treatment the song gets while it is new. It takes a recording by a superb artist such as Julie London -- an artist who imparts that special "something" to a melody and lyric -- to make a song memorable. And certainly, no one does quite as much for a ballad as does Julie, with her soft, sultry voice and her inimitable way of caressing a lyric line. So, have a listen while Julie sings you some of tomorrow's great standards -- a little ahead of time.

Music fans of the current generation who aren't familiar with the legendary French torch singer Edith Piaf should automatically go to track 13 here, where Raquel Bitton (a modern day French torcher who has dedicated much of her recent career to the music of Piaf) engages us in a tremendous version of the familiar "La Vie en Rose."