Regis Philbin

By Simon Mallett

Thirty-seven years ago a young… well younger Regis Philbin was approached to record an album of his favourite ballads. Sometime after his album was released, he started doing an uneventful daytime talk show and later, a trivia game show helped prove how little common sense the average American truly possesses. But sadly, somewhere along his path to unparalleled fame and fortune, Regis’ childhood ambition to be a singer got lost. Well, put your daughters to bed because Regis is back with his long-awaited, by him, second album, When You’re Smiling. And while music has changed a lot over the last forty years, Regis disappointingly passes up the works of former show guests such as Outkast and opts to bring back the hits from his first album, along with a series of other crooner classics.


And make no mistake, some of the songs are great–when they’re performed by people who can sing. Irving Berlin’s “What’ll I Do?” and “Cheek to Cheek” are two of the twelve tracks featured, but Regis’ voice can’t make any crooner junkie put the name Philbin alongside the likes of Crosby and Sinatra. If you like these songs, there are much better versions out there. So unless you possess an unexplainable fetish for Regis Philbin, When You’re Smiling simply isn’t one to put on your wish list. Philbin states in the album liner notes he won’t wait another thirty-seven years to put out another album. Damn.