When
Joe Dowell's debut single -- a cover of "Wooden Heart" from
Elvis Presley's film G.I. Blues -- became a number one hit in 1961, Smash followed up with an album that gives the impression that
Dowell is merely a covers artist. The pleasant but unspectacular
Wooden Heart has no original songs, only the hit title track and covers of then-recent hits such as
Gene McDaniels' "A Hundred Pounds of Clay" and
Bobby Rydell's "Swingin' School."
Dowell's second and final Smash album,
German American Hits, is likewise a collection of familiar songs, but his singles (excepting "Wooden Heart") are originals, some of which were written by
Dowell. It was common in the '60s for artists to cut albums of their versions of recent hits, and
Wooden Heart is simply that.