Description
Ella Fitzgerald – The Best Of The Song Books: The Ballads / Verve Records Audio CD 1994 / 521 867-2
UPC 731452186720
The Ella Fitzgerald Song Books were a series of eight studio albums released in irregular intervals between 1956 and 1964, recorded by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, supported by a variety of orchestras, big bands, and small jazz combos.
The eight albums are as follows, with arrangers in parentheses:
- Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book (1956) (Buddy Bregman)
- Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers & Hart Song Book (1956) (Bregman)
- Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book (1957) (Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn)
- Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Song Book (1958) (Paul Weston)
- Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book (1959) (Nelson Riddle)
- Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Song Book (1961) (Billy May)
- Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Jerome Kern Song Book (1963) (Riddle)
- Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Johnny Mercer Song Book (1964) (Riddle)
As stated in the liner notes, Fitzgerald and Norman Granz made one final addition to the series in 1981 on Pablo Records with:
- Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Antonio Carlos Jobim Song Book (Ella Abraça Jobim) (1981) (Erich Bulling)
They are considered a cornerstone of 20th century recorded popular music, and as a whole, represent some of the finest interpretations of the greater part of the musical canon known as the Great American Songbook.
The New York Times columnist Frank Rich was moved to write a few days after Fitzgerald's death that in the Song Book series, she "performed a cultural transaction as extraordinary as Elvis's contemporaneous integration of white and African-American soul."
Here was a black woman popularizing urban songs often written by immigrant Jews to a national audience of predominantly white Christians. As Ira Gershwin said, in the line quoted in every obituary: "I never knew how good our songs were until I heard Ella Fitzgerald sing them." Most of the rest of us didn't know, either. By the time she had gone through the entire canon, songs that had been pigeonholed as show tunes or jazz novelties or faded relics of Tin Pan Alley had become American classical music, the property and pride of everyone."
Frank Sinatra was moved out of respect for Fitzgerald to block Capitol from re-releasing his own albums in a similar, single composer vein.
Verve reissued the eight albums in 1994 in this expansive boxset, which won the 1995 Grammy for Best Historical Recording.
Tracklist:
| 1 | Oh, Lady Be Good!
Written-By – George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin
Written-By – George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin
|
4:00 | |
| 2 | I'm Old Fashioned
Written-By – Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer
Written-By – Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer
|
3:27 | |
| 3 | Laura
Written-By – David Raksin, Johnny Mercer
Written-By – David Raksin, Johnny Mercer
|
3:43 | |
| 4 | Day-Dream
Written-By – William Thomas Strayhorn, Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington, John Latouche
Written-By – William Thomas Strayhorn, Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington, John Latouche
|
3:58 | |
| 5 | Easy To Love
Bass – Joe Mondragon
Drums – Alvin Stoller
Guitar – Barney Kessel
Piano – Paul Smith (5)
Written-By – Cole Albert Porter
Bass – Joe Mondragon
Drums – Alvin Stoller
Guitar – Barney Kessel
Piano – Paul Smith (5)
Written-By – Cole Albert Porter
|
3:24 | |
| 6 | It Was Written In The Stars
Written-By – Harold Arlen, Leo Robin
Written-By – Harold Arlen, Leo Robin
|
5:08 | |
| 7 | How Long Has This Been Going On?
Written-By – George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin
Written-By – George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin
|
3:45 | |
| 8 | Let's Begin
Written-By – Jerome Kern, Otto Harbach
Written-By – Jerome Kern, Otto Harbach
|
2:57 | |
| 9 | Now It Can Be Told
Written-By – Irving Berlin
Written-By – Irving Berlin
|
3:09 | |
| 10 | There's A Small Hotel
Written-By – Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers
Written-By – Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers
|
2:48 | |
| 11 |
Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me
Bass – Joe Mondragon
Drums – Alvin Stoller
Guitar – Barney Kessel
Piano – Paul Smith (5)
Saxophone [Tenor] – Ben Webster
Violin – Stuff Smith
Written-By – Bob Russell, Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington
Bass – Joe Mondragon
Drums – Alvin Stoller
Guitar – Barney Kessel
Piano – Paul Smith (5)
Saxophone [Tenor] – Ben Webster
Violin – Stuff Smith
Written-By – Bob Russell, Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington
|
7:40 | |
| 12 | Ill Wind (You're Blowin' Me No Good)
Written-By – Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler
Written-By – Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler
|
3:51 | |
| 13 | You're Laughing At Me
Written-By – Irving Berlin
Written-By – Irving Berlin
|
3:14 | |
| 14 | A Ship Without A Sail
Written-By – Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers
Written-By – Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers
|
4:07 | |
| 15 | Trav'lin' Light
Written-By – Jimmy Mundy, Johnny Mercer, James Osborne "Trummy" Young
Written-By – Jimmy Mundy, Johnny Mercer, James Osborne "Trummy" Young
|
3:47 | |
| 16 | This Time The Dream's On Me
Written-By – Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer
Written-By – Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer
|
4:35 |
- Artwork [Cover] – Jeffery Fulvimari
- Orchestra – Billy May's Orchestra (tracks: 6, 12, 16), Duke Ellington And His Orchestra (tracks: 4), Nelson Riddle's Orchestra (tracks: 1 to 3, 7, 8, 15), Paul Weston's Orchestra (tracks: 9, 13), Buddy Bregman's Orchestra (tracks: 10, 14)
- Producer – Norman Granz
