![]() ![]() Verve reissued the eight albums in 1994 in this expansive boxset, which won the 1995 Grammy for Best Historical Recording. 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." įrank Sinatra was moved out of respect for Fitzgerald to block Capitol from re-releasing his own albums in a similar, single composer vein. 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. Here was a black woman popularizing urban songs often written by immigrant Jews to a national audience of predominantly white Christians. 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." 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. Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Antonio Carlos Jobim Song Book ( Ella Abraça Jobim) (1981) (Erich Bulling).Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Johnny Mercer Song Book (1964) (Riddle)Īs 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 Jerome Kern Song Book (1963) (Riddle).Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Song Book (1961) ( Billy May).Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book (1959) ( Nelson Riddle).Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Song Book (1958) ( Paul Weston).Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book (1957) ( Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn).Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers & Hart Song Book (1956) (Bregman).Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book (1956) ( Buddy Bregman).The eight albums are as follows, with arrangers in parentheses: ![]() The Complete Ella Fitzgerald Song Books were a series of eight studio albums released in irregular intervals between 19, recorded by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, supported by a variety of orchestras, big bands, and small jazz combos. The same can be said for a musical without a decent story.The Complete Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong on Verve It is stated during the film that “a tune without a lyric is a mighty lonesome thing". The remainder of Rodgers and Hart’s songbook is lazily introduced by such devices as Rodgers forgetting a movie is preceded by a show based on one off his tunes, or stumbling upon Lena Horne singing 'The Lady is a Tramp' at a nightclub. Indicative of this lack of care is the seven minute wordless ballet 'Slaughter on Tenth Avenue' immediately following a scene in which Hart receives a pep talk praising his gifts as a lyricist. In the interim, Hart transforms from an energetic sprite to an apathetic sight, unable to recover from his girlfriend rejecting him. Yet it’s almost an hour before another of their more recognisable songs is delivered. Before too long the pair have churned out their first hit, ‘Manhattan’, immediately showcasing Hart’s gift for clever rhymes. Mickey Rooney as Lorenz Hart performs his usual shtick, barely able to contain his boundless enthusiasm while Rodgers tickles the ivories. Yet despite having all the resources of his MGM unit thrown at the film, Words and Music cannot overcome its perfunctory script. Not that this should be cause of concern for a 1940’s musical, particularly with Arthur Freed listed as the film’s producer. Tom Drake, in the guise of composer Richard Rodgers, opens Words and Music by apologising for the lack of trials and tribulations you’d ordinarily expect in a biopic. ![]()
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