When I first heard Ella Fitzgerald’s Cole Porter Song Book album it was a wonderful life experience. That was when I discovered how incredible, influential, and sophisticated Ella Fitzgerald was to the world of jazz and popular music. She was clearly The “First Lady of Song”. She set the Gold Standard and was “the greatest jazz and popular singer in history” (New York Times, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Downbeat, Allmusic, Grammys).
I consider Ella Fitzgerald the greatest female pop and jazz vocalist, only Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, and Frank Sinatra measure up to her standard. I love listening to her singing, especially her Great American Songbooks. Her music is captivating. She takes me to a dark, smoky jazz club somewhere in the Village of New York City in the 1950s with famous jazz musicians backing her up.
All of You sung by Ella Fitzgerald
From Silk Stockings, 1954.
In the 1950s and 1960s Ella recorded eight Grammy winning Song Book Albums of the leading composers of the Great American Songbook on Verve Records. An influential and historically significant set of recordings that set the standard for singing jazz and popular songs. The Song Books enabled Fitzgerald to cross over to a non-jazz audience. The eight different song books were the songs of these composers – Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Rogers & Hart, George and Ira Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercers, Harold Arlen, and Duke Ellington.
The New York Times stated that the Fitzgerald song books “are considered a cornerstone of 20th Century recorded popular music, they represent the finest interpretations of the Great American Songbook.”
Begin the Beguine sung by Ella Fitzgerald
From Jubilee, 1935.
A Highly Praised Artist
Ella was the most popular female jazz singer for more than half a century. Highly praised for her quality of voice, song interprettion, and ground breaking improvizational skills. She had purity of tone, impeccable diction, timing, and intonation.
According to Ira Gershwin, “I never knew how good our songs were until I heard Ella Fitzgerald sing them.” Bing Crosby said, “Man, woman, or child, Ella is the greatest.” Tony Bennett said, “She was a complete swinger, she just understood the whole art of jazz phrasing.” According to Benny Green, “The best equipped vocalist to ever grace the jazz scene – wide vocal range, lirerally perfect intonation, and an acutely sensitive ear for harmonic change.”
From Moment On sung by Ella Fitzgerald
From Kiss Me Kate, 1948, film 1953.
Allmusic gave Ella a glowing postive review, “The grestest interpreter of the American Songbook. Arguably the finest female jazz vocalist of all time. Blessed with a highly resonant voice, wide range, and near perfect elocution. She made an immeasurable impact on the developmnt of jazz and popular music.”
Ella Fitzgerald’s Career
Ella Fitzgerald (1917 to 1996) was born in Virginia. Her singing was influenced by The Boswell Sisters, Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday, and Louis Armstrong. She won a singing contest and began singing with the Chic Webb Orchestra on national tour in 1935 to 1942 which made her famous with several big band hits. Ella sang with Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Billie Holiday, Ray Brown, Nat King Cole, Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Sinatra, Jo Stafford, Dinah Shore, Dean Martin, Andy Williams, Sarah Vaughan, Oscar Peterson, Mel Torme, and many others.
Easy to Love sung by Ella Fitzgerald
From Anything Goes, 1934.
Ella recorded over 200 albums and sold over 40 million records. She received 14 Grammys, Grammy Hall of Fame, Downbeat Hall of Fame, National Medal of Art, Presidential Medal of Freedom, and many other accolades.
Night and Day sung by Ella Fitzgerald
From Gay Divorcee, 1932.
The Cole Porter Song Book
The album is the ‘best of the best’ – best singer, best composer, one of the best arrangers, and some of the best musicians in the industry. Upon hearing the album, Cole Porter only said “My, what marvelous diction that girl has.”
The Cole Porter Song Book is a 2-disc set studio recording produced by Verve Records and released in 1956. The album has been entered into The Grammy Hall of Fame and the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress. Allmusic ranked it 4.5 stars of 5, Penguin 4/4, Rolling Stone 4/5, Encyclopedia of Popular Music 5/5.
Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye sung by Ella Fitzgerald
From Seven Lively Arts, 1944
The album arranger was Buddy Bregman who did arrangements for Verve, film TV, Ella Fitzgerald, Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby, Anita O’Day, Eddie Fisher, Jane Powell, Toni Harper, Jerry Lewis, and Bob Fosse.
Album back up musicians include Harry Sweets Edison, Bud Shank, Maynard Ferguson, Barney Kessel, Paul Smith, Paul Geller, and others.
I’ve Got You Under My Skin sung by Ella Fitzgerald
From Born to Dance, 1936.
It Was Just One of Those Things sung by Ella Fitzgerald
From Jubilee, 1935.
Cole Porter, the Master of Song
Cole Porter (1891 to 1964) is one of America’s greatest composers and songwriters. He was born to a wealthy family in Indiana and was trained in classical music. Porter wrote numerous successful scores for Broadway musicals and Hollywood films in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. Many of his songs became standards noted for their wit and urbane lyrics.
So In Love sung by Ella Fitzgerald
From Kiss Me Kate, 1948, film 1953.
Porter wrote both the music and lyrics. His most popular musicals were Anything Goes, Fifty Million Frenchmen, DuBarry Was a Lady, Can-Can, Kiss Me Kate, Something For the Boys, Mexican Hayride, Leave It to Me, Let’s Face It, and Panama Hattie.
I Get a Kick Out of You sung by Ella Fitzgerald
From Anything Goes, 1934.
