Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book

Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book
1998 reissue cover
Box set by
Ella Fitzgerald
ReleasedDecember 1959
RecordedJanuary, March, and July 1959
StudioCapitol Studio A (Hollywood)
GenreVocal jazz
Length196:48
LabelVerve
ProducerNorman Granz
Ella Fitzgerald chronology
Ella Fitzgerald Sings Sweet Songs for Swingers
(1959) 		Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book
(1959) 		Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas
(1960)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings[4]

Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book is a box set by American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald that contains songs by George and Ira Gershwin with arrangements by Nelson Riddle. It was produced by Norman Granz, Fitzgerald's manager and the founder of Verve Records. Fifty-nine songs were recorded in the span of eight months in 1959.[5] It is one of the eight album releases comprising what is possibly Fitzgerald's greatest musical legacy: Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Complete American Songbook,[6] in which she recorded, with top arrangers and musicians, a comprehensive collection of both well-known and obscure songs from the Great American Songbook canon, written by the likes of Cole Porter, Rodgers & Hart, Irving Berlin, Duke Ellington, George and Ira Gershwin, Harold Arlen, Jerome Kern, and Johnny Mercer.

Fitzgerald's recording of "But Not for Me" won the 1960 Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance, Female.[7]

Ira Gershwin subsequently said that "I never knew how good our songs were until I heard Ella Fitzgerald sing them".[8] Gershwin helped Fitzgerald, Granz and Riddle with the selection of songs. The songs were written by Ira and his brother George between 1924 and 1937. Ira also revised some of his lyrics for the album.[9] Granz memorably suggested that Fitzgerald sing "Oh, Lady Be Good!" as a slow ballad rather than the fast tempo version which had become renowned as a showcase for her scat singing.[9]

In 2000 it was voted number 473 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[10]

The French painter Bernard Buffet created five paintings that were used as artworks for the five individual LPs that made the original album release. The liner notes were written by Laurence D. Stewart. The album was released in mono and stereo. The mono album was priced at $25 (equivalent to $261 in 2023) and the stereo at $30 (equivalent to $314 in 2023). A deluxe edition was also available priced at $100 (equivalent to $1,045 in 2023).[11] The deluxe set was packaged in a walnut box, with the five Buffet paintings issued as detachable lithographs. Stewart's liner notes were included as a separate hardback book, The Gershwins: Words Upon Music.[12]

  1. ^ Stanley, Leo. "Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  2. ^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. US: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 78. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
  3. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  4. ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 490. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
  5. ^ Quinn, Peter. "Ella Fitzgerald: essential recordings". Jazzwise Magazine. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  6. ^ "Discography". 7 April 2017.
  7. ^ "Ella Fitzgerald". GRAMMY.com. 22 May 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  8. ^ Rockwell, John (15 June 1986). "Half a Century of Song with the Great 'Ella'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  9. ^ a b Tad Hershorn (17 September 2011). Norman Granz: The Man Who Used Jazz for Justice. University of California Press. pp. 275–. ISBN 978-0-520-26782-4.
  10. ^ Colin Larkin (2000). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 169. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
  11. ^ Cook, Howard (16 November 1959). "Fitzgerald Gershwin Sets Tops". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 14. ISSN 0006-2510.
  12. ^ J. Wilfred Johnson (5 August 2010). Ella Fitzgerald: An Annotated Discography; Including a Complete Discography of Chick Webb. McFarland. pp. 151–. ISBN 978-0-7864-5039-8.