The First Lady of Song [Decca]

by Ella Fitzgerald

Overview

Not to be confused with the Verve triple-CD set of the same name, this LP from 1958 nevertheless has similar aspirations, assembling pieces from nine diverse Decca sessions into an anthology. We hear Ella develop as a pop singer from the lighter-voiced period of the 1940s to a deeper, even more soulful purveyor of ballads by the time she finishes her Decca contract in 1955. By and large, the material is first-rate, including standards like "My One and Only Love" and "I've Got the World on a String," a completely reworked country & western classic "A Satisfied Mind," and even one of Ella's few compositions, the ebullient "Ella's Contribution to the Blues." The settings range from chamber jazz groups with Hank Jones on piano to studio big bands directed by Sy Oliver and Bob Haggart and the plush easy-listening strings of Tutti Camarata. A few of the big band and vocal backings may have dated a bit, but not Ella's contributions. ~ Richard S. Ginell

Product Details

Release Date:	02/08/2019
Label:	Wax Time
UPC:	8436559465670

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Ella Fitzgerald   Primary Artist
Illinois Jacquet   Sax (Tenor)
J.C. Heard   Drums
Charles Thompson   Organ
Toots Camarata   Conductor
Hank Jones   Piano

Technical Credits

Carroll Loveday   Composer
Lou Quadling   Composer
Louis Alter   Composer
Helmy Kressa   Composer
Dick Jurgens   Composer
Robert Mellin   Composer
Jule Styne   Composer
Guy Wood   Composer
Ella Fitzgerald   Composer
Edgar Sampson   Composer
Eddy Howard   Composer
Irving Mills   Composer
Harold Arlen   Composer
Betty Comden   Composer
Sidney Mitchell   Composer
Ted Koehler   Composer
Adolph Green   Composer
Hank Jones   Composer