Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Songbook is a 1961 (see 1961 in music

1961 in music

-Events:*January 15 – Motown Records signs The Supremes.*January 20 – Francis Poulenc's Gloria receives its premiėre in Boston, USA.*February 12 – The Miracles' "Shop Around" becomes Motown's first million-selling single....

) album by the American jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 singer Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...

, with a studio orchestra conducted and arranged by Billy May

Billy May

William E. "Billy" May was an American composer, arranger and trumpeter. He composed film and television music, for The Green Hornet , Batman , and Naked City and collaborated on films, such as Pennies from Heaven , and orchestrated Cocoon, and Cocoon: The Return among...

. This album marked the only time that Fitzgerald worked with May.

The Harold Arlen

Harold Arlen

Harold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...

 Songbook is the sixth album in Fitzgerald's series of recordings of songs written by the pantheon of Broadway composers who formed the body of work now considered the Great American Songbook

Great American Songbook

The Great American Songbook is a hypothetical construct that seeks to represent the best American songs of the 20th century principally from Broadway theatre, musical theatre, and Hollywood musicals, from the 1920s to 1960, including dozens of songs of enduring popularity...

.

The cover art is a drawing by Henri Matisse

Henri Matisse

Henri Matisse was a French artist, known for his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter...

.

Track listing

For the 2LP set originally released on the Verve label in 1961: Verve MG V-4046-2

Side One:

1. "Blues in the Night
   Blues in the Night
   "Blues in the Night" is a popular song which has become a pop standard and is generally considered to be part of the Great American Songbook. The music was written by Harold Arlen, the lyrics by Johnny Mercer, for a 1941 film begun with the working title Hot Nocturne, but finally released as Blues...
   
   " (Johnny Mercer
   Johnny Mercer
   John Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
   
   ) – 7:14
2. "Let's Fall in Love
   Let's Fall in Love
   "Let's Fall In Love" is a song written by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler and published in 1933. The major hit at the time of introduction was by Eddy Duchin. It was originally written in C major with a "Moderately Bright" tempo marking...
   
   " (Ted Koehler
   Ted Koehler
   Ted L. Koehler was an American lyricist.-Life and career:Koehler was born in Washington, D.C. He started out as a photo-engraver but was attracted to the music business, where he started out as a theater pianist for silent films. He moved on to write for vaudeville shows and Broadway, and he also...
   
   ) – 4:05
3. "Stormy Weather" (Koehler) – 5:17
4. "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
   Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
   "Between the devil and the deep blue sea" is an idiom meaning a dilemma—i.e., to choose between two undesirable situations .-Possible origins:...
   
   " (Koehler) – 2:26
5. "My Shining Hour
   My Shining Hour
   "My Shining Hour" is a song composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was written for the 1943 film The Sky's the Limit, where it was introduced by Sally Sweetland - who dubbed for Joan Leslie - backed by Freddie Slack and his orchestra. It was nominated for an Academy Award for...
   
   " (Mercer) – 4:02
6. "Hooray for Love
   Hooray for Love
   "Hooray for Love" is a song title that appears on two separate songs. The earlier song was composed by Jimmy McHugh, lyrics by Dorothy Fields, for a 1935 RKO-Radio movie of the same title....
   
   " (Leo Robin
   Leo Robin
   Leo Robin was an American composer, lyricist and songwriter. He is probably best known for collaborating with Ralph Rainger on the 1938 Oscar-winning song "Thanks for the Memory," sung by Bob Hope in the film The Big Broadcast of 1938.-Biography:Robin was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and...
   
   ) – 2:45

Side Two:

1. "This Time the Dream's on Me
   This Time the Dream's on Me
   "This Time the Dream's on Me" is a song composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was written for the 1941 film Blues in the Night.-Notable recordings:*Chet Baker *June Christy - Something Cool *Harry Connick Jr....
   
   " (Mercer) – 4:39
2. "That Old Black Magic
   That Old Black Magic (song)
   "That Old Black Magic" is a popular song. The music was written by Harold Arlen, with the lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The song was published in 1942 and has become an often-recorded standard with versions by Glenn Miller, the singers Margaret Whiting, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Mercer himself,...
   
   " (Mercer) – 4:13
3. "I've Got the World on a String
   I've Got the World on a String
   "I've Got The World on a String" is a 1932 popular song composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics written by Ted Koehler. It was written for the 1932 Cotton Club Parade....
   
   " (Koehler) – 4:54
4. "Let's Take a Walk Around the Block
   Let's Take a Walk Around the Block
   "Let's Take a Walk Around the Block" is a popular song composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics written by Ira Gershwin and E.Y. Harburg.It was introduced in the musical Life Begins at 8:40, which opened August 27, 1934 on Broadway.-Notable recordings:...
   
   " (Ira Gershwin
   Ira Gershwin
   Ira Gershwin was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century....
   
   , E.Y. Harburg) – 4:03
5. "Ill Wind
   Ill Wind
   "Ill Wind " is a song composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics by Ted Koehler, it was written for their last show at the Cotton Club Parade, in 1934....
   
   " (Koehler) – 3:55
6. "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive
   Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive
   "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" is a popular song. The music was written by Harold Arlen and the lyrics by Johnny Mercer, and it was published in 1944. It is sung in the style of a sermon, and explains that accentuating the positive is key to happiness...
   
   " (Mercer) – 3:37

Side Three:

1. "When the Sun Comes Out
   When the Sun Comes Out
   "When the Sun Comes Out" is a song composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics written by Ted Koehler, in 1941. It was introduced in 1941 by Helen O'Connell with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra.-Barbra Streisand Recording:...
   
   " (Koehler) – 5:10
2. "Come Rain or Come Shine" (Mercer) – 3:24
3. "As Long as I Live
   As Long as I Live
   "As Long as I Live" is a song composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics by Ted Koehler, it was written for their last show at the Cotton Club Parade, in 1934...
   
   " (Koehler) – 3:48
4. "Happiness is a Thing Called Joe
   Happiness is a Thing Called Joe
   "Happiness is a Thing Called Joe" is a song composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics written by Yip Harburg, it was written for the 1940 musical Cabin in the Sky, recorded by the MGM Studio Orchestra and sung by Ethel Waters.-Notable recordings:...
   
   " (Harburg) – 3:30
5. "It's Only a Paper Moon
   It's Only a Paper Moon (song)
   "It's Only a Paper Moon" is a popular song. Published in 1933, it was written by Harold Arlen with lyrics by E. Y. Harburg and Billy Rose. It was written originally for an unsuccessful Broadway play called The Great Magoo, set in Coney Island. It was subsequently used in the movie Take a Chance, in...
   
   " (Harburg, Billy Rose
   Billy Rose
   William "Billy" Rose was an American impresario, theatrical showman and lyricist. He is credited with many famous songs, notably "Me and My Shadow" , "It Happened in Monterey" and "It's Only a Paper Moon"...
   
   ) – 3:37
6. "The Man that Got Away
   The Man that Got Away
   "The Man that Got Away" is a popular song, published in 1953 and was written for the 1954 version of the movie A Star Is Born. The music was written by Harold Arlen, and the lyrics by Ira Gershwin...
   
   " (Gershwin) – 5:21

Side Four:

1. "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)
   One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)
   "One for My Baby " is a popular song written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer for the musical The Sky's the Limit and first performed in the film by Fred Astaire. It was popularized by the American singer Frank Sinatra...
   
   " (Mercer) – 3:58
2. "It Was Written in the Stars
   It Was Written in the Stars
   "It Was Written in the Stars" is a song composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics by Leo Robin. It was written for the 1948 film Casbah, where it was sung by Tony Martin....
   
   " (Robin) – 5:11
3. "Get Happy
   Get Happy (song)
   "Get Happy" is a song composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics written by Ted Koehler.It was the first song they wrote together, and was introduced by Ruth Etting in The Nine-Fifteen Revue in 1930....
   
   " (Koehler) – 3:33
4. "I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues
   I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues
   "I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues" is a popular song with music by Harold Arlen and the lyrics by Ted Koehler, published in 1932. The song has become a jazz and blues standard....
   
   " (Koehler) – 5:12
5. "Out of This World
   Out of This World (Johnny Mercer song)
   "Out of This World" is an American popular song composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics written by Johnny Mercer.It was introduced in the film Out of This World by Bing Crosby dubbing in for the voice of the main character played by Eddie Bracken....
   
   " (Mercer) – 2:46
6. "Over the Rainbow
   Over the Rainbow
   "Over the Rainbow" is a classic Academy Award-winning ballad song with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E.Y. Harburg. It was written for the movie The Wizard of Oz, and was sung by Judy Garland in the movie...
   
   " (Harburg) – 4:21

First 2CD re-issue in 1988 added two previously unreleased bonus tracks; Both were included on the 2001 re-issue.
Disc One:

4. "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead

Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead

"Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" is the centrepiece of several individual songs in an extended set-piece performed by the Munchkins, Glinda and Dorothy Gale in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. It was composed by Harold Arlen, with the lyrics written by E.Y...

" (Harburg) – 3:19

Disc Two:

12. "Sing My Heart

Sing My Heart

"Sing My Heart" is a song composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics written by Ted Koehler. It was written in 1939 for the movie Love Affair and first sung by Irene Dunne.-Notable recordings:...

" (Koehler) – 2:49

Bonus tracks issued on the 2001 Verve

Verve Records

Verve Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded by Norman Granz in 1956, absorbing the catalogues of his earlier labels, Clef Records and Norgran Records , and material which had been licensed to Mercury previously.-Jazz and folk origins:The Verve...

 2CD Reissue, 589108.

27. "Let's Take a Walk Around the Block

Let's Take a Walk Around the Block

"Let's Take a Walk Around the Block" is a popular song composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics written by Ira Gershwin and E.Y. Harburg.It was introduced in the musical Life Begins at 8:40, which opened August 27, 1934 on Broadway.-Notable recordings:...

" (Alternative take) – 4:07

28. "Sing My Heart

Sing My Heart

"Sing My Heart" is a song composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics written by Ted Koehler. It was written in 1939 for the movie Love Affair and first sung by Irene Dunne.-Notable recordings:...

" (Alternative take) – 2:32
All songs composed by Harold Arlen

Harold Arlen

Harold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...

, with lyricists indicated.

Personnel

Recorded in five sessions from August 1, 1960 - July 14 1961 in Hollywood, Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

:

• Ella Fitzgerald
  Ella Fitzgerald
  Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
  
   - Vocals
• Val Valentin
  Val Valentin
  Val Valentin is an internationally renowned recording engineer whose large discography includes such legendary albums as Freak Out!, the first The Velvet Underground record, Ella and Louis, Night Train , Getz/Gilberto, Absolutely Free and the film The Color Purple ...
  
   - Engineer
• Don Fagerquist
  Don Fagerquist
  Donald Fagerquist was a small group, big band, and studio jazz trumpet player from the West Coast of the United States...
  
   - Trumpet
  Trumpet
  The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
  
  
• Frank Beach - trumpet
• Conrad Gozzo
  Conrad Gozzo
  Conrad J. Gozzo was an American trumpet player born in New Britain Connecticut on February 6, 1922. Gozzo was a member of the NBC Hollywood staff orchestra at the time of his death on October 8, 1964...
  
   - Trumpet
• Joseph Tiscari - trumpet
• Milt Bernhart - Trombone
  Trombone
  The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
  
  
• Edward Kusby -trombone
• Richard Noel - trombone
• George Roberts - Bass trombone
• Plas Johnson
  Plas Johnson
  Plas John Johnson Jr. is an American soul-jazz and hard bop tenor saxophonist, probably most familiar as the lead on Henry Mancini’s "The Pink Panther Theme"....
  
   - Tenor Saxophone
  Saxophone
  The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
  
  
• Harry Klee - Woodwind, flute
• Justin Gordon
• Wilbur Schwartz
  Wilbur Schwartz
  Wilbur Schwartz was a clarinetist and alto saxophonist best remembered today for his work with Glenn Miller....
  
  
• Victor Arno - Violin
  Violin
  The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
  
  
• Israel Baker
• Victor Bay
• Alex Beller
• Dan Lube
• Erno Neufeld
• Lou Raderman
• Nathan Ross
• Sidney Sharp
• Gerald Vinci
• Alex Neimann - Viola
  Viola
  The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
  
  
• Paul Robyn
• Barbara Simons
• Armand Kaproff - Cello
  Cello
  The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
  
  
• Ray Kramer
• Eleanor Slatkin
• Emil Richards
  Emil Richards
  Emil Richards, born Emilio Joseph Radocchia on September 2, 1932 in Hartford, Connecticut, is a percussionist who plays a variety of different percussion instruments.-Biography:...
  
   - Vibraphone
  Vibraphone
  The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
  
  
• Paul Smith - Piano
  Piano
  The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
  
  
• John Collins - Guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  
• Joe Mondragon - Double Bass
  Double bass
  The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
  
  
• Alvin Stoller
  Alvin Stoller
  Alvin Stoller was an American jazz drummer. Though he seems to have been largely forgotten, he was held in high regard in the 1940s and 1950s...
  
   - drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  
• Billy May
  Billy May
  William E. "Billy" May was an American composer, arranger and trumpeter. He composed film and television music, for The Green Hornet , Batman , and Naked City and collaborated on films, such as Pennies from Heaven , and orchestrated Cocoon, and Cocoon: The Return among...
  
  - Arranger, Conductor