1961
Events January
* January 3
** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015).
** Aero Flight 311 (K ...
studio album by
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...
, with a jazz quartet led by Lou Levy. The painting on the cover is by
Jean Dubuffet
Jean Philippe Arthur Dubuffet (31 July 1901 – 12 May 1985) was a French painter and sculptor. His idealistic approach to aesthetics embraced so-called "low art" and eschewed traditional standards of beauty in favor of what he believed to be a ...
. The liner notes are by Benny Green of the London Observer.
Sidney Clare
Sidney Clare (August 15, 1892 – August 29, 1972) was an American comedian, dancer and composer. His best-known songs include "On the Good Ship Lollipop" (introduced by Shirley Temple), " You're My Thrill" (recorded by Billie Holiday), and "Ple ...
,
Jay Gorney
Jay Gorney (December 12, 1896– June 14, 1990) was an American theater and film song writer.
Life and career
Gorney was born Abraham Jacob Gornetzsky on December 12, 1896, in Białystok, Russia (now part of Poland), the son of Frieda (Perlst ...
) – 3:35
#"
My Reverie "My Reverie" is a 1938 popular song with lyrics by Larry Clinton. Its melody is based on the 1890 piano piece ''Rêverie'' by the French classical composer Claude Debussy.
Recordings
A 1938 recording of the song by Clinton and his band with Be ...
" (
Larry Clinton
Larry Clinton (August 17, 1909 – May 2, 1985) was an American musician, best known as a trumpeter who became a prominent American bandleader and arranger.
Biography
Clinton was born in Brooklyn, New York, United States. He became a ver ...
Ned Washington
Ned Washington (born Edward Michael Washington, August 15, 1901 – December 20, 1976) was an American lyricist born in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Life and career
Washington was nominated for eleven Academy Awards from 1940 to 1962. He won the Bes ...
,
Victor Young
Albert Victor Young (August 8, 1899– November 10, 1956)"Victor Young, Composer, Dies of Heart Attack", ''Oakland Tribune'', November 12, 1956. was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor.
Biography
Young is commonly said to ...
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...
Jersey Bounce
"Jersey Bounce" is a song written by Tiny Bradshaw, Eddie Johnson, and Bobby Plater with lyrics by Buddy Feyne who used the pseudonym Robert B. Wright.
Background
It hit No. 1 for four weeks in 1942 as an instrumental recorded by Benny Goodman ...
" (
Tiny Bradshaw
Myron Carlton "Tiny" Bradshaw (September 23, 1907 – November 26, 1958) - accessed July 2010 was an American ,
Buddy Feyne
Buddy Feyne (born Bernard Feinstein, June 9, 1912 – December 10, 1998) was an American lyricist during the swing era. He wrote the lyrics for "Tuxedo Junction", which went to No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' chart in 1940 when Glenn Miller recorded ...
Bobby Plater
Robert C. Plater (May 13, 1914, Newark, New Jersey - November 20, 1982, Lake Tahoe) was an American jazz alto saxophonist.
Plater began playing alto sax at age 12, and played locally in Newark with Donald Lambert and the Savoy Dictators in th ...
) – 3:33
#"Signing Off" (
Leonard Feather
Leonard Geoffrey Feather (13 September 1914 – 22 September 1994) was a British-born jazz pianist, composer, and producer, who was best known for his music journalism and other writing.
Biography
Feather was born in London, England, into an u ...
, Jessyca Russell) – 3:45
Side Two:
#" Cry Me a River" (Arthur Hamilton) – 4:13
#"
This Year's Kisses "This Year's Kisses" is a popular song written in 1936 by Irving Berlin for the musical film '' On the Avenue'' (1937) and introduced by Alice Faye.Bergreen, Laurence, ''As Thousands Cheer: The Life of Irving Berlin'', Da Capo Press, New York, 1996. ...
" (
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook.
Born in Imperial Russ ...
) – 2:14
#"
Good Morning Heartache
"Good Morning Heartache" is a song written by Irene Higginbotham, Ervin Drake, and Dan Fisher. It was recorded by jazz singer Billie Holiday on January 22, 1946.
Bill Stegmeyer and his Orchestra (Decca Session No. 54) New York City, January 22, ...
" (
Ervin Drake
Ervin Drake (born Ervin Maurice Druckman; April 3, 1919 – January 15, 2015) was an American songwriter whose works include such American Songbook standards as " I Believe" and "It Was a Very Good Year". He wrote in a variety of styles and his w ...
, Dan Fisher,
Irene Higginbotham
Irene Higginbotham (June 11, 1918 – August 27, 1988) was an American songwriter and concert pianist. She is best known for co-writing the Billie Holiday song " Good Morning Heartache" (1946).
Biography
Higginbotham was born on June 11, 1918, in ...
Ballard MacDonald
Ballard MacDonald (October 15, 1882 – November 17, 1935) was an American lyricist, who was one of the writers of Tin Pan Alley.
Born in Portland, Oregon, he was a charter member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers ...
Fran Landesman
Fran Landesman (October 21, 1927 – July 23, 2011) was an American lyricist and poet. She grew up in New York City and lived for years in St. Louis, Missouri, where her husband Jay Landesman operated the Crystal Palace nightclub. One of her bes ...
,
Tommy Wolf Thomas Joseph Wolf Jr. (1925 – 1979) was an American composer and piano player. He was best known for his songwriting collaboration with Fran Landesman.
Life
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Wolf met Fran Landesman while playing piano at the Jeffer ...
) – 6:13
#" The Music Goes Round and Round" (Eddie Farley, Red Hodgson, Mike Riley) – 2:27
Bonus Tracks; Issued on the 1989 Verve-PolyGram CD Reissue, Verve-PolyGram 835 646-2 and DAT W.L.S.T. 1994 835 646 - 4
15. "
The One I Love (Belongs to Somebody Else)
"The One I Love (Belongs to Somebody Else)" is a popular song composed by Isham Jones with lyrics by Gus Kahn. The song was recorded by Isham Jones' Orchestra on December 21, 1923, at Brunswick Studios in New York City, and published on January ...
Gus Kahn
Gustav Gerson Kahn (November 6, 1886October 8, 1941) was an American lyricist who contributed a number of songs to the Great American Songbook, including " Pretty Baby", " Ain't We Got Fun?", " Carolina in the Morning", " Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Goo ...
) – 2:12
16. "I Got a Guy" (Previously unreleased) (
Marion Sunshine
Marion Sunshine (born Mary Tunstall Ijames, May 15, 1894 – January 25, 1963) was an American actress and songwriter. During her youth she worked in many films and Broadway musicals, as well as vaudeville and variety shows. In the 1930s she w ...
) – 3:43
17. "
This Could Be the Start of Something Big
"This Could Be the Start of Something" (generally known as "This Could Be the Start of Something Big") is a popular song by Steve Allen, published in 1956.
Background
Originally, the song was written as part of the score for the 1954 television m ...
" (Previously unreleased) (
Steve Allen
Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television personality, radio personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-cre ...
) – 2:43
Personnel
Tracks 1 to 14; recorded 22–23 June 1961 in Los Angeles
Tracks 15 to 17; recorded 23 January 1961 in New York
*
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...
double bass
The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...