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FIRST LADIES of SONG 125 tracks by the 25 greatest American songstresses 1928-1952 LIVING ERA CD AJS500

 

DISC 1
ETHEL WATERS

1. Stormy weather
2. Am I Blue?
3. Don’t Blame Me
4. Heatwave
5. Moonglow

Ethel Walters was a great entertainer who had a lot of jazz in her delivery and performance without being a jazz singer as such. On these tracks she is backed by The Dorsey Brothers Orchestra 1,3 & 5 and by a small group that Tommy Dorsey and Benny Goodman. The recordings come from 1933 and 1934 and they sound younger than their 70 years.

RUTH ETTING
6. Love Me or Leave Me
7. I’ll Get By as Long as I Have You
8. Ten Cents a Dance
9. Close Your Eyes
10. Life Is a Song, Lets Sing it Together

 
Ruth Etting was a celebrated torch singer in the 1930’s. An approximation of her life story was told in a great film called Love Me or Leave Me, which starred Doris Day in what was probably her best singing performance. I saw the film on TV a couple of months ago and really enjoyed it. Ruth Etting was herself a cabaret star and an accomplished singer and these tracks recorded between 1928 & 1935 are good examples of her work. The backings are somewhat unremarkable.

ANNETTE SHAW
11. Loveable & Sweet
12. Little White Lies
13. We Just Couldn’t Say Goodbye
14. Moon Song, That Wasn’t Meant For Me
15. Lets Fall In Love

Annette Shaw had a short but interesting career (1926 to 1934). She had a soft sweet voice and whist she was not a jazz singer, she was the ideal foil for the small jazz outfits of the day. These recordings, 1929 to 1933, demonstrate her work with Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Adrian Rollini, Manny Klein, Jack Teagarden and many others. It is still true today that audiences like a vocalist with their jazz.

IVIE ANDERSON
16. It Don’t Mean a Thing
17. My Old Flame
18. When My Sugar Walks Down the Street
19. Mood Indigo
20. I Got It Bad & That Ain’t Good

Ivie Anderson was one of the best vocalists that The Duke had; she really was a jazz singer with a light relaxed voice that was also used by him as part of the band’s ensemble sound. The backings, as you would expect from the Duke, have brilliant ensemble work and excellent soloists. Johnny Hodges was just one of a band of outstanding jazzmen who were members of the band in the period 1931 to 1941. There is a tenor solo from Barney Bigard on track 18, which is something of a rarity; he was usually featured on clarinet. All the tracks are classic Ellington and I enjoyed this section the best of anything so far.

MILDRED BAILEY
21. Rockin’ Chair
22. Squeeze Me
23. Smoke Dreams
24. Where Are You?
25. Please Be Kind

Mildred Bailey was another true jazz singer; some of the phrasing she uses here is very adventurous for 1937/38. Three of the five tracks here were recorded with the orchestra of Red Norvo, to whom she was married in 1933. They became known as Mr and Mrs Swing although their joint appearances had a comical touch, because Mildred was a large lady and Norvo was rather diminutive! Track 24 has the outstanding Roy Eldridge, one of the great trumpet players in jazz leading an ensemble that had Zutty Singleton on drums. Another very enjoyable segment!

DISC 2
CONNEE BOSWELL
1. On The Isle of May
2. I’ll Never Say Never Again
3. I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart
4. Deep In Dreams
5. Sand In My Shoes

Connee Boswell came to fame as part of the close harmony group, The Boswell Sisters. She had a pleasant singing voice and bravely overcame the handicap of being confined to a wheel chair through polio. The sleeve note says she was strongly influenced by Ella Fitzgerald, but to me she had a pleasant voice but was really a typical pop singer of the day. The orchestras of Victor Young, Ben Pollock, Woody Herman and our own Bert Ambrose, in a band that included Ted Heath and Sid Phillips back her. To keep this company she was obviously very competent at what she did, but to my ears she was really not a jazz singer.
 
MAXINE SULLIVAN
6. Loch Lomond
7. Blue Skies
8. The Folks Who Live On the Hill
9. Say it With a Kiss
10. When Your Lover Has Gone.

Maxine Sullivan was a high quality jazz singer whose career lasted well into the 80’s. She was much in demand at jazz festivals and jazz clubs, because of her ability to work with any competent jazz rhythm section without the need for weeks of rehearsal, the mark of a true jazz singer. These tracks probably don’t reflect the very best of her work, but they are all very musical, there is a good tenor solo by Babe Russin on Blue Skies. It is always a treat to hear The Folks Who Live on the Hill Again; both words and music are of a calibre that can only be described as exceptional. Say It With A Kiss has brief solos by Bud Freeman and Bobby Hackett and When Your Lover has Gone has the ultra neat John Kirby Band in support.

FRANCES LANGFORD
11. I’m In The Mood for Love
12. I Feel A Song Coming On
13. Blue Moon
14. Easy to Love
15. Serenade in Blue

Frances was a radio star in the mid 30’s and she went on to star in many Hollywood films, probably the most notable of these was playing herself in The Glenn Miller Story. She had a melodious voice, better suited to Musicals than to the jazz scene. Her act strongly featured ballads like Blue Moon on which she performs here. It is on tunes like Easy to Love that the lack of jazz feel shows through.

BILLIE HOLIDAY
16. I Wished on the Moon
17. What a Little Moonlight Can Do
18. This Years Kisses
19. Carelessly
20. I’ll Never Be the Same.

The sleeve note says that Billie Holiday was the greatest female jazz singer of them all, a statement many would take issue with, many including me would feel that Ella Fitzgerald must have that crown. Billie was a very important jazz singer and even to today some 45 years after her death she has imitators all round the jazz world! With Billie you always get wonderful backing groups, she would only work with the very best. On the record listen to Lester Young’s chorus on This Year’ Kisses, it is as near to the perfect chorus as you will ever hear. Teddy Wilson is on piano throughout which is a huge bonus to any recording, his immaculate playing makes him one of the most under-rated jazz pianists ever. Lester young is heard again on the introduction to I’ll Never be the Same before Wilson takes up the theme.

LEE WILEY
21. Time on My Hands
22. Sweet and Lowdown
23. Looking at You
24. Any Time Any Day Anywhere
25. A ghost of a Chance

Lee Wiley was another singer who understood the jazz genre; she had the sort of husky, smoky voice that set the style for many other singers to follow. She knew exactly how to get the maximum out of each song in her repertoire. She was often featured with trumpet player Max Kaminsky and she is heard with his band on track 22, not the best song ever, even if it was written by G & I Gershwin, but a good performance.
Bobby Hackett’s fine trumpet playing is to be heard on the 1950 version of Any Time and on the ballad A Ghost of A Change, another superb jazz standard.

DISC 3
HELEN WARD
1. It’s Been So Long
2. Goody Goody
3. The Glory of Love
4. These Foolish Things
5. You Turned the Tables on Me

Helen Ward was the perfect vocalist for the Benny Goodman Band, Goodman was a musical perfectionist and Helen fitted the style of his band to perfection. She could swing with the best; she had a marvellous stage presence and was always popular with the fans that flocked to see and here Benny’s great band. On these tracks we hear plenty from the leader’s clarinet and from his well rehearsed precise but swinging band. With Jess Stacey on piano, and Gene Krupa on drums, the band was bound to swing and Helen’s vocals combined with these musical talents just perfectly.

DINAH SHORE
6. Blues In the Night
7. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
8. Skylark
9. Buttons & Bows
10. I’ll walk alone

Dinah Shore had 80 hit records between 1940 & 1957, she had an engaging personality and a very controlled and intimate performance, it gave the listener the idea she was only singing to them. Her delivery was unforced, relaxed and very attractive, when you listen to these five tracks it is easy to understand why she had so many hits. It is interesting to note that all these five tracks are of songs still heard regularly in the repertoire of other singers. Hoagy Carmichael’s Skylark is another of those super tunes that are unlikely to be bettered and will probably exist forever as a standard. Buttons & Bows was a million record seller in 1947 and I’ll walk Alone topped the hit parade in 1944.

LENA HORNE
11. Stormy Weather
12. Out of Nowhere
13. Where or When
14. One for My Baby & One For the Road
15. How Long Has This Been Going On?

Lena was not only a top class singer, she was also very glamorous and her shows projected her enormous stage presence. She had a long career over 50 years and was always in big demand. Her good looks also enabled her to have another career as a film star; she was the first black artist to get a long-term contract with a major film studio. She starred in Cabin In the Sky for MGM and did much for black equality. All five of the tracks here are high quality songs, One For My Baby is generally thought of as a Sinatra classic, but Lena’s version is equally dramatic.

HELEN FORREST
16. Thanks for Ev’rything
17. They Say
18. Taking a Chance on Love
19. I Had the Craziest Dream
20. I’ve Heard That song Before

Helen was one of the most successful of swing band vocalists, she first came to prominence with the Artie Shaw band, then when he disbanded she went on to the Benny Goodman band. Her association with Goodman was not a happy one and when the opportunity to join the Harry James band came along she jumped at the chance. She has a warm relaxed vocal style, with very accurate intonation and she knew how to make the most out of every song. On tracks 16 & 17 she is heard with the Shaw band, 18 is with Goodman and the remaining tracks with a James band that included strings. Track 20 has a classic Harry James trumpet intro. to a famous arrangement.

ELLA FITZGERALD
21. A-Tisket, A-Tasket
22. Imagination
23. My Happiness
24. But Not For Me
25. Someone To watch Over Me

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"Man woman and child, Ella Fitzgerald is the greatest" said Bing Crosby and how right he was. There have been many great female jazz singers but nobody who was quite like Ella. She had everything diction, intonation, style, presence but most of all her delivery was produced in the same way as a jazz musician approaches his task, constantly seeking new ideas. Ira Gershwin said " I never realised how good our songs were until I heard Ella Fitzgerald sing them.
On three tracks she is backed by large orchestras and on the last two by Ellis Larkins on piano. Personally I feel that it was in the company of a jazz trio that she gave of her very best, but with Ella nothing she did was bad, but some was sublime!

CD4
ANITA O’DAY
1. Just a Little Bit of North Carolina
2. Bolero at the Savoy
3. And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine
4. Gotta Be Getting’
5. Tea For Two

To aspire to sing with the Gene Krupa band was something, to then also be successful with the Stan Kenton band and return to have even more success with Krupa tells you that Anita O’Day is no ordinary vocalist. She has an individual and easily identifiable style, husky and tender in ballads but exciting and swinging in up-tempo numbers. She is a real jazz singer, I have seen her several times in live performances and she always with the best of rhythm sections (and gives ‘em hell if she doesn’t get exactly what she wants!). The Krupa band of ‘41 included top jazz trumpeter Roy Eldridge and is certainly no ordinary band. The Kenton band of ’44 included another great jazz musician, Stan Getz, but he is not featured on either of the tracks on this record. Tea for Two has the Krupa band again in support. The band at that time included Don Fagerquist on trumpet, Charlie Ventura on tenor as well Teddy Napoleon on piano.
 
PEGGY LEE
6. Why Don’t You Do Right
7. It’s a Good day
8. Golden Earrings
9. Manana is Good Enough for Me
10. Lover

Peggy Lee began her long career with the Benny Goodman band and it continued for 50 years. She married Goodman’s guitar player Dave Barbour and moved on to a great solo career under his musical direction. Although she did not have a big range, she was a very polished vocalist and she had many hit records. She also possessed an excellent jazz feel. Listen for it on Lover.

JOE STAFFORD
11. Long Ago and Far Away
12. I Love You
13. Some Enchanted Evening
14. Shrimp Boats
15. You Belong to Me

Joe Stafford was one of the world’s most popular singers in the late 40’s & 50’s. she has a distinctive voice and curiously sang with little vibrato, which dictates excellent intonation. Not really a jazz singer as such, but a good interpreter of popular songs, she began her career in the Pied Pipers, a vocal backing group in the Tommy Dorsey Band. Cole Porter’s I Love You is another all time classic song and Some Enchanted Evening and Shrimp Boats are pop classics. You Belong To Me is still in most big band libraries.

DORIS DAY
16. Sentimental Journey
17. Aren’t You Glad Your You?
18. I Got the Sun in the Morning
19. It’s Magic
20. Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered

Doris Day learned her craft with Les Brown and his Band of Renown and she learned it well. Whilst she was not an out and out jazz singer, she had a great voice and was a brilliant song stylist. It was when I watched her performance in the movie Love Me or Leave Me again recently, that I realised what a great singer she is. Her performance on the great standard songs in the film is most impressive. What a good song Aren’t You glad is, it would cheer anyone up for the rest of the day! The Les Brown band really swings on the intro to track 18 and it’s Magic is a classic. Doris Day is much more than you’re average film star! Her performance on Bewitched is stunning, faultless diction, accurate intonation, beautiful vibrato control and faultless delivery.

JUDY GARLAND
21. Over the Rainbow
22. Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart
23. Embraceable You
24. I’m Nobody’s Baby
25. The Trolley Song

July Garland died aged 42, unfortunately she was unable to look after herself in the way required and suffered erratic health. This was a great pity, because she was a brilliant performer who could light up a concert in no time at all. She was also an important film icon who shot to stardom as a teenager in the Wizard of Oz. All the tracks here are from her various movies, my favourite here is The Trolley Song which I have heard from the first time I heard it in 1944 (I was 8 at the time, even then I knew it was something special!)

CD5
KAY STARR

1. The Wheel of Fortune
2. So Tired
3. Bonaparte’s Retreat
4. Side By Side
5. Comes A-Long A-Love

Kay was born on an Oklahoma Indian reservation in 1922. She had a very powerful voice and delivered her songs with a great deal of emotion. She could turn her hand to jazz as well as country and western, but it is as a pop singer she will be remembered.

SARAH VAUGHAN

6. Lover Man
7. September Song
8. Body & Soul
9. Summertime
10. East of the Sun

Sarah Vaughan was up there with Ella Fitzgerald in the all time league of jazz singers. Like Ella she had a huge range, great timing, perfect intonation and she could swing like mad. Lover Man has Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker as the front line of the backing group. September Song is backed by teddy Wilson’s Quartet with Charlie Ventura on tenor. Jimmy Jones Trio backs body and Soul with Joe Benjamin – bass and Roy Haynes – drums. Summertime is backed by a big band led by Joe Lippman and East of the Sun has a band that includes Miles Davis, Benny Green and Tony Scott. This section gets my vote as the best representation of an artist’s work.

MARGARET WHITING

11. Moonlight in Vermont
12. It Might as Well Be Spring
13. Now Is The Hour
14. A Tree in a Meadow
15. Far Away Places

Like most of the best singers Margaret whiting learned her craft singing with the big bands in her case, Freddie Slack, Paul Weston and Billy Butterfield. Not a true jazz singer, but she had a strong distinctive voice and she knew how to sell a song. These performances really speak for themselves, but there is some nice Billy Butterfield trumpet on 11.

PATTI PAGE

16. The Tennessee Waltz
17. All My Love
18. Would I Love You, Love You, Love You?
19. Mockin’ Bird Hill
20. I Went to Your Wedding

Patti page sold more records during the 50’s than any other female vocalist, some 60 million! She had very clear diction and she was the first artist to overdub harmonies with herself, setting the style for pop songs for a decade.

 

ROSEMARY CLOONEY

21. Half As Much
22. When Your in Love
23. Come On-A My House
24. Tenderly
25. You’ll Never Know

Rosemary Clooney was a very great singer, although for most of her career she was persuaded by her management to sing second rate songs in the context of arrangements she had no time for. It was not until the 70’s that she re-emerged as a jazz singer and got down to doing the sort of work that she really wanted to. Listen to these tracks there is no doubt about the quality of the voice, but to my mind it’s only in the last one where she is recorded with the Harry James band where she is really at her best.
 
This set of five CD’s are well worth listening to, some of the items are familiar, some less so, but all are full of interest and truly tell the story of 25 of the most outstanding lady vocalists in the period 1928-1952. It is interesting to think what a similar record of 25 other female vocalists who were around at the time would be like. It would not be too difficult to name them!


Don Mather

 

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