This collection of love songs by some of the world?s greatest singing stars covers mans aspects of that most potent of emotions. The emphasis is on dreamy and laid-back ballads, though there is a sprinkling of more up-tempo numbers too; all for your listening pleasure.
The late, great Ella Fitzgerald contributes two numbers to this compilation, recorded ten years apart. Her warm, caressing tones are well in evidence on the stylishly arranged 1929 evergreen I?ve Got A Feeling I?m Falling, recorded some years before she became an international headliner (from the mid- 1950s) under the astute management of Norman Granz. From 1937, we have Ella in the company of The Mills Brothers in Dedicated To You, made at a time when she was the girl singer with Chick Webb?s band. But performances like this don?t date; the poise and professionalism were already there in spades.
When the definitive history of popular music of the whole twentieth century is written, it is odds on that it will be Frank Sinatra (1915-1998) who will emerge as the top favourite. As ever, opinions will differ of course, but even Bing Crosby was heard to remark that ?A talent like that comes along once in a lifetime. Why in my lifetime?? To those more familiar with Sinatra?s later, predominantly swinging and sometimes brash output from the 1950s onwards, the lush Axel Stordahl-arranged ballads from the 1940s may come as something of a surprise. Sinatra?s apprenticeship with the bands of Harry James and particularly Tommy Dorsey gained him invaluable experience, well in evidence on his recordings here of Ste/la By Starlight and My Love For You.
Another who worked with Tommy Dorsey was one of the most technically proficient and accomplished of popular singers, Jo Stafford. Although she recorded a few solo sides with Dorsey, it was as the lead singer in the Pied Pipers vocal group that Jo concentrated on in her formative years. From 1943, she began to strike out on her own, recording for Johnny Mercer?s recently formed Capitol label, usually under the guidance of musical director Paul Weston (whom she married in 1952). We are proud to present Jo?s artistry on three selections, Ev?,y Day I Love You (Just A Little Bit More), I Remember You and September Song.
Between 1939 and 1952 BIng Crosby joined forces with The Andrews Sisters (Maxene, Patti and LaVerne) on a number of occasions in the recording studios. As they recorded for the same label (American Decca), this was a comparatively simple exercise and also a
lucrative one. Have I Told You Lately That I Love You? had been associated with singing cowboys like Gene Autry and Tex Ritter in the mid 1940s, but it was the later recordings like this one and those by Elvis Presley and Ricky Nelson which helped establish it as the standard we know today. Bing breezes through his other contribution, a typically re rendition of a popular song from 1927, I Can?t Believe That You?re In Love With Me.
?I learned more about music from the men I worked with in bands than I?ve learned anywhere else. They taught me discipline and the value of rehearsing and how to train.? So recoIlected premier songbird Peggy Lee, who first gained national stardom whilst a singer with Benny Goodman?s band in 1941. Peggy later married Goodman?s guitarist Dave Barbour (who had joined the band in 1942) and together they struck out on their own, writing some quality songs and recording for Capitol. It?s two from their Capitol years that we have here, Linger In My Arms A Little Longer, Baby and Hold Me. Although the marriage and the association with Dave Barbour didn?t endure, Peggy continued to entertain and delight her large worldwide following into the 1990s.
Sultry songstress Lena Home gained employment at sixteen as a chorus girl in Harlems famous Cotton Club. From there she joined Noble Sissle?s band as a vocalist, moving on to Charlie Barnet?s all-white band three years