Today in Music (1956): Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook released

Sings the Cole Porter Songbook Ella Fitzgerald

Released: May 15, 1956 Charted: July 28, 1956 Peak: 15 US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: traditional pop/vocal jazz

Tracks, Disc 1: All Through the Night Anything Goes Miss Otis Regrets Too Darn Hot In the Still of the Night I Get a Kick Out of You Do I Love You? Always True to You in My Fashion Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall in Love) Just One of Those Things Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye All of You Begin the Beguine Get Out of Town I Am in Love From This Moment On Tracks, Disc 2: I Love Paris You Do Something to Me Ridin’ High Easy to Love It’s All Right with Me Why Can’t You Behave? What Is This Thing Called Love? You’re the Top Love for Sale It’s De-Lovely Night and Day Ace in the Hole So in Love I’ve Got You Under My Skin I Concentrate on You Don't Fence Me In Total Running Time: 118:27

Rating: 4.664 out of 5.00 (average of 18 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “Ella Fitzgerald was already the preeminent voice in the jazz world when she began what became her signature project in 1956; a series of recordings devoted to works by each of the great stage and screen composers of postwar America.” TM They “are all wonderful, but her natural wit and intelligence was at its most perfect” AZ on Sings the Cole Porter Songbook, the first collection. She “shines as the perfect interpreter of Cole Porter’s bittersweet love songs.” AM It “is a dream pairing of singer and song,” TM “arguably history’s finest jazz singer singing some of the best-written American pop standards.” AM “Not only does it bubble over with the lucid phrasing and childlike playfulness that made Fitzgerald so beloved, it presents Porter’s songs…as a compelling body of work, to be appreciated apart from the narrative of a show. The songbooks were hits collections, in a sense, teaching millions about the legendary musical theater composers.” TM “Fitzgerald illuminates the shapely contours of Porter’s melodies with understated elegance, and a technique that’s almost transparent. She leans into Porter’s inventive secondary themes as they float into different keys and moods, and approaches the tunes not as a jazz showoff but as a faithful interpreter.” TM “Ella is joined by such luminaries as Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, and Billie Holiday.” AM “Fitzgerald varies the backing: She sings with just piano on Miss Otis Regrets; works with guitarist Barney Kessel and a rhythm section for I Concentrate on You; fronts a big band, arranged by Buddy Bregman, for several jaunty, whirling toe-tappers (among them a definitive reading of Easy to Love); and somehow manages to keep schmaltz at bay when singing with a studio orchestra on I Love Paris.” TM “This collection is one of those rare albums that can be treated as a terrific introduction to a classic artist, as well as remaining a treasured recording for the most scholarly jazz aficionados.” AM “A true American music gem.” AZ Notes: The reissue adds alternates of “You’re the Top,” “I Concentrate on You,” and “Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall in Love).”

Reviews: AM AllMusic.com review by Zac Johnson AZ Amazon.com review by Skip Heller TM Tom Moon (2008). 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. Workman Publishing Company, Inc.: New York, NY. Page 279. Related DMDB Links: First posted 5/30/2008; last updated 3/1/2026.

100 years ago: Billy Murray hit #1 with “You’re a Grand Old Flag” for the first of 10 weeks

You’re a Grand Old Flag” (aka “Grand Old Rag”) Billy Murray

Writer(s): George M. Cohan -- (see lyrics here) First Charted: May 5, 1906 Peak: 110 US, 12 GA, 13 SM, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 (sheet music) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.67 video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: “Perhaps no other American popular song composer did more to popularize the patriotic song than George M. Cohan.” PS He claimed to be born on the 4th of July, although he was actually born the day before. As part of a vaudeville family, he toured New England and the Midwest during his boyhood. By 1904, he wrote and starred in his first musical, Little Johnny Jones. Two years later, he wrote George Washington, Jr., another Broadway show he wrote, produced and starred in as the character of George Belgrave. The show featured “Grand Old Flag,” the song which arguably made him a superstar. PS It isn’t too surprising it became so popular. It was “a patriotic song in a snappy tempo sung by a vigorous and enthusiastic performer to an audience that loves America.” RA The song also drew on other beloved hits such as “Dixie” and “Auld Lang Syne.” SS When performing it during the musical, Cohan marched and down the stage waving an American flag. PS He also performed the song in 1932 in his first talking picture, The Phantom President. TY2 Still, the song wasn’t without controversy. Cohan originally called it “The Grand Old Rag,” inspired by a Civil War veteran who fought at Gettysburg. The man held a carefully folded, but tattered flag and said to Cohan, “She’s a grand old rag.” WK Cohan replicated the scene for the musical, but “despite the song’s clear patriotic message, ‘rag’ was considered by many to be an undignified and inappropriate way to refer to the American flag” NRR so Cohan changed the title to “You’re a Grand Old Flag.” Billy Murray, who has been called “the definitive interpreter of Cohan on record,” SS recorded the song under its original title, despite Cohan’s efforts to pull it. WK The controversy didn’t hurt the song; it became the first from a musical to sell more than a million copies of sheet music. SB Murray made it the biggest hit of 1906 WHC and the biggest-selling record of the first decade for Victor Records. DJ Resources: DJ David Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 224. SM Sharon Mawer Charts (1900-1968) NRR National Recording Registry PS ParlorSongs.com RA Theodore Raph (1964). The Songs We Sang: A Treasury of American Popular Music. A.S. Barnes and Co., Inc.: New York. Page 330. SB Songbook blog SS Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland. Page 3. TY2 Don Tyler (2007). Hit Songs, 1900-1955. McFarland & Company, Inc.: Jefferson, North Carolina. Page 34. WHC Joel Whitburn (1999). A Century of Pop Music. Record Research, Inc.: Menomonee Falls, WI. Page13. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 5/5/2014; last updated 12/15/2022.

Red Hot Chili Peppers Stadium Arcadium released

Stadium Arcadium Red Hot Chili Peppers

Released: May 9, 2006 Peak: 12 US, 12 UK, 12 CN, 13 AU Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 0.68 UK, 7.0 world (includes US + UK) Genre: alternative rock/funk

Tracks, Disc 1: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Dani California (4/4/06, 6 BB, 24 RR, 5 A40, 1 AA, 1 AR, 1 MR, 2 UK, 1 CN, 8 AU, 21 DF) RT Snow (Hey Oh) (6/3/06, 22 BB, 21 A40, 3 A40, 3 AR, 1 MR, 18 UK, 28 DF) RT Charlie Stadium Arcadium Hump De Bump (4/7/07, 27 AR, 8 MR, 41 UK, 33 DF) She’s Only 18 Slow Cheetah Torture Me Strip My Mind Especially in Michigan Warlocks C’mon Girl Wet Sand Hey Tracks, Disc 2: Desecration Smile (2/12/07, 27 UK) Tell Me Baby (7/8/06, 50 BB, 22 A40, 27 AA, 8 AR, 1 MR, 16 UK, 28 DF) RT Hard to Concentrate (1 DF) 21st Century She Looks to Me Readymade If Make You Feel Better Animal Bar So Much I Storm in a Teacup We Believe Turn It Again Death of a Martian Total Running Time: 122:19 The Players: Anthony Kiedes (vocals) Michael “Flea” Balzay (bass/trumpet/piano/backing vocals) Chad Smith (drums, percussion) John Frusciante (guitar/keyboards/backing vocals)

Rating: 4.018 out of 5.00 (average of 29 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “Indulgence has long been a way of life for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, yet they resisted the siren’s call of the double album until 2006’s Stadium Arcadium. Sure, 1991’s breakthrough Blood Sugar Sex Magik was as long as a classic double LP, but such distinctions mattered little in the era when vinyl gave way to CD, and they matter less now, as the CD gradually gives way to digital-only releases. In fact, like how Blood Sugar was the tipping point when the LPs ceded ground to CDs, Stadium Arcadium could be seen as the point when albums were seen as a collection of digital playlists.” AMG “As good as much of this is, there is a little bit of monotony here” AMG as the Peppers churn out “alternately spacey and sunny pop, ballads, and the occasional funk workout that used to be the Chili Peppers’ signature but now functions as a way to break up the monotony.” AMG “As a lyricist Anthony Kiedis just isn’t that deep or clever enough to provide cohesive themes for an album of this length; he tackles no new themes here, nor does he provide new insight to familiar topics.” AMG “He does display a greater versatility as a vocalist, cutting back on the hambone rapping that used to be his signature and crooning throughout the bulk of this album, usually on key.” AMG “That said, he still has enough goofy tics to undercut his attempts at sincerity, and he tends to be a bit of a liability to the band as a whole; with a different singer, who could help shape and deliver these songs, this album might not seem as formless and gormless.” AMG The music is also “given a flat, colorless production that has become the signature of Rick Rubin as of late. Rubin may be able to create the right atmosphere for Flea and John Frusciante to run wild creatively – an opportunity that they seize here, which is indeed a pleasure to hear – but he does nothing to encourage them to brighten the finished recording up with some different textures, or even a greater variety of guitar tones.” AMG The Peppers’ songs are “working variations on their signature themes, and they haven’t found a way to make these variations either transcendent or new.” AMG “Dani California, the clearest single here, [is] the one thing that truly grabs attention upon first listen and worms its way into your subconscious, where it just won’t let go, as so much of Anthony Kiedis’ catchiest melodies do.” AMG “As such, the bare-bone production combined with the relentless march of songs gives Stadium Arcadium the undeniable feel of wading through the demos for a promising project instead of a sprawling statement of purpose.” AMG “Call it the rock version of Peter Jackson’s King Kong: there’s something pretty great and lean buried beneath the excess, but it’s so indulgent, it’s a work that only a fanboy could truly love.” AMG

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Red Hot Chili Peppers AMG All Music Guide review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/29/2008; last updated 11/16/2023.