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.