[.ca] Sings The Johnny Mercer Songbook

What a difference a songbook makes!:
Would Ella held onto her place in Americana if not for her songbooks? I love the majority of them. She may well been relegated to novelty singer because of her Decca material. Starting in 1956 new manager, Norman Granz, had her record on his own Verve label the best & most enduring of America's music. Ella recorded albums that will always be in stores, catalogs, & on line. Mainly, the Songbooks and Nelson Riddle arranged material. Every song here was not defintive but collectively they sparkled! Johnny Mercer wrote so many great lyrics & a few good melodies that had this been a bigger collection, like her massive Gershwin, it could had very well been *****. Other reasons it's only **** are the including of the medicore SINGLE-O & WHEN A WOMAN LOVES A MAN & Ella's flatness on DAY IN-DAY OUT & SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE. Still, Ella had class, diction, good taste when alllowed, & a great swinging flair.

THE MAN FROM SAVANNAGH:
Now people read this, JOHNNY MERCER was probably AMERICA's most prolific songwriter.From 1930 to 1976 JOHNNY wrote more than 1,000 songs.He also sang with his good natured SOUTHERN accent and co-founded CAPITOL records.Still, many people don't know him apart from singers who sang his songs.You might not know it but you certainly have heard many of his songs : THAT OLD BLACK MAGIC,I'M AN OLD COWHAND FROM THE RIO GRANDE,MOONRIVER are only a few of them not present here.ELLA and conductor NELSON RIDDLE have chosen true swinging greats TOO MARVELOUS FOR WORDS,SOMETHING'S GOTTA LIVE but also some songs not often recorded like SINGLE-O and MIDNIGHT SUN.ELLA has recorded other MERCER songs in the HAROLD ARLEN SONGBOOKS

• Too Marvelous for Words
• Early Autumn
• Day In - Day Out
• Laura \oFrom Laura\c
• This Time the Dream's on Me
• Skylark
• Single-O
• Something's Gotta Give
• Trav'lin' Light
• Midnight Sun
• Dream
• I Remember You
• When a Woman Loves a Man