Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book is a 1956 studio double album by American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, accompanied by a studio orchestra conducted and arranged by Buddy Bregman, focusing on the songs of Cole Porter. It is the first in a series of thematic LPs devoted to great American songwriters that Fitzgerald recorded from 1956 to 1964.
Background This was Fitzgerald's first album for the newly created Verve Records (and the first album to be released by the label). Norman Granz, Fitzgerald's manager and the producer of many of her albums, decided to have her record well-established popular works becauseI was interested in how I could enhance Ella's position, to make her a singer with more than just a cult following amongst jazz fans. So I proposed to Ella that the first Verve album would not be a jazz project, but rather a song book of the works of Cole Porter. I envisaged her doing a lot of composers. The trick was to change the backing enough so that, here and there, there would be signs of jazz.Fitzgerald's time on the Verve label would see her produce her most highly acclaimed recordings, at the peak of her vocal powers. This album inaugurated Fitzgerald's Song Book series, each of the eight albums in the series focusing on a different composer of the canon known as the Great American Songbook. The album was recorded February 7–9 and March 27, 1956, in Hollywood, Los Angeles.
Granz visited Cole Porter at the Waldorf-Astoria and played him this entire album. Afterwards, Porter merely remarked, "My, what marvelous diction that girl has.""Ella Fitzgerald: 1917-1996" by Stuart Nicholson. (page 159)
Legacy and achievements This album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000, which is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old, and that have "qualitative or historical significance."Grammy Hall of Fame Database In 2003, it was one of 50 recordings chosen by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry.
In 2000 it was voted number 490 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.
Track listing All tracks written by Cole Porter, except when noted.
Disc one Side one "All Through the Night" – 3:15 "Anything Goes" – 3:21 "Miss Otis Regrets" – 3:00 "Too Darn Hot" – 3:47 "In the Still of the Night" – 2:38 "I Get a Kick Out of You" – 4:00 "Do I Love You?" – 3:50 "Always True to You in My Fashion" – 2:48
Side two "Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love" – 3:32 "Just One of Those Things" – 3:30 "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye" – 3:32 "All of You" – 1:43 "Begin the Beguine" – 3:37 "Get Out of Town" – 3:22 "I Am in Love" – 4:06 "From This Moment On" – 3:17
Disc two Side three "I Love Paris" – 4:57 "You Do Something to Me" – 2:21 "Ridin' High" – 3:20 "You'd Be So Easy to Love" – 3:24 "It's All Right with Me" – 3:07 "Why Can't You Behave?" – 5:04 "What Is This Thing Called Love?" – 2:02 "You're the Top" – 3:33
Side four "Love for Sale" – 5:52 "It's De-Lovely" – 2:42 "Night and Day" – 3:04 "Ace in the Hole" – 1:58 "So in Love" – 3:50 "I've Got You Under My Skin" – 2:42 "I Concentrate on You" – 3:11 "Don't Fence Me In" – 3:19 (Robert Fletcher, co-lyricist)
1997 reissue, previously unreleased bonus tracks "You're the Top" (Alternative take) – 2:08 "I Concentrate on You" (Alternative take) – 3:00 "Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love" (Alternative take) – 5:25
Personnel Personnel adapted from the liner notes of CD reissue.
Performance Ella Fitzgerald – vocals Paul Smith – piano, celeste (on all tracks except 2.11)
Brass and woodwind members(on tracks 1.1–2, 4–5, 8, 10, 13, 16, 2.2–3, 5, 8–13, 15) Herb Geller – clarinet, alto saxophone Chuck Gentry – bass clarinet, baritone saxophone Bud Shank – clarinet, flute, alto saxophone
Additional members on 1.7, 11, 15, 2.1, 6 Bob Cooper – clarinet, oboe, tenor saxophone Ted Nash – clarinet, flute, tenor saxophone
Additional members on 1.12 Pete Candoli – trumpet Harry "Sweets" Edison – trumpet Maynard Ferguson – trumpet Conrad Gozzo – trumpet
Additional members on 1.12, 2.7 & 14 Milt Bernhart – trombone Joe Howard – trombone
Lloyd Ulyate – trombone George Roberts – bass and baritone trombone
Rhythm members(on all tracks except 1.3, 8, 2.2, 8, 12) Barney Kessel – Guitar Joe Mondragon – Double bass Alvin Stoller – Drums, percussion
String Players (Incomplete)(on tracks 1.1–2, 5, 7–8, 11, 13, 15, 2.1–2, 6, 8–13, 15) Corky Hale – harp Robert LaMarchina – cello Edgar Lustgarten – cello
Technical Buddy Bregman – arranger, conductor Norman Granz – producer
Reissue Suha Gur – mastering Michael Lang – producer Fred W. Meyer – mastering
Charts Monthly charts + Monthly chart performance for Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book Chart (2026) Peakposition German Jazz Albums (Offizielle Top 100) 9
Release history DateFormatLabelCatalog No.195612" 2xLPVerveMG V-4001-2197612" 2xLPVerveVE-2-25111997CD 2xLP (remastered)Verve Master Edition314 537 257-22017FLAC 24-bit/96 kHzVerve Records
References
External links Buddy Bregman's memories of working with Ella on the Cole Porter Song Book