'Tain't What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It) - Ella Fitzgerald, Oliver, Sy
My Heart Belongs to Daddy - Ella Fitzgerald, Porter, Cole
Chew, Chew, Chew (Your Bubble Gum) - Ella Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald, Ella
Don't Worry 'Bout Me - Ella Fitzgerald, Bloom, Rube
If You Ever Change Your Mind - Ella Fitzgerald, Green, Johnny [1]
Little White Lies - Ella Fitzgerald, Donaldson, Walter
Coochi-Coochi-Coo - Ella Fitzgerald, Werner, Kay
Betcha Nickel - Ella Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald, Ella
Stairway to the Stars - Ella Fitzgerald, Malneck, Matty
I Want the Waiter (With the Water) - Ella Fitzgerald, Werner, Kay
Out of Nowhere - Ella Fitzgerald, Green, Johnny [1]
My Last Goodbye - Ella Fitzgerald, Howard, Eddy [Vocal
Billy (I Always Dream of Billy) - Ella Fitzgerald, Goodwin, Joe
You're Gonna Lose Your Gal - Ella Fitzgerald, Monaco, James V.
After I Say I'm Sorry - Ella Fitzgerald, Donaldson, Walter
Moonray - Ella Fitzgerald, Connor, Chris [Voca
Sugar Blues - Ella Fitzgerald, Fletcher, Lucy
The Starlit Hour - Ella Fitzgerald, DeRose, Peter
What's the Matter With Me? - Ella Fitzgerald, Lewis, Sam M. [1]
Baby, Won't You Please Come Home - Ella Fitzgerald, Warfield, Charles
Track Listings (21) - Disc #2
If It Weren't for You - Ella Fitzgerald, Mizzy, Victor
Imagination - Ella Fitzgerald, Burke, Johnny [Lyri
Deedle-De-Dum - Ella Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald, Ella
Shake Down the Stars - Ella Fitzgerald, DeLange, Eddie
Gulf Coast Blues - Ella Fitzgerald, Williams, Clarence
Five O'Clock Whistle - Ella Fitzgerald, Gannon, Kim
Louisville, K-Y - Ella Fitzgerald, Skylar, Sunny
Taking a Chance on Love - Ella Fitzgerald, Duke, Vernon
Cabin in the Sky - Ella Fitzgerald, Duke, Vernon
I'm the Lonesomest Gal in Town - Ella Fitzgerald, Brown, Lew
Three Little Words - Ella Fitzgerald, Kalmar, Bert
The One I Love (Belongs to Somebody Else) - Ella Fitzgerald, Jones, Isham
The Muffin Man - Ella Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald, Ella
Keep Cool, Fool - Ella Fitzgerald, Doc Rhythm
No Nothing - Ella Fitzgerald, Handman, Lou
My Man - Ella Fitzgerald, Charles, Jacques
I Can't Believe That You're in Love With Me - Ella Fitzgerald, Gaskill, Clarence
I Must Have That Man! - Ella Fitzgerald, Fields, Dorothy
When My Sugar Walks Down the Street - Ella Fitzgerald, Austin, Gene
I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good) - Ella Fitzgerald, Ellington, Duke
Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man - Ella Fitzgerald, Hammerstein, Oscar
Ella Fitzgerald began her career while still in her teens, singing with drummer Chick Webb's great swing band, and rapidly establishing herself as one of the era's leading singers. When Webb died in 1938, Fitzgerald assume... more »d the leadership of the band. This two-CD set documents the period from 1939 to 1941, and it includes hits like the opening "Undecided," the kind of rhythm tune with which Fitzgerald could already distinguish herself, with a meticulous command of tune and timing. Webb was irreplaceable, but the group remained a distinguished swing band, while Fitzgerald demonstrated the musical way with ballads that would be a hallmark of her career. --Stuart Broomer« less
Ella Fitzgerald began her career while still in her teens, singing with drummer Chick Webb's great swing band, and rapidly establishing herself as one of the era's leading singers. When Webb died in 1938, Fitzgerald assumed the leadership of the band. This two-CD set documents the period from 1939 to 1941, and it includes hits like the opening "Undecided," the kind of rhythm tune with which Fitzgerald could already distinguish herself, with a meticulous command of tune and timing. Webb was irreplaceable, but the group remained a distinguished swing band, while Fitzgerald demonstrated the musical way with ballads that would be a hallmark of her career. --Stuart Broomer
"How fresh is the feeling of Ella, always and forever. At age twenty-one, her voice is sweet, like honey and molasses on a breeze: smooth, rich, effortless. This dense double CD compilation, its musical heritage recorded with impeccable clarity, is an essential addition to any collection of jazz history, for these are the years when Ella blossems into her full (magical) maturity, and when, tragically, her brilliant and well loved band leader, Chick Webb, dies of tuberculosis at the height of his fame. Their last songs recorded together: chew chew chew (chew your bubble gum), little white lies, and don't worry 'bout me, are reason enough to have (and to hold) this gem of a recording. Dense also in poetry are the lyrics of these fine songs: "as we sail away on a crest of a thrill, keep building a stairway to the stars, it would be heaven to climb with you"...so light a voice in so heavy a time, Ella, the early years, 1939-1941...a heavenly sound heralding a heartbreaking war...This music is all that music can be, and more."
Enjoyable to the ear
E. Scruggs | Millsboro, Delaware | 09/03/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This was a present for my father. He wanted to hear Ella Fitzgerald's early years. It was a hit with him and some of his friends he shared it with."