Broadway Revisited
 (03/09/10): 10-11: March 13, 2010

But mostly not together.

Gypsy overture-- 1; fades under)

Hi, this is Art Hilgart and this is Broadway Revisited, a weekly exploration of the songs and shows, composers and lyricists, and performers who created the American musical theater.

(Music up, then fade)

Most of the fine songs in what is called "The Great American Songbook" were written for Broadway and Hollywood between 1920 and 1960. That they've outlasted their sources isn't just due to the quality of their words and music, but to the fine singers who continue to perform and record them. Two of the most important of these have been Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. They're gone now, but they recorded dozens of albums of the good songs and they're still in print, now on compact discs. Today we'll hear them both in live performances.

The Frank Sinatra selections are from a Bravura CD of a 1959 concert in Australia, and the Ella Fitzgerald selections are from a four-CD Verve Select album documenting her extended stay at the Crescendo club in Los Angeles in 1961.

Here they are, with some Cole Porter.

1. At Long Last Love / It's De-Lovely 4:30

We'll follow those Cole Porter songs with Ella Fitzgerald's approach to three numbers by the Gershwin brothers.

2. I've Got A Crush On You / But Not for Me / Nice Work If You Can Get It 5:49

All of those numbers sung by Ella were by George and Ira Gershwin. Here's Frank with two "dance" songs.

3. Dancing In The Dark / I Could Have Danced All Night 4:38

Dancing in the Dark is from a revue by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz , and I Could Have Danced All Night is from Alan Jay Lerner and Fritz Loewe's My Fair Lady.

Now we'll hear Frank and Ella with a pair of saloon songs about lost lovers.

4. Angel Eyes / One for My Baby 7:01

Angel Eyes was written by Matt Dennis and Earl Brent for the movie Jennifer. Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen wrote One for my Baby for Fred Astaire to sing in The Sky's the Limit.

Here's Ella again, with two more Harold Arlen songs.

5. Happiness Is Just a Thing Called Joe / Come Rain or Come Shine 7:10

Harold Arlen wrote Happiness Is Just a Thing Called Joe with Yip Harburg, for the film of Cabin in the Sky. Arlen wrote Come Rain or Come Shine with Johnny Mercer, for the show St. Louis Woman.

Sinatra especially liked Cole Porter. Here he is with three Porter songs.

6. Just One of Those Things / I Get a Kick Out of You / I've Got You Under My Skin 7:17

Cole Porter wrote all three of those songs for Broadway. Here are two more saloon songs. They aren't from Broadway, but both have become standards.

7. 'Round Midnight / Willow Weep For Me 7:03

Thelonious Monk wrote 'Round Midnight, which has been used in many movies, and Ann Ronell wrote Willow Weep For Me, and it's also been used in movies.

Here's Ella Fitzgerald with two more songs by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer.

8. That Old Black Magic / Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive 6:00

Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen wrote both of those songs for movies.

All of today's selections so far have been from compact discs of concert performances. Frank Sinatra's are from a Bravura CD of his 1959 Melbourne concert, and Ella Fitzgerald's are from the elegant four-disc box set from Verve Select, covering her 1961 appearances at the Crescendo, in Los Angeles.

We'll end with a Frank and Ella duet, taken from a live 1967 television performance. The song is a favorite of both of them. It's by Rodgers and Hart, and it's from Babes in Arms.

9. The Lady Is a Tramp 4:04

(Gypsy overture-- 2; to end)

We hope you've enjoyed this hour with Fitzgerald and Sinatra, and that you'll join us again next week for another Broadway Revisited. National distribution is funded by the Irving S. Gilmore Foundation in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and it's produced with our engineer, Martin Klemm, in the WMUK studios of Western Michigan University. Our website with playlists, program schedules, and stuff is broadwayrevisited.com, and our e-mail address is Art@broadwayrevisited.com. And I'm Art Hilgart.

Total music: 53:32; Estimated talking: 4:10; Intro/outro: :30; Estimated total: 58:12.

Promo (10): This week we'll hear Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald sing from and the Great American Songbook in recorded performances. Frank and Ella Live, on Broadway Revisited.