Personnel:

Anita O'Day (vcl), Billy May (arr, dir), Conrad Gozzo, Pete Candoli, Frank Beach (tp), Si Zentner, Lloyd Ulyate, Dave Wells, Dick Noel, Tommy Shepard (tb), Ronny Lang, Ted Nash (as), Gene Cipriano, Justin Gordon (ts), Chuck Gentry (bs), Joe Castro, Al Pellegrini (p), Al Hendrickson (g), Ralph Pena, George Morrow (b), Irv Cottler, Mel Lewis (d)

Here is Anita ODay in excellent vocal form joining forces with Billy May, one of the most prolific arrangers of the Hollywood recording studios in the 50s and 60s.

To back her, May led three big-sized groups staffed by top musicians, and provided the swinging, tasteful charts in these two excellent albums dedicated to the songbooks of Cole Porter and Rodgers & Hart. Miss ODay treats this handful of great evergreen songs in her usual compelling manner and with innate musicianship. She was gifted with a wide vocal range and a level head: that is to say, she sang smoothly without panic or strain at either extreme of her range, and remained consistently impressive in projection, phrasing, and flexibility.

There is much to groove within this set and, be it for pop or jazz fans, listening to this great singer is sure to be an incomparable musical pleasure.

TRACKLIST:

01. Just One of Those Things (Cole Porter) 2:09

02. Love for Sale (Cole Porter) 2:44

03. All of You (Cole Porter) 1:43

04. Easy to Love (Cole Porter) 2:03

05. You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To (Cole Porter) 1:51

06. I Get a Kick Out of You (Cole Porter) 2:24

07. I Love You (Cole Porter) 1:59

08. I've Got You Under My Skin (Cole Porter) 1:48

09. Get Out of Town (Cole Porter) 2:32

10. What Is This Thing Called Love? (Cole Porter) 2:32

11. Night and Day (Cole Porter) 2:03

12. It's De-Lovely (Cole Porter) 2:06

13. Falling In Love with Love (Rodgers-Hart) 1:27

14. Johnny One Note (Rodgers-Hart) 1:53

15. Lover (Rodgers-Hart) 2:02

16. Have You Met Miss Jones? (Rodgers-Hart) 1:53

17. Little Girl Blue (Rodgers-Hart) 3:01

18. Spring Is Here (Rodgers-Hart) 2:44

19. It Never Entered My Mind (Rodgers-Hart) 2:24

20. Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered (Rodgers-Hart) 4:19

21. I've Got Five Dollars (Rodgers-Hart) 1:47

22. To Keep My Love Alive (Rodgers-Hart) 3:13

23. Ten Cents a Dance (Rodgers-Hart) 2:17

24. I Could Write a Book (Rodgers-Hart) 2:09

Sources:

Tracks #1-12 originally issued on the 12" LP

"Anita O'Day Swings Cole Porter with Billy May"

(Verve MGV 2118 and MGVS 6059)

Tracks #13-24 originally issued on the 12" LP

"Anita O'Day and Billy May Swings Rodgers & Hart"

(Verve MGV 2141 and MGVS 62141)

Anita O'Day sings in all tracks

Orchestra arranged and conducted by Billy May

Personnel on tracks #1-5:

Conrad Gozzo, Uan Rasey, Frank Beach (tp), Dave Wells, Si Zentner, Lloyd Ulyate, Ed Kusby (tb), Ronnie Lang, Wilbur Schwartz (as), Justin Gordon, Gene Cipriano (ts), Chuck Gentry (bs), Al Pellegrini (p), Bobby Gibbons (g), George Morrow (b), Irv Cottler (d).

Recorded at capitol Studios, Hollywood, on April 2, 1959

Personnel on tracks #6-12:

Conrad Gozzo, Uan Rasey, Frank Beach (tp), Dave Wells, Si Zentner, Dick Noel, Ed Kusby (tb), Skeets Herfurt, Wilbur Schwartz (as), Justin Gordon, Gene Cipriano (ts), Chuck Gentry (bs), Al Pellegrini (p), Tommy Tedesco (g), George Morrow (b), Mel Lewis (d)

Recorded at capitol Studios, Hollywood, on April 9, 1959

Personnel on tracks #13-16:

Pete Candoli, Conrad Gozzo, Uan Rasey (tp), Murray McEachern, Tommy Shepard, Bill Schaefer, Ed Kusby (tb), Wilbur Schwartz, Ted Nash (as), Justin Gordon, Fred Fallensby (ts), Chuck Gentry (bs), Joe Castro (p), Al Hendrickson (g), Ralph Pena (b), Irv Cottler (d).

Recorded at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, on June 6, 1960

Personnel on tracks #17-20:

Joe Castro (p), Al Hendrickson (g), Ralph Pena (b), Irv Cottler (d), plus string section (9 violins, 4 violas, 4 cellos, harp).

Recorded at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, on June 7, 1960

Personnel on tracks #21-24:

Pete Candoli, Conrad Gozzo, Uan Rasey (tp), Ed Kusby, Murray McEachern, Tommy Pederson, Bill Schaefer (tb), Wilbur Schwartz, Ted Nash (as), Justin Gordon, Fred Fallensby (ts), Chuck Gentry (bs), Joe Castro (p), Al Hendrickson (g), Ralph Pena (b), Irv Cottler (d).

Recorded at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, on June 8, 1960

All sessions originally produced by Norman Granz.

Reissue produced by Jordi Pujol and 'Beethoven' Jean-Michel Reisser.

24-Bit · Digitally Remastered