Released in 1956 as the inaugural album on the newly established Verve label, Ella Fitzgerald’s Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book signaled the beginning of her now-historic Song Book series and marked a major turning point in her recording career. Produced by Norman Granz and recorded across two sessions in February and March of 1956, the album paired Fitzgerald with arranger and conductor Buddy Bregman and a full studio orchestra. Its release broadened Ella’s reputation beyond jazz audiences, establishing her as one of the foremost interpreters of the Great American Songbook. Now, it’s seeing the light of day on vinyl again through Verve’s Acoustic Sounds series.
The two-LP set features 32 selections drawn from Cole Porter’s extensive catalog, including well-known standards as well as lesser-recorded material. Bregman’s orchestral arrangements frame Fitzgerald’s phrasing with a blend of swing, ballad writing, and classic Hollywood-style orchestration, placing emphasis on the clarity of Porter’s lyrics and melodies. The sessions brought together leading West Coast studio musicians, whose ensemble work supports Fitzgerald’s performances with a polished, detailed backdrop.
Celebrated upon release and influential in shaping both Verve’s identity and Fitzgerald’s artistic direction, The Cole Porter Song Book remains a cornerstone of her discography and a central document in 20th-century popular interpretation. Its scale, repertoire, and production values set the template for the subsequent volumes in the Song Book series, all of which would follow over the next decade.
The Verve / Acoustic Sounds Series presents all-analog 180-gram vinyl reissues of essential albums from the Verve and Impulse! catalogs. Mastered from the original analog tapes by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound and pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings (QRP) in Kansas, each release pairs top-tier audio fidelity with meticulously reproduced tip-on jackets, offering faithful recreations of the original LPs for discerning listeners.
Shop the Verve Acoustic Sounds Series now.
