Original show tune by George & Ira Gershwin; from the 1924 musical "Lady, Be Good!"
"Oh, Lady Be Good!" is a 1924 song by George and Ira Gershwin .[ 1] It was introduced by Walter Catlett in the Broadway musical Lady, Be Good! written by Guy Bolton , Fred Thompson , and the Gershwin brothers and starring Fred and Adele Astaire . The song was also performed by the chorus in the film Lady Be Good (1941), although the film is unrelated to the musical.
Recordings in 1925 were by Paul Whiteman , Carl Fenton , and Cliff Edwards .[ 2] A 1947 recording of the song became a hit for Ella Fitzgerald , notable for her scat solo. For her album Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook (1959), it was sung as a ballad arranged by Nelson Riddle .
Recorded versions
Carl Fenton and His Orchestra – recorded on December 11, 1924 (Brunswick)[ 3]
Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra – rec. December 29, 1924 (Victor)
Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards – rec. January 2, 1925[ 4]
Jack Hylton and his Orchestra – rec. March 29, 1926
Buddy Lee with the Gilt–Edged Four – rec. May 17, 1926 (Columbia)
Buck and Bubbles – rec. December 26, 1933 (Columbia)
Django Reinhardt - (1934, 1937, 1948)
Red Norvo and His Swing Sextet – (Mar 16, 1936)
Benny Goodman Trio – rec. April 27, 1936[ 4] as the B–side of China Boy (Victor)[ 5]
Jones-Smith Incorporated (feat. Lester Young and Count Basie ) - rec. October 9, 1936 - released as Vocalion 3459, matrix C-1660-1
Slim & Slam – rec. May 3, 1938 (Vocalion)
Count Basie – rec. February 4, 1939 (Decca)
Artie Shaw and his Orchestra - rec. August 27, 1939 - from the short Artie Shaw's Symphony In Swing (1939) - released as Bluebird B10430-A, matrix 042609-1
Charlie Parker and Lester Young for Jazz at the Philharmonic , January 28, 1946[ 4]
Ella Fitzgerald – with Bob Haggart (1947)[ 4]
Fred Astaire – rec. December 1952 – The Astaire Story
The Gordons with Dizzy Gillespie and Stuff Smith – rec. April 17, 1957
Ella Fitzgerald – rec. 1959 – Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook [ 4]
Kenny Burrell – rec. August 25, 1959 – On View at the Five Spot Cafe (Blue Note)
Joe Carroll – The Man with the Happy Sound (1962)
Mel Tormé and Buddy Rich – Together Again: For the First Time (1978)
Rob Agerbeek – Three of a Kind (1998)
Dianne Reeves – We All Love Ella: Celebrating the First Lady of Song (2007)
BBC Concert Orchestra – The Age of Swing (2009)
John Wilson Orchestra – Gershwin in Hollywood, live at the Royal Albert Hall (2016)
Peacherine Ragtime Society Orchestra – with William Edwards – Take Me to the Rag Time Dance (2023)
See also
References
External links
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