''Anita O'Day and Billy May Swing Rodgers and Hart'' is a 1960

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by Anita O'Day, arranged by

Billy May Edward William May Jr. (November 10, 1916 – January 22, 2004) was an American composer, arranger and trumpeter. He composed film and television music for ''The Green Hornet'' (1966), ''The Mod Squad'' (1968), ''Batman'' (with '' Batgirl'' them ...

. O'Day and May had previously recorded an album dedicated to a single composer,

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

, in 1959.

Reception

In a review for AllMusic, John Bush wrote: "Broadway fans could understandably fear that O'Day and May would pulverize the waltzing balladry of Rodgers as well as Hart's intricate wordplay. They should have realized that, like the breakneck yet technically perfect performances of bop originators Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, O'Day would miss no subtleties -- and would probably add some of her own -- while she graced these energized versions of American pop classics." The authors of '' The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings'' remarked that the album "starts on a wild high... and just goes on from there." They commented: "O'Day is a natch for Hart's clever lyrics and multiple rhymes and there isn't a poor track on it."

Marc Myers Marc Myers (born September 4, 1956) is an American journalist, author of five books and a regular contributor to ''The Wall Street Journal'', where he writes on music, the arts and celebrities. In 2007, he founded ''JazzWax'', a leading daily jazz ...

, writing for All About Jazz, called the album a "gem," and stated that it "intermingles ferocious band arrangements and tender string charts on some of the American Songbook's most novel tunes. In nearly every case, O'Day's interpretation is bursting with peppery swing and cool seduction... every track on ''Rodgers and Hart'' is an stunning knockout."

Track listing

# " Johnny One Note" – 1:54 # " Little Girl Blue" – 3:03 # " Falling in Love With Love" – 1:31 # " Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" – 4:22 # " I Could Write a Book" – 2:13 # " Have You Met Miss Jones?" – 1:55 # "

Lover Lover or lovers may refer to a person having a sexual or romantic relationship with someone outside marriage. In this context see: * Sexual partner * Mistress (lover) * Extramarital sex * Premarital sex Lover or Lovers may also refer to: Geogr ...

" – 2:05 # " It Never Entered My Mind" – 2:26 # " Ten Cents a Dance" – 2:19 # " I've Got Five Dollars" – 1:48 # "

To Keep My Love Alive "To Keep My Love Alive" is a 1943 popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart for the 1943 revival of the 1927 musical '' A Connecticut Yankee,'' where it was introduced by Vivienne Segal. It was written especially for Se ...

" – 3:14 # " Spring Is Here" – 2:43 All music composed by

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most ...

, all lyrics by

Lorenz Hart Lorenz Milton Hart (May 2, 1895 – November 22, 1943) was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include " Blue Moon", " The Lady Is a Tramp", "Manhattan", "Bewitched, Both ...

Personnel

Performance

* Anita O'Day – vocals * Jimmy Rowles - piano * Joe Mondragon - double bass * Alvin Stoller -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

–

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...

References

{{Authority control 1960 albums Anita O'Day albums Albums produced by Norman Granz Albums arranged by Billy May Verve Records albums Richard Rodgers tribute albums Albums conducted by Billy May