Song:Oh, Lady Be Good
DVD:Ella Fitzgerald & Other Jazz & Swing Greats Live From Lincoln Center
Though she continued to tour, it looked like Ella Fitzgerald's career was winding down in the late 60s. After MGM bought Verve Records, her contract wasn't renewed and she bounced around labels like Capitol, Atlantic and Reprise with little success. This all changed when former Verve owner Norman Granz started Pablo Records in 1972 and immediately signed Ella. This revived Ella's career. Meanwhile she appeared on the 1972 NBC TV special Timex All Star Swing Festival and kicked off the show with a performance of Oh, Lady Be Good with The Count Basie Orchestra. Ella first recorded with Basie on the 1957 album One O'Clock Jump and they also recorded the 1963 album Ella and Basie!. Oh, Lady Be Good is a Gershwin song first recorded by Ella in 1948. She also recorded it with Louis Armstrong on the album Ella and Louis. She didn't record it with Basie so it's not on a CD. But it is on the DVD of this TV special. It was hosted by The Tonight Show bandleader Doc Severinsen and taped live at Lincoln Center in New York City. Others who appeared on the show include Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Bobby Hackett and Dizzy Gillespie. And there is a tribute to Louis Armstrong. The show won a Peabody Award. It's been released on DVD twice by dodgy companies. I am told the video quality isn't the greatest and could probably use a remastering. And the show is not complete on either DVD version. But at least it's out there and those who want it can get it. Though he voice was declining, Ella continued to record for Pablo and in the late 70s she recorded three albums with Basie. Here's Ella Fitzgerald with The Count Basie Orchestra performing Oh, Lady Be Good on the 1972 NBC special Timex All Star Swing Festival.
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