ELLA FITZGERALD - IT'S ONLY A PAPER MOON

IT'S ONLY A PAPER MOON

ELLA FITZGERALD

SONGWRITERS: E. Y. HARBURG; BILLY ROSE & HAROLD ARLEN

COUNTRY: U. S. A.

ALBUM: MARIA LERMA

LABEL: VINTAGE MUSIC

GENRE: FOX TROT

YEAR: 1945

 

               Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917 – June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the First Lady of Song, Queen of Jazz, and Lady Ella. She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, intonation, and a "horn-like" improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing.

               After a tumultuous adolescence, Fitzgerald found stability in musical success with the Chick Webb Orchestra, performing across the country but most often associated with the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem. Her rendition of the nursery rhyme "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" helped boost both her and Webb to national fame. After taking over the band when Webb died, Fitzgerald left it behind in 1942 to start her solo career.

              Her manager was Moe Gale, co-founder of the Savoy, until she turned the rest of her career over to Norman Granz, who founded Verve Records to produce new records by Fitzgerald. With Verve she recorded some of her more widely noted works, particularly her interpretations of the Great American Songbook.

              While Fitzgerald appeared in movies and as a guest on popular television shows in the second half of the twentieth century, her musical collaborations with Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and The Ink Spots were some of her most notable acts outside of her solo career. These partnerships produced some of her best-known songs such as "Dream a Little Dream of Me", "Cheek to Cheek", "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall", and "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)".

In 1993, after a career of nearly 60 years, she gave her last public performance. Three years later, she died at the age of 79 after years of declining health. Her accolades included fourteen Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

              "It's Only a Paper Moon" is a popular song published in 1933 with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by Yip Harburg and Billy Rose.

               It was originally titled "If You Believed in Me," but later went by the more popular title "It's Only a Paper Moon." The song was written for an unsuccessful 1932 Broadway play called The Great Magoo that was set in Coney Island. Claire Carleton first performed this song on December 2, 1932. It was used in the movie Take a Chance in 1933 when it was sung by June Knight and Charles "Buddy" Rogers. Paul Whiteman recorded a hit version later that year, featuring Bunny Berigan on trumpet and Peggy Healy on vocals. Another popular 1933 recording was done by Cliff Edwards.

            The song's lasting fame stems from its revival by popular artists during the last years of World War II, with hit recordings being made by Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, and Benny Goodman (vocal by Dottie Reid). It is now regarded as a jazz and pop standard, and has been recorded by numerous artists over the years.

It is only a paper moon

Hanging over a cardboard sea

But it wouldn't be make believe

If you believe in me

It is only a canvas sky

Sailing over a muslin tree

But it wouldn't be make believe

If you believe in me

Without your love

It's a honky-tonk parade

Without your love

It's a melody played on a penny arcade

It's a Barnum and Bailey world

Just as phony as it can be

But it wouldn't be make believe

If you believe in me

Without your love

It's a honky-tonk parade

Without your love

It's a melody played on a penny arcade

It's a Barnum and Bailey world

Just as phony as it can be

But it wouldn't be make believe

If you believe in me.