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.
Postagens
