Frank & Ella-Who Else?

Frank & Ella-Who Else?   This blog is focused on the people who created the songs that we cherish as the so-called " Standards" of the Great American Songbook. It all starts with composers and lyricists who conjure up the melodies and words that create memorable songs. However, let us not forget that the notes and words are just ink on paper until someone breathes life into those creations.
 There are a great number of performers, young and old, who have done justice to the songs that represent good taste and lasting emotional appeal.
However, Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald have done more than any other artists to perform a broad spectrum of the hundreds of songs that are part of classic American popular songbook. Ella has covered most of the maor composers in a series of recordings of the songwriters who have a significant body of work . Throughout his lengthy career, Sinatra has always featured the work of Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, Harold Arlen, Jeome Kern and Irving Berlin and often  mentions the composers name during his performances.

What is it that makes these two giants of popular song create so extraordinary an impact on millions of dedicated listeners ?  With them there is always clarity, naturalness, control, originality and honesty.They both honour the melody and words as written but also find ways of changing a tempo , bending a note, or substituting a note that sometimes sounds better than what was originally written. These qualities are also true of other established performers but it is the sheer volume and consistant quality of their recordings that has created their lasting legacy..
In this video, Frank and Ella sing a  duet version of " Moonlight in Vermont" by Suessdorf and Blackburn, two unheralded collaborators who created this poetic ballad sung in a very natural , respectful and unforced manner.

PERFORMANCE LINK:  http://youtu.be/cyyRi3l7E_k