Ella Fitzgerald Sings Songs from the Soundtrack of "Let No Man Write My Epitaph"

Ella Fitzgerald Sings Songs from the Soundtrack of "Let No Man Write My Epitaph" is a 1960 (see 1960 in music) album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, accompanied by the pianist Paul Smith. Let No Man Write My Epitaph was a 1960 Hollywood crime drama film featuring Fitzgerald.

Ella Fitzgerald Sings Songs from the Soundtrack of "Let No Man Write My Epitaph"
Studio album by Ella Fitzgerald
Released	1960
Recorded	April 14–19, 1960
Studio	United Western (Hollywood)
Genre	Jazz
Length	41:58
Label	Verve
Producer	Norman Granz
Ella Fitzgerald chronology
Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas (1960) Ella Fitzgerald Sings Songs from the Soundtrack of "Let No Man Write My Epitaph" (1960) Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Songbook (1961)
CD release artwork

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	[3]

Until 2014 this album was only available on CD as The Intimate Ella, and is considered one of Ella's greatest recordings. Ella's 1950 Decca album Ella Sings Gershwin, is in a similar vein, with Ella accompanied by the pianist Ellis Larkins.

The album hints at a depth of emotional understanding that critics often complained was missing in Ella's reading of jazz lyrics, and once again establishes her as one of the supreme interpreters of the Great American Songbook. Scott Yanow's review of the album (on Allmusic) declared, "Listeners who [think] Ella Fitzgerald... had trouble giving the proper emotional intensity to lyrics will be surprised by this sensitive and often haunting set".

In 2020, the album was rereleased as part of the Verve compilation The Complete Piano Duets.

Track listing

For the 1960 Verve LP release; Verve MG V-4043; Re-issued as The Intimate Ella in 1989 on CD, Verve-PolyGram 839 838-2; Re-issued under its original title and release number in 2014 on CD/SACD

Side One:

1. "Black Coffee" (Sonny Burke, Paul Francis Webster) – 3:27
2. "Angel Eyes" (Earl Brent, Matt Dennis) – 3:27
3. "I Cried for You" (Gus Arnheim, Arthur Freed, Abe Lyman) – 3:26
4. "I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby" (Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh) – 3:28
5. "Then You've Never Been Blue" (Ted Fio Rito, Sam M. Lewis, Frances Langford, Joe Young) – 3:10
6. "I Hadn't Anyone Till You" (Ray Noble) – 2:49
7. "My Melancholy Baby" (Ernie Burnett, George Norton) – 2:57

Side Two:

1. "Misty" (Johnny Burke, Erroll Garner) – 2:51
2. "September Song" (Maxwell Anderson, Kurt Weill) – 3:40
3. "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)" (Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer) – 4:17
4. "Who's Sorry Now?" (Burt Kalmar, Harry Ruby, Ted Snyder) – 3:26
5. "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You" (George Bassman, Ned Washington) – 2:36
6. "Reach for Tomorrow" (McHugh, Washington) – 2:24

Personnel

Recorded April 14–19, 1960 at United Western Recorders, Hollywood, Los Angeles:

• Ella Fitzgerald - Vocals
• Paul Smith - Piano

References

1. "Ella Fitzgerald Sings Songs from "Let No Man Write My Epitaph"". Allmusic. All Media Guide. Retrieved 2011-07-22.
2. Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
3. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 491. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.