Today marks the end of Rodgers & Hart month. There’s no better song with which to close it out.
The Lady Is A Tramp was written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart for the smash hit 1937 musical Babes In Arms. It was featured in the 1957 film version of R & H’s hit show Pal Joey. That’s why I associate it with the Chairman of the Board. Hence the Hayworth-Sinatra-Novak featured image.
This week’s post is bookmarked by two of my favorite artists: Sinatra and Oscar Peterson. We begin with Francis Albert.
Ella Fitzgerald’s version is *almost* as good as Frank’s.
Here are Frank and Ella together on his 1965 A Man and his Music teevee special:
It’s Miss Peggy Lee applying a Bossa Nova beat to the Rodgers & Hart classic.
A small group version from Lou Rawls:
Queen Latifah can do more than rap. Here’s her take on The Lady Is A Tramp from an Ella tribute album.
Finally, Anthony Benedetto d/b/a Tony Bennett and Stefani Germanotta d/b/a Lady Gaga:
What would a Friday Cocktail Hour be without a jazz instrumental version of the week’s song? This time, Stephane Grappelli and Oscar Peterson:
Have I told you lately how much I love Oscar Peterson?
That’s it for this week. The last word goes to Larry Hart and Richard Rodgers.
Do I love Frank’s version? Absolutely. But I’m going to give the edge to Ella, and not just because of that voice: this particular song sung by a woman (and especially in Ella’s interpretation) has a self-deprecating irony that gets lost when a guy does it. Frank likes the lady’s iconoclasm; Ella is giving a great big middle finger to social conventions.
You make a good point. Maybe the Frank-Ella duet is the best.
Ella was great at that. The only one better at that was Billie. Too bad she didn’t record this one.