Best of Etta James, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan

Kill two birds with one stone, so to speak - Etta James' Mystery Lady, Songs of Billie Holiday. Private Music, distributed by BMG Distribution 01005-82114-2.

I've got quite a few Etta James Albums.
Seen her live several times in Monterey. Perhaps the best live performer ever.

ALBUM AND FAVORITE SONG.
Etta James Live in San Francisco.(Sugar on the floor)

Time after Time.(Funny Valentine)

Seven Year Itch.(Damn Your Eyes)

Sticking to my Guns.(Your Good Thing)

The Right Time.(Give It Up) featuring Steve Winwood.

Look at Verve unmixed ($5) and remixed ($15-17). They have 3 versions - they include a mixture of all the above artists on Verve remixed 3 or unmixed 3.

Rob

Great idea for a thread. I hope you get many takers.

•Etta James - I like her 50s and 60s singles the best, so I really like her Best of collection. I also really like her mid 80s record "Seven Year Itch".
•Ella Fitzgerald - My favorite recording of Ella is her 40th birthday concert in Rome ("Ella in Rome"). She is at the height of her powers here, accompanied by the nonpareil Oscar Peterson trio. The sonics are very good to dazzling. "I Loves You Porgy" is my favorite Ella ever.
•Sarah Vaughn - My favorite Sarah record is "No Count Sarah", a recording she did with the Count Basie orchestra w/o Basie. This record shows off Sarah's jazz chops beautifully and puts her at the top of the bebop vocalists. Her work on Horace Silver's "Doodlin'" is as good as any jazz she ever did. Sonics are 60s studio cool (a bit too much reverb) but fine.
•Billy Holliday - Much of the Billy Holiday that I have is on vinyl that is older than I am, so I don't know in what form it is currently available. My favorite stuff is the pre-war work she did with Lester Young. This stuff is constantly being repackaged. "Lady in Satin" is an astonishing piece of her later work, and is an essential document. Sonics are a non-issue here.