This commitment to the true gems of American songwriting helped the songs, and these performances in particular, become 'standards' for a generation. The Great American Songbook is the loosely defined canon of significant 20th-century American jazz standards, popular songs, and show tunes. But her insistence on recording many of the neglected verses that precede the well-known choruses on OH, LADY, BE GOOD prove otherwise. It has been a pleasure to play these songs. I have found it accessible at the intermediate level or higher of piano ability. Some would say Ella didn't pay much attention to the words she sang. This Gershwin songbook includes the words and the music of so many of the Gershwin standards. She won't be too dismayed if the man of her dreams doesn't come through the door, but wouldn't it be just great if he did? A similarly refined mood threads its way through 'The Man I Love' and 'A Foggy Day,' while the more upbeat tunes (''S Wonderful,' 'Nice Work If You Can Get It') swing confidently.

Ella's unique abilities are showcased on her masterful version of 'Someone To Watch Over Me.' While many singers have captured the song's sense of longing, Fitzgerald refuses to overdo it. Ira, who was present at these 1959 sessions, wrote lyrics that conveyed a sense of lightness and romanticism, qualities that fit Fitzgerald's vocal style to a tee. Why Gershwin? Ella's painstaking attention to musical perfection helped turn many songs into standards, but Ira Gershwin's lyrics seemed to speak to Ella most directly of all. His compositions have been adapted for use in film and television, with several becoming jazz standards recorded and covered in many variations. OH, LADY, BE GOOD! BEST OF THE GERSHWIN SONGBOOK collects 17 of the strongest cuts from the 5 original LPs. Of the songwriting giants covered in the series, the collection of songs by George and Ira Gershwin was arguably the greatest.

Vaughan would release another all-Gershwin album, Gershwin Live, in 1982. Nowhere was Ella Fitzgerald's mastery of America's 'classical' music more evident than on the legendary songbook albums of the 1950s. Sarah Vaughan Sings George Gershwin is a 1958 studio album by Sarah Vaughan, of the music of George Gershwin.