Ella and Louis – Dream A Little Dream Of Me (sheet music in our Library)

Ella and Louis is a studio album by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, accompanied by the Oscar Peterson Quartet, released in October 1956.

Having previously collaborated in the late 1940s for the Decca label, this was the first of three albums that Fitzgerald and Armstrong were to record together for Verve Records, later followed by 1957’s Ella and Louis Again and 1959’s Porgy and Bess.

Norman Granz, the founder of the Verve label, selected eleven ballads for Fitzgerald and Armstrong, mainly played in a slow or moderate tempo. Recording began August 16, 1956, at the new, and now iconic, Capitol Studios in Hollywood. Though Granz produced the album, Armstrong was given final say over songs and keys.^[5]

The success of Ella and Louis was replicated by Ella and Louis Again and Porgy and Bess. All three were released as The Complete Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong on Verve. Verve also released the album as one of the first ones in SACD.

AllMusic‘s Scott Yanow wrote, “Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong make for a charming team on this CD… This is primarily a vocal set with the emphasis on tasteful renditions of ballads.” Jasen and Jones called the set a “pinnacle of popular singing”. The Penguin Guide to Jazz, compiled by Richard Cook and Brian Morton, says that while the approaches of Armstrong and Fitzgerald may not have been entirely compatible, the results are “hard to resist”, and awards the album three and a half stars.

In 2000 it was voted number 636 in Colin Larkin‘s All Time Top 1000 Albums.

Björk chose the album as one of her favourites in a 1993 Q feature. “I love the way Ella and Louis work together,” she remarked. “They were opposites in how they sung, but were still completely functional together, and respectful of each other.”

Lyrics:

Stars shining bright above you
Night breezes seem to whisper “I love you”
Birds singing in the sycamore tree
Dream a little dream of meSay “Night-ie night” and kiss me
Just hold me tight and tell me you’ll miss me
While I’m alone and blue as can be
Dream a little dream of meStars fading, but I linger on, dear
Still craving your kiss

I’m longing to linger till dawn, dear
Just saying thisSweet dreams till sunbeams find you
Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
But in your dreams whatever they be
Dream a little dream of meStars fading, but I linger on, dear
Still craving your kiss

I’m longing to linger till dawn, dear
Just saying thisSweet dreams till sunbeams find you
Sweet dreams that leave all worries far behind you
But in your dreams whatever they be
Dream a little dream of me

Compositors: Fabian Andre / Gus Kahn / Wilbur Schwandt

“Dream a Little Dream of Me” is a 1931 song with music by Fabian Andre and Wilbur Schwandt and lyrics by Gus Kahn. It was first recorded in February 1931 by Ozzie Nelson and also by Wayne King and His Orchestra, with vocals by Ernie Birchill. A popular standard, it has seen more than 60 other versions recorded, with one of the highest chart ratings by The Mamas & The Papas in 1968 with Cass Elliot on lead vocals.

“Dream a Little Dream of Me” was recorded by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra, with vocal by Nelson, on February 16, 1931, for Brunswick Records. Two days later, Wayne King and His Orchestra, with vocal by Ernie Birchill, recorded the song for Victor Records. “Dream a Little Dream of Me” was also an early signature tune of Kate Smith.

In summer 1950, seven recordings of “Dream a Little Dream of Me” were in release, with the versions by Frankie Laine and Jack Owens reaching the US top 20 at respectively numbers 18 and 14: the other versions were by Cathy Mastice, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Jordan, Vaughn Monroe, Dinah Shore and a duet by Bob Crosby and Georgia Gibbs. Other traditional pop acts to record “Dream a Little Dream of Me” include Louis Armstrong, Barbara Carroll, Nat King Cole, Doris Day, Joni James, and Dean Martin.

The song was again recorded in 1968 by Mama Cass Elliot with The Mamas & the Papas, and then by Anita Harris. More than 40 other versions followed, including by the Mills Brothers, Sylvie Vartan, Henry Mancini, The Beautiful South, Anne Murray, Erasure, Michael Bublé, Tony DeSare, and Italian vocal group Blue Penguin (see below: List of recorded versions).

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