Recording history and tape provenance
Granz had just founded Verve and managed Fitzgerald. He avoided another small-combo session in the mould of her Decca work. Her first Verve release was built around one songwriter's catalogue, with a full orchestra.
He explained the thinking plainly. He wanted Fitzgerald heard as more than a singer for jazz fans. First-rate songbook material with enough jazz inflection in the backing would do it.
The 32 songs were recorded live with the orchestra across the four sessions. The band included Harry "Sweets" Edison and Maynard Ferguson on trumpet, Bud Shank on alto saxophone and Ted Nash on tenor and flute.
The Songbook series ran to 1964, with volumes for Rodgers and Hart, Duke Ellington, Irving Berlin, the Gershwins, Harold Arlen, Jerome Kern, and Johnny Mercer.
Original Verve pressings (1956)
Verve MG V-4001-2 is the 1956 mono first pressing, a two-LP set in a gatefold. Verve spread manufacturing across several plants, and Discogs documents them separately.
US plant variants include Indianapolis, Rockaway and Hollywood pressings. A separate entry documents an orange label with black "T" copy.
The album was also pressed in 1956 in the Netherlands, Australia and South Africa. None of these has a published sound comparison with a US copy.
Verve reissued it around 1960 under the shortened number V-4001-2, including an MGM Custom pressing. The record sold well and stayed in print, so worn copies are common and clean ones are not.
Analog Spark AS00007 (2016)
Analog Spark issued a 60th-anniversary box for the album's 60th year. AnalogPlanet reports that Ryan K. Smith cut lacquers at Sterling Sound from the original mono master tapes. The 32 songs are spread across three RTI-pressed records rather than the original two.
Spreading the same music over six sides widens groove spacing, which generally helps a record carrying this much orchestral material. The original gatefold becomes a laminated lift-top box, with the gatefold annotation printed inside.
The AnalogPlanet review prefers the reissue to the original in strong terms. Comments there note a recurring complaint that Analog Spark reissues run bright, raised about other titles in the line rather than this one.
The box has its own Discogs entry, whose runouts read "B0024939-01A RKS STERLING" and so on across the six sides. Those etchings confirm the Ryan K. Smith credit from the record itself.
One owner who has four LP issues of the album plus the Verve CD rates this box the best sounding of them. That owner also reports US pressing quality below European standards, with occasional pops.
Verve Acoustic Sounds Series AVER 40304 (2026)
Acoustic Sounds lists this two-LP mono reissue as mastered by Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab from the original analog master tape. It is pressed on 180g at Quality Record Pressings, in Stoughton tip-on gatefold jackets. Its Discogs entry is here, under catalogue V-4001-2.
The mastering credit was worth checking. Several retailers used copy crediting Ryan K. Smith, which reads as boilerplate for the wider Acoustic Sounds Series rather than a credit for this title. Owner reviews on the Discogs page credit Lutthans by name, which matches the label's own listing.
Those owner reviews are mostly strong, describing flat, quiet records with Ella forward and warm. Two temper that. One finds the bass muddled and the orchestra short of stage depth against other Acoustic Sounds titles, and another notes the package includes no tracklist.
Later reissues
Verve reissued the album in 1976 as a two-LP set numbered VE-2-2511, retitled The Cole Porter Songbook. Several pressings of that number exist, including one listed as stereo.
The recording is mono, so any stereo-labelled reissue is a reprocessing or a mislabel. Discogs lists stereo copies from Canada in 1984 and a 180g limited edition numbered 772112. Neither states where the stereo came from.
A 1983 Japanese pressing, catalogue 35MJ 3266/7, is mono and in a gatefold. No published comparison with a US copy has been found.
Buyer's guide by budget
$$$: The Verve Acoustic Sounds Series edition, a current two-LP mono edition.
$$$$: A clean Verve MG V-4001-2 original, priced on condition and plant.
$$$$$: The Analog Spark AS00007 3LP box, for the wider groove spacing.
Pressing tier summary
| Tier ⇅ | Pressing | Cat# | Year ⇅ | Format | Source / Mastering | Notes | Market ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | Analog Spark 60th-anniversary box | AS00007 | 2016 | Mono, 33⅓, 3×180g | Ryan K. Smith, Sterling Sound, confirmed by the runout. Pressed at RTI | 32 songs across six sides instead of four. Lift-top box | $330VG+ $432NM $482M |
| A | Verve original | MG V-4001-2 | 1956 | Mono, 33⅓, 2LP gatefold | Verve lacquer | First pressing. Indianapolis, Rockaway and Hollywood plant variants documented | $87VG+ $114NM $128M |
| A | Verve Acoustic Sounds Series | V-4001-2 / AVER 40304 | 2026 | Mono, 33⅓, 2×180g | Matthew Lutthans, The Mastering Lab, from the original analog tape. Pressed at QRP | Stoughton tip-on gatefold. No tracklist in the package | $83VG+ $108NM $121M |
| B | Verve reissue, The Cole Porter Songbook | VE-2-2511 | 1976 | 33⅓, 2LP gatefold | Not credited | Retitled. Stereo-labelled copies of this number also exist | $29VG+ $37NM $42M |
| B | 180g limited edition | 772112 | – | Listed as stereo, 33⅓, 2×180g | Not credited | One positive owner review. Stereo source not stated | $61VG+ $80NM $90M |
| – | Verve reissue, MGM Custom pressing | V-4001-2 | 1960 | Mono, 33⅓ | Verve lacquer | Not rated. Shortened catalogue number | $30VG+ $39NM $44M |
| – | Verve (Netherlands) | MG V-4001-2 | 1956 | Mono, 33⅓ | Verve lacquer | Not rated. Period European pressing | $64VG+ $83NM $93M |
| – | Verve (Australia) | MG V-4001-2 | 1956 | Mono, 33⅓ | Verve lacquer | Not rated | $34VG+ $45NM $50M |
| – | Verve (South Africa) | MGV-4001-2 | 1956 | Mono, 33⅓ | Verve lacquer | Not rated | $31VG+ $41NM $45M |
| – | Verve (Japan) | 35MJ 3266/7 | 1983 | Mono, 33⅓, gatefold | Not credited | Not rated. No published comparison | $71VG+ $92NM $103M |
| – | Verve (Canada) | MIJ-2-5309 | 1984 | Listed as stereo, 33⅓ | Not credited | Not rated. Stereo source not stated | $19VG+ $25NM $28M |
References
- Discogs (master, all versions, 89 listed): https://www.discogs.com/master/249899-Ella-Fitzgerald-Sings-The-Cole-Porter-Song-Book
- Acoustic Sounds, "Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Cole Porter Songbook (Mono)": https://store.acousticsounds.com/d/197406/
- AnalogPlanet, "'Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Cole Porter Songbook' Coming Soon From Analog Spark": https://www.analogplanet.com/node/120523
- The Second Disc, "Ella Fitzgerald at 100: Analog Spark Reissues 'The Cole Porter Song Book' On SACD and Vinyl": https://theseconddisc.com/2017/04/25/ella-fitzgerald-at-100-analog-spark-reissues-the-cole-porter-song-book-on-sacd-and-vinyl/