Maps of Music

It Might as Well Be Swing (1964)

Where the lyrics of It Might as Well Be Swing take you, and where it was really made.

Quincy Jones reportedly said the Basie band could not play in 3/4, so the album's Wives and Lovers was performed in 4/4 instead.

Key places

Recorded in Hollywood, Los Angeles (1964)

Recording site Hollywood (Los Angeles) — Sinatra and Basie recorded the album in Hollywood, Los Angeles, from June 9 to 12, 1964. This point marks the city area, not a specific studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• It Might as Well Be Swing: 1964 studio album by Frank Sinatra
• Accompanied by Count Basie and his orchestra
• Released 9 June 1964
• Sinatra's first studio recording arranged by Quincy Jones
• Second Sinatra-Basie collaboration, after 1962's Sinatra-Basie
• Title refers to the jazz standard It Might as Well Be Spring

Background

• Sinatra's cover of Hello, Dolly! adds a new second verse improvised by Sinatra
• The new verse pays tribute to Louis Armstrong, who topped the Billboard charts with his own version earlier in 1964
• The recording of Fly Me to the Moon on this album has become one of Sinatra's most popular

Recording

• Recorded June 9–12, 1964 in Hollywood, Los Angeles
• Sonny Burke produced the album; Lowell Frank engineered it
• Wives and Lovers was in 3/4 time, but the album performance was in 4/4 time
• Quincy Jones arranged and conducted

Cover

• Cover photo by Ted Allen

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born December 12, 1915 in Hoboken, New Jersey, to Italian immigrants.
• Began singing professionally as a teenager with the Hoboken Four, winning Major Bowes Amateur Hour.
• Joined Harry James's band in 1939, then Tommy Dorsey's band, before going solo in 1942.

Career

• Signed with Columbia Records in 1943 and became a major star of the bobby-soxer era.
• Signed with Capitol Records in 1953; collaborated with arranger Nelson Riddle on albums such as In the Wee Small Hours and Songs for Swingin' Lovers!.
• Founded Reprise Records in 1960, releasing albums including September of My Years and the hit single "My Way".
• Won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for From Here to Eternity (1953).
• Estimated to have sold around 150 million records worldwide.
• Received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1985 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1997.
• Died May 14, 1998 in Los Angeles.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Record World called the pairing of Frank Sinatra and Count Basie a stunning combination and said the Quincy Jones arrangements could not be bettered
• Record Mirror said Sinatra was better than ever on this Quincy Jones-arranged set and that the whole album swings

Reappraisal

• AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine: a more structured, swing-oriented set than Sinatra-Basie, and in many ways the superior album
• Erlewine said both Basie and Sinatra play with the melodies and the beat, and that the performances stay consistently high

Records

• Billboard Top LP's chart: debuted in the issue dated August 22, 1964, peaking at No. 13 over a thirty-one-week run
• Cashbox Top Albums chart: entered in the issue dated August 15, 1964, peaking at No. 13 on Top Monaural Albums over a nineteen-week run
• Top Stereo Albums chart: No. 15
• UK album chart: No. 17

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Quincy Jones reportedly said the Basie band could not play in 3/4, which is why the album version of Wives and Lovers is in 4/4.
• The new second verse of Hello, Dolly! was improvised by Sinatra to honor Louis Armstrong.
• The title echoes the jazz standard It Might as Well Be Spring.
• Fly Me to the Moon from this album became one of Sinatra's most popular recordings.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Maps of Ages ↗ (mapsofages.com)

Privacy · Contact