Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A popular singer of the twenties and thirties, May 18, 2003
Ruth was extremely popular - and commercially successful - in the 1920's and 1930's, though she was less successful in her personal life, which was dramatised in the film Love me or leave me (starring Doris Day). In that film, Doris sang Sam the old Accordion man as well as the title track. The original versions of both those songs are included in this compilation.This is the first compilation of Ruth's music released by ASV, and it contains 20 of her best songs. A further 25 songs that didn't make it on to this set can be found on the companion volume, America's sweetheart of song, which I've already reviewed. Even with a combined total of 45 tracks, they don't include all her hits, but they do contain most of the big ones. Among the hits included here are Lonesome and sorry (#3 from 1926), Sam the old Accordion man (#5 from 1927), Love me or leave me (#2 from 1929), Mean to me (#3 from 1929), Ten cents a dance (#5 from 1930) - and there are plenty of others. There is enough of Ruth's music to fill at least a third volume of similar quality to the first two. Buy this to give ASV the necessary incentive.
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Say, somebody ought to make a movie about that gal!!!!, November 14, 2004
So just who is this Ruth Etting anyway? Just one of the most famous singers of popular songs in the late 1920's and early 1930's. Ruth arrived in Chicago at the ripe old age of 17 and kicked around for a few years going to school and working odd jobs. By all accounts she was ambitious, talented, extremely personable and a knockout!! She was primarily interested in pursuing a career in costume design. However, in 1922 she married a small time racketeer named Martin Snyder. He was in a position to open doors for his young wife and before she knew it she was singing on pioneer radio programs and making studio recordings. She quickly became known as "Chicago's Sweetheart of the Air". And people began to take notice. In fact, Florenz Ziegfeld signed her to sing in "Ziegfeld Follies of 1927" It appeared that the sky was the limit for the irrepressable Ruth Etting.
Between 1926 and 1933, Ruth Etting recordings were a fixture on the nation's airwaves. And she sold lots and lots of records. In fact over 60 of Ruth's recordings would make the charts! This collection from England's ASV records highlights the recordings Ruth made between 1926 and 1930. It is a marvelous overview of an artist at the height of her ability and popularity. You will be treated to several of Ruth's biggest hits including "Ten Cents A Dance", "Body and Soul" and her trademark song "Love Me Or Leave Me". There are a number of other tunes I heartily enjoyed including her version of "Button Up Your Overcoat" and the lively "Sam, The Old Accordian Man." I find that it is lots of fun to sample music from a different era and most of the tunes on this collection are quite enjoyable indeed. The disc is accompanied by three pages of interesting liner notes on the artist as well.
As things turned out life was not always a bowl of cherries for Ruth Etting. Her personal life kind of fell apart in the mid 1930's due in part to a most unfortunate shooting involving her husband Martin and a piano player she was seeing. As a result of all the publicity stemming from this incident, Ruth Etting decided to quit the business altogether. She would go on to marry that piano player and the couple retired to a small ranch in Colorado. And oh yeah, somebody did make a movie about the life of Ruth Etting. M-G-M released "Love Me Or Leave Me" back in 1955 starring Doris Day. That is a flick I definitely want to check out.
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20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Underrated, November 13, 2000
Any discussion about Ruth Etting leads to comparison with her contemporary Annette Hanshaw.Because Etting was much more commercially succesful,she was forever destined to be condemned by jazz critics and in the decades later in every reference books you will find that,yes Etting was succesful but Hanshaw was better.Which I find pure snobism.I just recieved my amazon orders with both girls collections and was really surprised that I found Hanshaw not-so-interesting,but Etting simply irresistible.At the glance on both singers CD's you will find 9 immortal standards on Ruth Etting collection and just 2 on Annette Hanshaw.I mean,come on,folks,Etting ended up with penality for her succes and every jazz critic under the sun claims that she was talentless,while Hanshaw was supposedly the best thing ever in 20-es.Listen to both of them and decide for yourself,dont pay attention what critics said.Her "Shaking the blues away" (from "Zigfield Follies of 1927.") sound so much like "I'd rather be blue over you (than happy with somebody else)" from "Funny girl" show/movie;this woman was the original Zigfield star and her connections with underground world makes her story even more interesting for me.While Hanshaw used her rich father as a background for her recording career,Etting used her beauty and charm,which I found more exciting.AND she could sing,I found Ruth Etting music simply irresistible,foxtrot,ballads and all.Putting her down,80 years after her popularity as "succesful but not really jazz" is same as is if somebody describes Madonna 80 years later as "popular but not really talented".
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~ Libby Holman
~ Various Artists
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~ Ruth Etting
by Ruth Etting 
