Am I Blue?

Ethel Waters

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 16, 1999)
• Original Release Date: November 16, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Asv Living Era
• ASIN: B00002JXDP
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #160,451 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Track Listings

1. Am I Blue?

2. Sweet Georgia Brown

3. Dinah

4. I'm Coming, Virginia

5. Birmingham Bertha

6. Second-Handed Man

7. True Blue Lou

8. Shoo Shoo Boogie Boo

9. Trav'lin' All Alone

10. Long Lean Lanky Mama

11. You Can't Stop Me from Loving You

12. I Can't Give You Anything But Love - Duke Ellington & His Orchestra, Ethel Waters

13. Stormy Weather - The Dorsey Brothers, Ethel Waters

14. Don't Blame Me - Dorsey Brothers Orchestra, Ethel Waters

15. Shadows on the Swanee - Dorsey Brothers Orchestra, Ethel Waters

16. Heat Wave

17. I Just Couldn't Take It, Baby - Benny Goodman & His Orchestra, Ethel Waters

18. Hundred Years from Today - Benny Goodman & His Orchestra, Ethel Waters

19. Miss Otis Regrets - Dorsey Brothers Orchestra, Ethel Waters

20. Moonglow

See all 24 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Ethel Waters is arguably the first woman jazz singer, with a gift for musical phrasing that immediately distinguished her from both the classic blues singers and the prevailing standards for popular singers. This CD surveys her recordings from 1925 to 1939, placing emphasis on jazz elements. Throughout, she's accompanied by an extraordinary collection of jazz musicians, and rare are the popular vocal records of the period where singers and jazz bands coexist so comfortably. Cornetist Joe Smith and clarinetist Don Redman are present on 1925's "Sweet Georgia Brown," and several musicians who appear as young sidemen on recordings from 1929 to '31--such as Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey and Benny Goodman--would become the leaders of celebrated swing bands a few years later. There's a superb rendition of "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" with Duke Ellington's great 1932 band, but Waters is just as dynamic on "Stormy Weather" and "Heat Wave." Waters possessed an exceptional talent for delivering lyrics, giving almost speechlike dimension to songs like "True Blue Lou" and tremendous drama to the mournful "Trav'lin' All Alone." The CD is a good introduction to a fascinating singer and an interesting chapter in the evolution of popular music. --Stuart Broomer

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A nice introduction to the work of the legendary Miss Waters, March 26, 2001

By	Reviewer123 "cj123" - See all my reviews

Ethel Waters was the first true jazz singer, and arguably the most influential vocalist in the history of popular American music. Her only real rival for this latter title is Louis Armstrong, and it can be argued that while Armstrong was the greater musician, Waters melding of black and white singing styles was actually the more influential contribution to American jazz and popular singing. The advent of CD's has brought a very welcome re-release of some hitherto very hard to find Waters material. There are now several compilation CD's of Waters classic jazz/blues/popular music cuts available. Of these, "Am I Blue?" may be the best single compilation of the Waters oeuvre. The only real rival is the "Ethel Waters: 1925-1940" disc, and this disc presents a greater or at least more representative variety than that disc, though both are worth owning. The sides on this disc were recorded between 1925 and 1939. I am not sure how they were chosen, but they represent a nice cross-section of Waters up-tempo numbers and ballads, her hits and more obscure songs and her work with a number of different bands, including those of the Dorsey Brothers, Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington, as well as a couple of choice cuts with her long-time pianist Pearl Wright. The sound quality is good, and the hits are certainly present in abundance. Those unfamiliar with Waters' singing career may be surprised to learn that she introduced (and recorded what are still the finest versions of) "Dinah", "Sweet Georgia Brown", "Am I Blue?", "Stormy Weather", "Miss Otis Regrets", "Moonglow", "Don't Blame Me", "A Hundred Years From Today" and "Heatwave". Although all of these are marvelous, the incredible sophistication of "Miss Otis Regrets" (Waters must be the only singer who can capture the Cole Porter wit of this song and still make it sound affecting), the incredible emotion (compressed and never overstated) in "Stormy Weather" and the inventive little touches she adds to "swing" "Heatwave" are the highlights of these classics. There are also the delightful surprises - Waters' inimitable characterization of men talking about "True Blue Lou", her playful "You Can't Stop Me From Loving You", the moving "Trav'lin All Alone", the take command, bawdy "Long, Lean, Lanky Mama", the comedy of "Birmingham Bertha", and the touching confidence of "At the End of the Road". In all of the songs on this CD, it pays to listen carefully and hear how Waters plays with both the melody and rhythm of the song to sing a song "her way". When she started doing this in 1917, and on her first recordings in 1921, she was the only singer doing so, and in doing so, she changed the course of popular music in America. There are shortcomings to any single disc, of course. Among the many standards Waters introduced that are not included on this CD: "St. Louis Blues", "Taking A Chance On Love", "Happiness is a Thing Called Joe", "Cabin in the Sky", "There'll Be Some Changes Made", "Memories of You", "Sugar", "Hottentot Potentate", "Harlem on My Mind", and "Supper Time". Also missing are certain classic renditions of songs she didn't introduce, in particular her killer version of "I Got Rhythm" from 1934, a virtuoso example of early jazz singing, and some of her great blues sides, like "West End Blues". And like most compilation discs, this disc ignores all of her recordings done after 1940. There are still no CD's of her classic live performances in the 1950's (captured on the Monmouth-Evergreen album, "Miss Ethel Waters"), of her 40's, 50's and 60's recordings for small labels, of her television performances from the 50's, or of her three recordings of spirituals and hymns for Word records in the 50's, 60's and 70's. By the 50's, age had taken a great toll on her voice, but she nonetheless managed to find the heart of any song she sang and still make it very much hers. What is needed more than anything is a comprehensive box set (at least 4 CD's) that spans her entire glorious career. Until we get such a set, there are at least single disc compilations such as this one to serve as an introduction and the Classics series, which covers all her sides from 1921-1940, for which to be grateful.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars She was a WOW!!!, January 10, 2001

By	Charles Perkins "drive82" (Connecticut) - See all my reviews

Everyone should experience the voice and style that belonged to Ethel Waters. Most people remember her in movies but not everyone realizes she was a successful songstress before that. To hear her sing Dinah or Sweet Georgia Brown will send shivers of pleasure through your body. Her sense of timing and her style of blues were unique. Listen and enjoy to one of the great treasures that was Ethel Waters.

5.0 out of 5 stars Ethel Waters - Am I Blue?, November 13, 2009

By	Stephen Indvik "sindvik" (Mineapolis, MN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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Growing up in the 50's, pop music from the late 20's and 30's was fairly common. There were some real classics. I never thought much about who was singing many of these songs. Alas, Ethel Waters was one of them. Also, by paying attention to the recording dates, it's possible to hear the influence of Louis Armstrong. The sound is quite acceptable for the recording technoloby in use at the time. This disc is a real classic.