Songs of the Beatles

Songs of the Beatles
Studio album by Sarah Vaughan
Released	April 9,1981[1]
Recorded	1977[2]
Genre	Pop, R&B
Length	43:45
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Marty Paich and David Paich
Sarah Vaughan chronology
Copacabana (1979) Songs of the Beatles (1981) Send in the Clowns (1981)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]
Los Angeles Times	[4]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	[5]

Songs of the Beatles is a 1981 album by Sarah Vaughan of songs by The Beatles.

The album contains songs written and originally performed by The Beatles with contemporaneous pop and jazz arrangements. On "Something" Vaughan was accompanied by the Brazilian singer and musician Marcos Valle.^[6] It was recorded in 1977 but was not released until 1981 due to a recording contract problem.^[2]

Reception

On balance, Los Angeles Times jazz writer Leonard Feather is favorable in his assessment, awarding the album three and a half stars, notwithstanding some ill-advised commercial trimmings:

Recorded several years ago, inexplicably shelved and now belatedly released, this is neither the ill-advised venture one might fear nor a vital part of musical history. Produced and arranged by the father and son team of Marty and David Paich, it has its moments of superior Vaughan, notably on "Eleanor Rigby" and "Here, There and Everywhere." What went wrong is mostly the fault of the producers: overdressed arrangements ("Fool on the Hill"); overdubbed background singers of which Vaughan was not even made aware; a tiresome tenor sax and rigid rhythm on "Come Together." For the most part, though, on the strength of her indomitable musicianship and the inherent virtues of some of the tunes, Vaughan overcomes.^[4]

Track listing

All songs written by Lennon–McCartney unless otherwise noted:

1. "Get Back" – 2:55
2. "And I Love Her" – 4:08
3. "Eleanor Rigby" – 3:48
4. "The Fool on the Hill" – 4:15
5. "You Never Give Me Your Money" – 2:48
6. "Come Together" – 3:22
7. "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" – 3:31
8. "Blackbird" – 3:34
9. "Something" (George Harrison) – 4:16
10. "Here, There and Everywhere" – 2:49
11. "The Long and Winding Road" – 3:08
12. "Yesterday" – 4:02
13. "Hey Jude" – 1:09

Personnel

Recorded in 1977:

• Sarah Vaughan - vocals
• Bill Thedford, Perry Morgan, Jim Gilstrap - background vocals
• Marcos Valle - vocals on track 9
• David Hungate - bass
• Bob Magnusson - string bass on track 5
• Michael Lang - keyboards
• Lee Ritenour, Dean Parks, Louie Shelton - guitar
• Steve Porcaro - synthesizer
• John Smith - tenor saxophone on tracks 6, 7
• Toots Thielemans - harmonica
• Jeff Porcaro - percussion, drums
• Bobbye Hall, Joe Porcaro, Steve Forman - percussion
• Marty Paich, David Paich - arranger, keyboards, producer

References

1. Gourse, Leslie (1993). Sassy: The Life of Sarah Vaughan. New York: C. Scribner's Sons. p. 238. ISBN 9780684193175.
2. Michael Minn. "Sarah Vaughan Biography / Discography". Retrieved August 25, 2012.
3. Songs of the Beatles at AllMusic
4. Feather, Leonard. "Jazz Briefs". The Los Angeles Times. July 26, 1981.
5. Swenson, J. (Editor) (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 199. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
6. Marcos Valle; Almir Chediak (1 January 1998). MARCOS VALLE SONGBOOK. Irmãos Vitale. p. 32. ISBN 978-85-85426-46-0.