The Astaire Story

Infobox Album | Name = The Astaire Story
Type = Studio album
Artist = Fred Astaire

| Released = 1952
Recorded = December 1952
Genre = Jazz
Length = 34:05
Label = Clef Records/Mercury Records
Producer = Norman Granz
Reviews =
* Allmusic Rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:0pfuxqw5ldte link] | Last album =
This album = "The Astaire Story"
(1952)
Next album = "Attitude Dancing"
(1975)|

"The Astaire Story" is a 1952 album by Fred Astaire. [allmusic |id = 10:0pfuxqw5ldte| label= The Astaire Story]

The album was conceived of and produced by Norman Granz. Granz, the founder of Clef Records (and later Verve Records), was also responsible for the Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts, at which all of the musicians on the album had performed [allmusic |id = 10:0pfuxqw5ldte| label= The Astaire Story] .

The album provides an overview of Astaire's musical career, plus two original compositions by Oscar Peterson ("The Astaire Blues" and "The Second Astaire Blues"), and an informal Jam session [allmusicguide |id = 10:0pfuxqw5ldte| label= The Astaire Story] . Astaire also demonstrates his tap dancing on three tracks [allmusic |id = 10:0pfuxqw5ldte| label= The Astaire Story] .

Peterson spoke warmly of the sessions that produced "The Astaire Story" in his autobiography, co-written by Gene Lees.

Peterson noted that vocally, Astaire was not naturally attuned to Jazz phrasing, and that Astaire enjoyed playing the drums at home. Astaire gave each of the musicians on the album a gold identification braclet, inscribed 'With thanks, Fred A'. Ray Brown lost his bracelet, Alvin Stoller's was stolen, but Peterson wore his for the rest of his life cite book | first=Gene | last=Lees | year=2002 | title=A Jazz Odyssey: The Life of Oscar Peterson | publisher=Continuum | location=New York | isbn=0826458076 ] .

A deluxe four LP box set was produced of "The Astaire Story", in a strictly limited edition of 1384 copies, each one hand signed by Astaire and the artist David Stone Martin, who contributed original drawings and paintings to the album [cite web | url=http://microgroove.jp/mercury/TheAstaireStory.shtml | title= MG C-1001/4: The Astaire Story | publisher=microgroove.jp | author=? | accessdate=2008-09-16] .

"The Astaire Story" won the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999, which is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old, and that have "qualitative or historical significance." [ [http://www.grammy.com/Recording_Academy/Awards/Hall_Of_Fame/ Grammy Hall of Fame Database] ]

Track listing

# "Isn't This a Lovely Day?" (Irving Berlin) – 4:26
# "Puttin' on the Ritz" (Berlin) – 2:51
# "I Used to Be Color Blind" (Berlin) – 4:14
# "The Continental" (Con Conrad, Herb Magidson) – 3:28
# "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) – 4:36
# "Change Partners" (Berlin) – 3:13
# "'S Wonderful" (G. Gershwin, I. Gershwin) – 2:56
# "Lovely to Look At" (Dorothy Fields, Jerome Kern, Jimmy McHugh) – 3:26
# "They All Laughed" (G. Gershwin, I. Gershwin) – 2:55
# "Cheek to Cheek" (Berlin) – 5:39
# "Steppin' Out with My Baby" (Berlin) – 2:22
# "The Way You Look Tonight" (Fields, Kern) – 2:57
# "I've Got My Eyes on You" (Cole Porter) – 2:57
# "Dancing in the Dark" (Howard Dietz, Arthur Schwartz) – 4:45
# "The Carioca" (Edward Eliscu, Gus Kahn, Vincent Youmans) – 4:48
# "Nice Work If You Can Get It" (G. Gershwin, I. Gershwin) – 2:07
# "New Sun in the Sky" (Dietz, Schwartz) – 2:27
# "I Won't Dance" (Fields, Oscar Hammerstein II, Otto Harbach, Kern, McHugh) – 3:01
# "Fast Dances (Ad Lib)" – 2:24
# "Top Hat, White Tie and Tails" (Berlin) – 4:00
# "No Strings (I'm Fancy Free)" (Berlin) – 2:54
# "I Concentrate on You" (Porter) – 2:43
# "I'm Putting all My Eggs in One Basket" (Berlin) – 2:54
# "A Fine Romance" (Fields, Kern) – 3:43
# "Night and Day" (Porter) – 5:22
# "Fascinating Rhythm" (G. Gershwin, I. Gershwin) – 2:41
# "I Love Louisa" (Dietz, Schwartz) – 2:40
# "Slow Dances (Ad Lib)" – 2:55
# "Medium Dances (Ad Lib)" – 2:01
# "They Can't Take That Away from Me" (G. Gershwin, I. Gershwin) – 4:22
# "You're Easy to Dance With" (Berlin) – 3:22
# "A Needle in a Haystack" (Conrad, Magidson) – 2:22
# "So Near and Yet So Far" (Porter) – 3:18
# "A Foggy Day" (G. Gershwin, I. Gershwin) – 4:00
# "Oh, Lady be Good!" (G. Gershwin, I. Gershwin) – 5:01
# "I'm Building Up to an Awful Letdown" (Fred Astaire, Johnny Mercer) – 3:59
# "Not My Girl" (Astaire, Desmond Carter, Van Phillips) – 3:37
# "Jam Session for a Dancer" – 6:34
# "The Astaire Blues" – 12:03
# "The Second Astaire Blues" – 7:52

Personnel

Recorded at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, December, 1952:

Performance

* Fred Astaire - vocals, tap
* Charlie Shavers - trumpet
* Flip Phillips - tenor saxophone
* Oscar Peterson – piano
* Barney Kessel - guitar
* Ray Brown - double bass
* Alvin Stoller – drums

Production

* Gjon Mili - photography
* Paul Nodler
* David Stone Martin - cover art, drawings
* Lowell Frank - engineer, mixing
* Norman Granz - producer

References