Lena Horne - Early Years: The Singles Collection 1941-50 (2022)

Lena Horne was a multi-talented singer, dancer, actor and civil rights activist, who by the age of 16 was performing in the Cotton Club Revue in New York and soon became big band singer, and appeared in her first movies during the 1930s. Eventually enjoying a career which spanned seven decades, she became a highly-respected entertainer, famed for her sultry and sophisticated way with a song. This 48-track 2-CD set addresses the first fairly brief era of her recording career, when she established her reputation and had the first of her hits. It comprises most of her releases from these years on the Decca, Bluebird, Victor, Black & White and MGM labels, plus one V-Disc recording, and includes her hits with the Great American Songbook classics “Stormy Weather”, “One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)” and “Deed I Do”. It features performances with the orchestras of Noble Sissle, Charlie Barnet, The Dixieland Group of Basin Street, Artie Shaw, Teddy Wilson, Lou Bring, Phil Moore and Luther Henderson. She was one of the finest interpreters of popular song of her era, and this collection brings together her early versions of songs by the great writers of the day, providing a fine showcase for her highly distinctive talents.