Ella Fitzgerald & Delta Rhythm Boys - It’s Only A Paper Moon 1945

Decca Records 23425 A - Ella Fitzgerald And Delta Rhythm Boys.(They had a similar sound that matched The Ink Spots and The Mills Brothers.) Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917 -- June 15, 1996), also known as the “First Lady of Song“ and “Lady Ella,“ was an American jazz and song vocalist. “It’s Only a Paper Moon“ is a popular song. Published in 1933, it was written by Harold Arlen with lyrics by E. Y. Harburg and Billy Rose. It was written originally for an unsuccessful Broadway play called The Great Magoo, set in Coney Island. It was subsequently used in the movie Take a Chance, in 1933, and Paul Whiteman recorded a successful version, sung by Peggy Healey. But its lasting fame stems from recordings of the song by popular artists during the last years of World War Two, when versions by Ella Fitzgerald and the Nat King Cole Trio became hugely popular. It has endured as a vehicle for improvisation by many jazz musicians. The Delta Rhythm Boys were an American vocal group active for over 50 years in the 20th century. The group was first formed at Langston University in Langston, Oklahoma in 1934 by Elmaurice Miller, Traverse Crawford, Essie Joseph Adkins and Otha Lee Gaines. In 1936 they moved to Dillard University in New Orleans, where they worked under Frederick Hall under the names New Orleans Quintet and Frederick Hall Quintet. Clinton Holland (soon replaced by Carl Jones) and Kelsey Pharr (replaced by Hugh Bryant in 1942) replaced Miller and Adkins. Rene DeKnight became their pianist. The group appeared often in the 1940s on radio programs such as Amos and Andy and The Joan Davis Show, and performed on Broadway in the shows Sing Out the News and Hot Mikado. They also appeared extensively in film, including in You’ll Never Get Rich with Bing Crosby and Rita Hayworth. Aside from their own recordings, they served as background vocalists for Charlie Barnet, Mildred Bailey, Ella Fitzgerald, and Ruth Brown. With the American music scene changing rapidly, the Deltas found their appeal diminishing. Overseas they were royally received, however, so in the early 1960s the group made Paris their home base for years of European performances. In 1974, Herb Coleman was shot in Paris and died in the arms of Lee Gaines. Original Delta member Traverse Crawford died in the following year. By 1979, the lineup was Gaines on bass, Bryant on baritone, Walter Trammell on first tenor, and Ray Beauty on second tenor. Lee Gaines died of cancer in Helsinki on July 15, 1987. At Gaines’s funeral, Hugh Bryant collapsed while performing, and died, apparently from a heart attack. The Delta Rhythm Boys were later inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. It was also in the play “A Streetcar Named Desire“ by Tennessee Williams. Lyrics: Say, its only a paper moon Sailing over a cardboard sea But it wouldn’t be make-believe If you believed in me Yes, it’s only a canvas sky Hanging over a muslin tree But it wouldn’t be make-believe If you believed in me Without your love It’s a honky-tonk parade Without your love It’s a melody played in a penny arcade It’s a Barnum and Bailey world Just as phony as it can be But it wouldn’t be make-believe If you believed in me