It Might as Well Be Swing

Last updated
It Might as Well Be Swing
Itmightaswellbeswing.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedAugust 1964 (LP)
October 1986 (CD)
RecordedJune 9–12, 1964, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Genre Vocal jazz, traditional pop
Length27:22
Label Reprise
FS 1012
Producer Sonny Burke
Frank Sinatra chronology
Robin and the 7 Hoods
(1964)
It Might as Well Be Swing
(1964)
12 Songs of Christmas
(1964)
Count Basie chronology
Basie Land
(1963)
It Might as Well Be Swing
(1964)
Our Shining Hour
(1964)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Record Mirror Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [2]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]

It Might as Well Be Swing is a 1964 studio album by Frank Sinatra, accompanied by Count Basie and his orchestra. It was Sinatra's first studio recording arranged by Quincy Jones.

Contents

The recording of "Fly Me to the Moon" which appears on this album has become one of Sinatra's most popular. This was Sinatra and Basie's second collaboration after 1962's Sinatra-Basie .

Sinatra's cover version of "Hello Dolly" on the album features a new second verse improvised by Sinatra, which pays tribute to Louis Armstrong, who had topped the Billboard charts with his own version of the song earlier in 1964.

It Might as Well Be Swing is a reference to the title of the well known jazz standard "It Might as Well Be Spring".

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words)" Bart Howard 2:30
2."I Wish You Love" Léo Chauliac, Charles Trenet, Albert Beach2:56
3."I Believe in You" Frank Loesser 2:21
4."More (Theme from Mondo Cane)" Riz Ortolani, Nino Oliviero, Marcello Ciorciolini, Norman Newell 3:05
5."I Can't Stop Loving You" Don Gibson 3:00
6."Hello, Dolly!" Jerry Herman 2:45
7."I Wanna Be Around" Johnny Mercer, Sadie Vimmerstedt2:25
8."The Best Is Yet to Come" Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh 3:10
9."The Good Life" Sacha Distel, Jack Reardon2:30
10."Wives and Lovers" Burt Bacharach, Hal David 2:50
Total length:27:22

Personnel

The Count Basie Orchestra

Additional musicians

Production

Charts

Chart (1964)Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC) [4] 17
US Billboard 200 [5] 13

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References

  1. Allmusic review
  2. Jones, Peter (18 September 1964). "Frank Sinatra And Count Basie: It Might As Well Be Swing" (PDF). Record Mirror . No. 184. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  3. Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 20. ISBN   0-394-72643-X.
  4. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  5. "Frank Sinatra Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 22, 2025.