A Record a Week: Lena Horne - The Lady and Her Music (Live on Broadway)

SIDE 1.
OVERTURE
FROM THIS MOMENT ON
I GOT A NAME
I'M GLAD THERE IS YOU
I WANT TO BE HAPPY
COTTON CLUB REVIEW
COPPER COLORED GAL
RAISIN' THE RENT
AS LONG AS I LIVE
LADY WITH A FAN
COTTON CLUB TO HOLLYWOOD (DIALOGUE)
WHERE OR WHEN

SIDE 2.
CAN'T HELP LOVIN' THAT MAN
HOLLYWOOD (DIALOGUE)
JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS
STORMY WEATHER PT.1
LOVE
BROADWAY (DIALOGUE)
PUSH DE BUTTON
THE LADY IS A TRAMP
YESTERDAY WHEN I WAS YOUNG

SIDE 3.
DEED I DO
LIFE GOES ON
WATCH WHAT HAPPENS
THE SURREY WITH THE FRINGE ON TOP
FLY
BEWITCHED, BOTHERED AND BEWILDERED

SIDE 4.
A LADY MUST LIVE
LOVE THIS BUSINESS (DIALOGUE)
THAT'S WHAT MIRACLES ARE ALL ABOUT
EARLY CAREER (DIALOGUE)
I'M GONNA SIT RIGHT DOWN AND WRITE MYSELF A LETTER
STORMY WEATHER PT. 2
IF YOU BELIEVE
STORMY WEATHER (CURTAINS/CROWD/BOWS)

When was the last time a band put out a double record? I feel like there have been a lot of these in my collection thus far and I'm nowhere near done. I know, I know, this is a Broadway piece, which is different than a studio double, but still it begs the question of how long it's been since that was popular practice.

Horne is a multi-award winning artist who rose up from the New York club scene to Hollywood and back to the nightclubs where she used her fame to rise to the top of the circuit. Later in life, she took her skills to Broadway where she recorded this album.

It is no wonder she had such success at every level, because her talent shines brightly on this record. Even with that talent, she must have had a hard time making a name for herself at the time she was famous. She refused roles in Hollywood that pushed stereotypes and fought for civil rights much of her life. This record showcases her life while also interspersing bits of her personal history between songs. The tracks referring to the Cotton Club are about the club of that name where she got her start. Now, if the name brings up any flags in your head, you're probably not far off the mark in your thinking. The club was an all-white club with predominantly black performers (who presumably had a separate entrance, likely the kitchen). The racism didn't only come from one side, though. When she was young, fellow African-American children mocked her light skin and having one white parent. She managed to rise above all of that and become a talented actress and singer. Her life of stories and years of honing her skill come out in fine form on this album, which is a wonderful listen.