Search - Helen Ward :: Queen of Big Band Swing

Helen Ward - The Early Years

Robert J. Mayville Jr. | Madison, WI United States | 10/27/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you buy no other "singer collection" from the Big Band era, buy this CD. Few singers could really swing AND handle the slower numbers AND star in true pop tunes. For the true swing tunes, check out "Goody, Goody", "Feelin' High and Happy", and "The Glory of Love". For the slower numbers, "I've Got a Crush on You" and "But Not For Me" wrap around you. No matter how much you may crave a faster song, you cannot press skip when these tunes are on the changer. For a pop tune, "Don't Cry Baby" is years ahead of it's time. It foreshadows Ward's re-union with Goodman in 1953 ("I'll Never Say Never Again Again, "You're a Heaveanly Thing", and the spectacular "What a Little Moonlight Can Do").The first 3 tracks are rarely found on Goodman collections. The non-Goodman selections provide an incentive to find her other songs with Krupa, James, Crosby and Wilson.This CD demonstrates the maturation of arguably the finest Big Band singer: from an 18 year old on "Blue Moon" to a few years short of her prime on "Don't Cry Baby". This disc is a must for fans of Big Band vocal stylings."

Helen Ward... The true queen of Swing...

Aaron | 07/05/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Benny Goodman was the King of Swing, and his female vocalist Helen Ward is rightfully Queen of Swing. Ward had one of the hardest swinging vocal styles, as heard on "Goody, Goody," her vocals were stong, sultry, and swingin'. Here she is heard on some Goodman dates as well as some great Jukebox oreinted dates with a small jazz combo led by Teddy Wilson, sounding similar to Billie Holiday's nominal recordings with Wilson. All of these sides weather ballads, swingers, or torch songs, Ward handles with elegance and hard driving swing. Helen Ward also was a great jazz vocalist and it is very obvious when given a chance and even when not goiven the chance to "improvise" she usually does, her phrasing, syncopation, and diction are all of a 1st class jazz canarie."

Definitely worth it

janowacki | Virginia, USA | 10/27/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I first heard Helen Ward while listening to a best of Benny Goodman CD, and was intrigued with her voice. This CD gives a good overview of her work, and it is definitely worth purchasing. For anyone interested in music with vocals from this era, it's a must."