Ella Fitzgerald ft the Duke Ellington Orchestra - Something To Live For (Live At Cote D’Azur 1966)

“Something to Live For“ is a 1939 jazz composition by Billy Strayhorn. It was the first collaboration between Strayhorn and Duke Ellington and became the first of many Strayhorn compositions to be recorded by Ellington’s orchestra. The song was based on a poem Strayhorn had written as a teenager. According to an all-day tribute to Strayhorn on KCSM radio on November 29, 2008—Strayhorn’s birthday—Strayhorn began working on this tune in 1933 when he was 18. The song has been recorded many times, by Duke Ellington, Lena Horne and many others. Ella Fitzgerald has called it her favorite song. Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917 – June 15, 1996) was an American jazz vocalist with a vocal range spanning three octaves (D♭3 to D♭6). Often referred to as the “First Lady of Song,“ the “Queen of Jazz“ and “Lady Ella,“ she was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing and intonation, and a “horn-like“ improvisatio