Helen Merrill was a jazz vocalist, born in New York in 1929 to Croatian immigrant parents, who began singing in clubs in her teens in the mid-1940s and made her first recordings in 1952. She recorded an album for Mercury, and the success of that brought her a long-term contract and a period of high visibility and popularity during the 1950s and ‘60s, providing the basis for an album career that lasted into the new millennium. She is still alive in 2026 at the age of 97. 

This 43-track 2-CD collection features her debut recording with Earl Hines and a single for Roost in 1952-3, plus the titles from her first four albums “Helen Merrill with Clifford Brown”, “Helen Merrill With Strings”, “Dream of You” and “Merrill At Midnight”. 

It features recordings with small jazz groups and larger orchestras, including performances with Clifford Brown, Barry Galbraith, Oscar Pettiford, Quincy Jones,  Milt Hinton, Hank Jones and Joe Morello, with arrangements by Quincy Jones, Richard Hayman, Gil Evans and Hal Mooney. 

She was one of the lesser known jazz stars of the era, but was a highly respected performer, with whom the top musicians of the day were more than happy to perform and record. 

This is a fine showcase for her already highly sophisticated style, even at the dawn of her album career. 

CD 1
1. A CIGARETTE FOR COMPANY  Earl 'Fatha' Hines Orch. Feat Helen Merrill (D'Oro 102)
2. THE MORE I SEE YOU Helen Merrill (Roost 575)
3. DON'T EXPLAIN Helen Merrill 
4. YOU'D BE SO NICE TO COME HOME TO Helen Merrill 
5. WHAT'S NEW Helen Merrill 
6. FALLING IN LOVE WITH LOVE Helen Merrill 
7. YESTERDAYS Helen Merrill 
8. BORN TO BE BLUE Helen Merrill 
9. 'S WONDERFUL Helen Merrill 
From the album 'Helen Merrill' (Emarcy MG36006) 1955
10. ANYTHING GOES Helen Merrill 
11. MOUNTAIN HIGH, VALLEY LOW Helen Merrill 
12. BEAUTIFUL LOVE Helen Merrill 
13. COMES LOVE Helen Merrill 
14. END OF A LOVE AFFAIR Helen Merrill 
15. WHEN I FALL IN LOVE Helen Merrill 
16. THE MASQUERADE IS OVER Helen Merrill 
17. JUST YOU, JUST ME Helen Merrill 
18. SPRING WILL BE A LITTLE LATE THIS YEAR Helen Merrill 
19. YOU WON'T FORGET ME Helen Merrill 
20. WAIT TILL YOU SEE HIM Helen Merrill
From the album 'Helen Merrill With Strings' (Emarcy MG36057) 1956

CD 2
1. LILAC WINE Helen Merrill 
From the album 'Helen Merrill With Strings' (Emarcy MG36057) 1956
2. PEOPLE WILL SAY WE'RE IN LOVE Helen Merrill 
3. BY MYSELF Helen Merrill 
4. ANY PLACE I HANG MY HAT IS HOME Helen Merrill 
5. I'VE NEVER SEEN Helen Merrill 
6. HE WAS TOO GOOD TO ME Helen Merrill 
7. A NEW TOWN IS A BLUE TOWN Helen Merrill 
8. YOU'RE LUCKY TO ME Helen Merrill 
9. WHERE FLAMINGOS FLY Helen Merrill 
10. DREAM OF YOU Helen Merrill 
11. I'M A FOOL TO WANT YOU Helen Merrill 
12. I'M JUST A LUCKY SO AND SO Helen Merrill 
13. TROUBLED WATERS Helen Merrill 
From the album 'Dream Of You' (Emarcy MG36078) 1957
14. SOFT AS SPRING Helen Merrill 
15. BLACK IS THE COLOR OF MY TRUE LOVE'S HAIR Helen Merrill 
16. LAZY AFTERNOON Helen Merrill 
17. THE THINGS WE DID LAST SUMMER Helen Merrill 
18. AFTER YOU Helen Merrill 
19. IF YOU GO Helen Merrill 
20. IF I FORGET YOU Helen Merrill 
21. IF LOVE WERE ALL Helen Merrill 
22. EASY COME EASY GO Helen Merrill 
23. I'LL BE AROUND Helen Merrill
From the album 'Merrill At Midnight' (Emarcy MG36107) 1957