AMG Review of Ten Cents a Dance

Scott Yanow
All Music Guide

This English import has 20 recordings featuring the early jazz-influenced pop singer Ruth Etting. Although the music is not programmed in chronological order (and there is no personnel listing given), many of Etting's greatest performances are here: the emotional "Ten Cents a Dance," "Button Up Your Overcoat," "Mean to Me," "Sam, the Old Accordion Man," "You're the Cream in My Coffee," and "Love Me or Leave Me." This CD gives one a definitive look into Ruth Etting's talents during her prime period and is easily recommended as a fine example of superior pop singing of the 1920s.