had achieved much by the time she signed to the newly createdVerve Records in 1956, but it was the genius of Norman Granz,her personal manager and Verve founder, in suggesting shetackle the material of great contemporary composers in themedalbums that sent her career into orbit. As the New York Timeswrote on her passing in 1996, "These albums were among thefirst pop records to devote such serious attention to individualsongwriters, and they were instrumental in establishing the popalbum as a vehicle for serious musical exploration." The songselections ranged from standards to rarities, and the eight-titleseries represented an attempt by Fitzgerald to cross over to anon-jazz audience that may have been unaware of the talentsshe first committed to vinyl in 1935.