Merrill's recording career has spanned six decades and she is popular with fans of jazz in Japan and Italy (where she lived for many years) as well as in her native United States. She has recorded and performed with some of the most notable figures in the American jazz scene.
Youth and early career in the states
Merrill was born in 1930 to Croatian immigrant parents. She began singing in jazz clubs in the Bronx at the age of fourteen. By the time she was sixteen, Merrill had taken up music full time. In 1952, Merrill made her recording debut when she was asked to sing "A Cigarette For Company" with the Earl Hines Band; the song was released on their Xanadu album. Etta Jones made her debut on the same album.
At this time she was married to musician Aaron Sachs. They divorced in 1956.
As a result of the exposure she received from "A Cigarette for Company" and two subsequent singles recorded for the Roost record label, Merrill was signed by Mercury Records for their new EmArcy label.
In 1954, Merrill recorded her first (and to date most acclaimed) LP, an eponymous record featuring legendary jazz trumpet player Clifford Brown and bassist/cellist Oscar Pettiford, among others. It was to be one of Brown's last recordings, as he was killed in a car accident just two years later. The album was produced and arranged by Quincy Jones, who was then just twenty-one years old. The success of Helen Merrill prompted Mercury to sign her for an additional four-album contract.
Merrill's follow-up to Helen Merrill was the 1956 LP, Dream of You, which was produced and arranged by bebop arranger and pianist Gil Evans. Evans' work on Dream of You was his first in many years. His arrangements on Merrill's laid the musical foundations for his work in following years with Miles Davis.
Success abroad
After recording sporadically through the late 1950s and 1960s, Merrill spent much of her time touring Europe, where she enjoyed more commercial success than she had in the United States. She settled for a time in Italy recording an album there, and doing live concerts with jazz notables Chet Baker, Romano Mussolini, and Stan Getz. Merrill returned to the U.S. in the 1960s, but moved to Japan in 1967 after touring there. Merrill developed a following in Japan that remains strong to this day. In addition to recording while in Japan, Merrill became involved in other aspects of the music industry, producing albums for Trio Records and hosting a show on a Tokyo radio station.
Later career
Merrill returned to the US in 1972 and has continued recording and regular touring since then. Her later career has seen her experiment in different music genres. She has recorded a bossa nova album, a Christmas album and a record's worth of Rodgers and Hammerstein, among many others.
Two albums from Merrill's later career have been tributes to past musical partners. In 1987, Merrill and Gil Evans recorded fresh arrangements of their classic Dream of You; the new recordings were released under the title Collaboration and became the most critically acclaimed of Merrill's albums in the 1980s.
In 1987 she co-produced a CD "Billy Eckstine sing with Benny Carter" and sing in duet with Mr.B two ballads.
In 1995 she recorded Brownie: Homage to Clifford Brown as a tribute to the late trumpeter.
One of Merrill's millennium released recordings draws from her Croatian heritage as well as her American upbringing. Jelena Ana Milcetic, a.k.a. Helen Merrill (2000), combines jazz, pop and blues songs with several traditional Croatian songs sung in Croatian.
Helen Merrill has been married three times, first to musician Aaron Sachs, second time to UPI vice president the late Donald J Brydon, and third to arranger-conductor the late Torrie Zito. She has one child, a son, Allan P Sachs, also a singer, who is professionally known as Alan Merrill.
There Is No Greater Love
Helen Merrill Lyrics
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No greater love
No heart so true
There is no greater thrill
Than what you bring to me
No sweeter song than what you sing to me
I have ever known
And to think that you are mine alone
There is no greater love in all the world
It's true
No greater love than what I feel for you
The lyrics of "There is No Greater Love" by Helen Merrill and Ron Carter revolve around the theme of love being the purest and most intense emotion a person can experience. The singer expresses how there is no greater love in the world than the one they feel for their beloved. The love shared by the couple is depicted as truthful, powerful and overwhelming. The intensity of the feelings shared by the couple is highlighted through the lyrics, “No heart so true,” and “No greater thrill than what you bring to me.” The phrase "No sweeter song than what you sing to me" conveys how much the singer cherishes the sweet moments shared with their partner.
The lyricist paints a picture of an all-encompassing love, as the singer feels their beloved to be the sweetest thing they have ever known. The singer acknowledges that the fact of their beloved being theirs alone is hard to believe. The phrase, “And to think that you are mine alone,” signifies the singer’s feelings of gratitude and happiness for having their beloved partner in their life.
Overall, "There is No Greater Love" is a romantic ballad that celebrates the beauty and purity of love. The song expresses the depth of passion and joy that a true lover can bring into someone’s life.
Line by Line Meaning
There is no greater love than what I feel for you
I cannot possibly love anyone more than I love you
No greater love
My love for you is unsurpassed
No heart so true
I trust you with all my heart
There is no greater thrill
Nothing excites me more than being with you
Than what you bring to me
You bring me immense joy and happiness
No sweeter song than what you sing to me
Nothing is more beautiful than your voice when you sing to me
You're the sweetest thing
You are the most delightful person I have ever met
I have ever known
Out of all the people I have met in my life
And to think that you are mine alone
It fills me with overwhelming gratitude and happiness that you are mine and no one else's
There is no greater love in all the world
I truly believe that there is no love that compares to ours, anywhere in the world
It's true
I mean every word that I say
No greater love than what I feel for you
My love for you is unparalleled and infinite
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, Kanjian Music, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Royalty Network, Capitol CMG Publishing, Integrity Music, Songtrust Ave, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Isham Jones, Marty Symes
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind