USPS releases special Ella Fitzgerald CD and stamp reproduction

On January 25, the United States Postal Service released a special edition of Ella Fitzgerald’s classic album, Love Letters From Ella. The album is being released to promote the use of mail during the Valentine’s Day season as well as Black History Month and will be available exclusively at a select group of 3,200 Post Offices across the United States and online.

First issued in 2007, Love Letters From Ella is a collection of love songs recorded with some of her favorite collaborators, including Count Basie and his orchestra, Joe Pass and André Previn. The special edition CD includes a full reproduction of Fitzgerald’s commemorative USPS postage stamp, available for the first time since its original issue.

The USPS has released other CDs, including a 2009 holiday compilation. CDs are an easy-to-display point of purchase item. I will be interesting to see what kinds of projects they will take on in the future. I can imagine that future CDs will be released at the same time as commemorative postage stamps for recording artists.