Hit Songs written by Billie Holiday
Philip Russom, Ph.D.
Independent Industry Analyst for Data Management and Analytics
In the USA, February is Black History Month and March is Women's History Month. So, this year, I mashed those two together, which inspired me to learn three hit songs by the great African-American Woman composer: Billie Holiday (1915-1959). Here follow links to recent performances of these songs, along with a few comments for context:
Don't Explain. We all remember Billie Holiday as a great jazz and blues singer, which she certainly was. But she didn't just sing; she also wrote around 15 songs. A handful of those became Jazz Standards that have been recorded by hundreds of artists and are still performed today. For example, "Don't Explain" is a song from 1946, with words by Billie Holiday and music by Arthur Herzog.
https://youtu.be/tGX0CVxOCoY
God Bless the Child. In her autobiographical book "Lady Sings the Blues" (1956), Billie Holiday explained the origin of her hit song "God Bless the Child." She was very close to her mother, although the two argued a lot, especially over money. After one such argument, Billie stormed out shouting ironically "God bless the child that's got his own money!" And the rest is history. The song that ensued is "God Bless the Child" (1941) with words by Billie Holiday and music by Arthur Herzog.
https://youtu.be/DCdyqQ6TRtE
Lady Sings the Blues. Most of the songs that Billie Holiday wrote have roots in the abusive childhood she lived in Harlem and her grueling adult life on the road touring as one of the greatest jazz and blues singers of her age. A particularly autobiographical song is "Lady Sings the Blues", which first appeared on her album of the same name in 1956. Note that "Lady Day" was her nickname, the blues were what she sang, and these are both encapsulated in the song title.
The words of the song confess that she "wants the world to know what the blues are all about." The song lyric ends with a prophetic line: "She's never gonna sing them [blues] no more." She died three years later from heart failure, at age 44.
https://youtu.be/ONmMzaZ-LgM
P.S. You can engage my services as a jazz pianist, singer, and songwriter at: https://www.gigsalad.com/american_songs_reborn_westford
Technical Marketing, Independent Consultant, DBA
8moWow! those are eternal songs. I never knew.... Thanks Philip - sincerely
thank you for sharing this. billie holiday + a lifelong interest in high-end audio were my entrée into jazz, many years ago. billie and dinah, doing standards. i know the late billie is said to be inferior to her earlier incarnation -- her voice wrecked, her spirit sapped and savaged -- but i've always felt something so moving, so poignant, so indefinable in her later output on verve and columbia. the same could arguably be said of dinah washington, in her later years on verve, as distinct to her prime years on mercury. i appreciated your recent performances of her stuff, much as I have appreciated your performances of other artists and composers over the years. i miss being on your distribution/ sharing list!
Principal at dbInsight LLC
8moSignificant that her output pretty much reflected her life.