Billie Holiday | ||
| Allmusic Biography : The first popular jazz singer to move audiences with the intense, personal feeling of classic blues, Billie Holiday changed the art of American pop vocals forever. More than a half-century after her death, its difficult to believe that prior to her emergence, jazz and pop singers were tied to the Tin Pan Alley tradition and rarely personalized their songs; only blues singers like Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey actually gave the impression they had lived through what they were singing. Billie Holidays highly stylized reading of this blues tradition revolutionized traditional pop, ripping the decades-long tradition of song plugging in two by refusing to compromise her artistry for either the song or the band. She made clear her debts to Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong (in her autobiography she admitted, "I always wanted Bessies big sound and Pops feeling"), but in truth her style was virtually her own, quite a shock in an age of interchangeable crooners and band singers. With her spirit shining through on every recording, Holidays technical expertise also excelled in comparison to the great majority of her contemporaries. Often bored by the tired old Tin Pan Alley songs she was forced to record early in her career, Holiday fooled around with the beat and the melody, phrasing behind the beat and often rejuvenating the standard melody with harmonies borrowed from her favorite horn players, Armstrong and Lester Young. (She often said she tried to sing like a horn.) Her notorious private life -- a series of abusive relationships, substance addictions, and periods of depression -- undoubtedly assisted her legendary status, but Holidays best performances ("Lover Man," "Dont Explain," "Strange Fruit," her own composition "God Bless the Child") remain among the most sensitive and accomplished vocal performances ever recorded. More than technical ability, more than purity of voice, what made Billie Holiday one of the best vocalists of the century -- easily the equal of Ella Fitzgerald or Frank Sinatra -- was her relentlessly individualist temperament, a quality that colored every one of her endlessly nuanced performances. Billie Holidays chaotic life reportedly began in Baltimore on April 7, 1915 (a few reports say 1912) when she was born Eleanora Fagan Gough. Her father, Clarence Holiday, was a teenaged jazz guitarist and banjo player later to play in Fletcher Hendersons Orchestra. He never married her mother, Sadie Fagan, and left while his daughter was still a baby. (She would later run into him in New York, and though she contracted many guitarists for her sessions before his death in 1937, she always avoided using him.) Holidays mother was also a young teenager at the time, and whether because of inexperience or neglect, often left her daughter with uncaring relatives. Holiday was sentenced to Catholic reform school at the age of ten, reportedly after she admitted being raped. Though sentenced to stay until she became an adult, a family friend helped get her released after just two years. With her mother, she moved in 1927, first to New Jersey and soon after to Brooklyn. In New York, Holiday helped her mother with domestic work, but soon began moonlighting as a prostitute for the additional income. According to the weighty Billie Holiday legend (which gained additional credence after her notoriously apocryphal autobiography Lady Sings the Blues), her big singing break came in 1933 when a laughable dancing audition at a speakeasy prompted her accompanist to ask her if she could sing. In fact, Holiday was most likely singing at clubs all over New York City as early as 1930-31. Whatever the true story, she first gained some publicity in early 1933, when record producer John Hammond -- only three years older than Holiday herself, and just at the beginning of a legendary career -- wrote her up in a column for Melody Maker and brought Benny Goodman to one of her performances. After recording a demo at Columbia Studios, Holiday joined a small group led by Goodman to make her commercial debut on November 27, 1933 with "Your Mothers Son-In-Law." Though she didnt return to the studio for over a year, Billie Holiday spent 1934 moving up the rungs of the competitive New York bar scene. By early 1935, she made her debut at the Apollo Theater and appeared in a one-reeler film with Duke Ellington. During the last half of 1935, Holiday finally entered the studio again and recorded a total of four sessions. With a pick-up band supervised by pianist Teddy Wilson, she recorded a series of obscure, forgettable songs straight from the gutters of Tin Pan Alley -- in other words, the only songs available to an obscure black band during the mid-30s. (During the swing era, music publishers kept the best songs strictly in the hands of society orchestras and popular white singers.) Despite the poor song quality, Holiday and various groups (including trumpeter Roy Eldridge, alto Johnny Hodges, and tenors Ben Webster and Chu Berry) energized flat songs like "What a Little Moonlight Can Do," "Twenty-Four Hours a Day" and "If You Were Mine" (to say nothing of "Eeny Meeny Miney Mo" and "Yankee Doodle Never Went to Town"). The great combo playing and Holidays increasingly assured vocals made them quite popular on Columbia, Brunswick and Vocalion. During 1936, Holiday toured with groups led by Jimmie Lunceford and Fletcher Henderson, then returned to New York for several more sessions. In late January 1937, she recorded several numbers with a small group culled from one of Hammonds new discoveries, Count Basies Orchestra. Tenor Lester Young, whod briefly known Billie several years earlier, and trumpeter Buck Clayton were to become especially attached to Holiday. The three did much of their best recorded work together during the late 30s, and Holiday herself bestowed the nickname Pres on Young, while he dubbed her Lady Day for her elegance. By the spring of 1937, she began touring with Basie as the female complement to his male singer, Jimmy Rushing. The association lasted less than a year, however. Though officially she was fired from the band for being temperamental and unreliable, shadowy influences higher up in the publishing world reportedly commanded the action after she refused to begin singing 20s female blues standards. At least temporarily, the move actually benefited Holiday -- less than a month after leaving Basie, she was hired by Artie Shaws popular band. She began singing with the group in 1938, one of the first instances of a black female appearing with a white group. Despite the continuing support of the entire band, however, show promoters and radio sponsors soon began objecting to Holiday -- based on her unorthodox singing style almost as much as her race. After a series of escalating indignities, Holiday quit the band in disgust. Yet again, her judgment proved valuable; the added freedom allowed her to take a gig at a hip new club named Café Society, the first popular nightspot with an inter-racial audience. There, Billie Holiday learned the song that would catapult her career to a new level: "Strange Fruit." The standard, written by Café Society regular Lewis Allen and forever tied to Holiday, is an anguished reprisal of the intense racism still persistent in the South. Though Holiday initially expressed doubts about adding such a bald, uncompromising song to her repertoire, she pulled it off thanks largely to her powers of nuance and subtlety. "Strange Fruit" soon became the highlight of her performances. Though John Hammond refused to record it (not for its politics but for its overly pungent imagery), he allowed Holiday a bit of leverage to record for Commodore, the label owned by jazz record-store owner Milt Gabler. Once released, "Strange Fruit" was banned by many radio outlets, though the growing jukebox industry (and the inclusion of the excellent "Fine and Mellow" on the flip) made it a rather large, though controversial, hit. She continued recording for Columbia labels until 1942, and hit big again with her most famous composition, 1941s "God Bless the Child." Gabler, who also worked A&R; for Decca, signed her to the label in 1944 to record "Lover Man," a song written especially for her and her third big hit. Neatly side-stepping the musicians union ban that afflicted her former label, Holiday soon became a priority at Decca, earning the right to top-quality material and lavish string sections for her sessions. She continued recording scattered sessions for Decca during the rest of the 40s, and recorded several of her best-loved songs including Bessie Smiths "Taint Nobodys Business If I Do," "Them There Eyes," and "Crazy He Calls Me." Though her artistry was at its peak, Billie Holidays emotional life began a turbulent period during the mid-40s. Already heavily into alcohol and marijuana, she began smoking opium early in the decade with her first husband, Johnnie Monroe. The marriage didnt last, but hot on its heels came a second marriage to trumpeter Joe Guy and a move to heroin. Despite her triumphant concert at New Yorks Town Hall and a small film role -- as a maid (!) -- with Louis Armstrong in 1947s New Orleans, she lost a good deal of money running her own orchestra with Joe Guy. Her mothers death soon after affected her deeply, and in 1947 she was arrested for possession of heroin and sentenced to eight months in prison. Unfortunately, Holidays troubles only continued after her release. The drug charge made it impossible for her to get a cabaret card, so nightclub performances were out of the question. Plagued by various celebrity hawks from all portions of the underworld (jazz, drugs, song publishing, etc.), she soldiered on for Decca until 1950. Two years later, she began recording for jazz entrepreneur Norman Granz, owner of the excellent labels Clef, Norgran, and by 1956, Verve. The recordings returned her to the small-group intimacy of her Columbia work, and reunited her with Ben Webster as well as other top-flight musicians such as Oscar Peterson, Harry "Sweets" Edison, and Charlie Shavers. Though the ravages of a hard life were beginning to take their toll on her voice, many of Holidays mid-50s recordings are just as intense and beautiful as her classic work. During 1954, Holiday toured Europe to great acclaim, and her 1956 autobiography brought her even more fame (or notoriety). She made her last great appearance in 1957, on the CBS television special The Sound of Jazz with Webster, Lester Young, and Coleman Hawkins providing a close backing. One year later, the Lady in Satin LP clothed her naked, increasingly hoarse voice with the overwrought strings of Ray Ellis. During her final year, she made two more appearances in Europe before collapsing in May 1959 of heart and liver disease. Still procuring heroin while on her death bed, Holiday was arrested for possession in her private room and died on July 17, her system completely unable to fight both withdrawal and heart disease at the same time. Her cult of influence spread quickly after her death and gave her more fame than shed enjoyed in life. The 1972 biopic Lady Sings the Blues featured Diana Ross struggling to overcome the conflicting myths of Holidays life, but the film also illuminated her tragic life and introduced many future fans. By the digital age, virtually all of Holidays recorded material had been reissued: by Columbia (nine volumes of The Quintessential Billie Holiday), Decca (The Complete Decca Recordings), and Verve (The Complete Billie Holiday on Verve 1945-1959). | ||
 | Album: 1 of 43 Title: Lover Man Released: 1951 Tracks: 12 Duration: 03:18 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?) (03:18) 2 That Old Devil Called Love (?) 3 My Man (Mon Homme) (?) 4 Youre My Thrill (?) 5 Crazy He Calls Me (?) 6 Weep No More (?) 7 There Is No Greater Love (?) 8 This Is Heaven to Me (?) 9 Solitude (?) 10 Porgy (?) 11 Girls Were Made to Take Care of Boys (?) 12 Please Tell Me Now (?) |
 | Album: 2 of 43 Title: Billie Holiday Sings Released: 1952-03-26 Tracks: 12 Duration: 39:03 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 East of the Sun (And West of the Moon) (02:56) 2 Blue Moon (03:30) 3 You Go to My Head (02:55) 4 You Turned the Tables on Me (03:28) 5 Easy to Love (03:01) 6 These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You) (03:36) 7 I Only Have Eyes for You (02:54) 8 Solitude (03:31) 9 Everything I Have Is Yours (03:45) 10 Love for Sale (02:58) 11 Moonglow (03:00) 12 Tenderly (03:25) |
 | Album: 3 of 43 Title: Lady Day Released: 1954 Tracks: 12 Duration: 36:01 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Miss Brown to You (03:03) 2 I Wished on the Moon (03:04) 3 What a Little Moonlight Can Do (02:58) 4 If You Were Mine (03:14) 5 Summertime (02:58) 6 Billies Blues (02:42) 7 I Must Have That Man! (02:59) 8 Foolin Myself (03:03) 9 Easy Living (03:07) 10 Me, Myself and I (02:39) 11 A Sailboat in the Moonlight (02:53) 12 I Cried For You (03:17) |
 | Album: 4 of 43 Title: Music for Torching Released: 1955-10 Tracks: 8 Duration: 33:54 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 It Had to Be You (04:03) 2 Come Rain or Come Shine (04:25) 3 I Don’t Want to Cry Any More (03:56) 4 (I Dont Stand a) Ghost of a Chance (With You) (04:29) 5 A Fine Romance (03:34) 6 Gone With the Wind (03:25) 7 I Get a Kick Out of You (05:42) 8 Isnt This a Lovely Day? (04:17) |
 | Album: 5 of 43 Title: Velvet Mood Released: 1956 Tracks: 8 Duration: 37:19 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Prelude to a Kiss (05:34) 2 When Your Lover Has Gone (04:56) 3 Please Dont Talk About Me When Im Gone (04:18) 4 Nice Work If You Can Get It (03:49) 5 I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues (05:51) 6 What’s New (04:16) 7 I Hadn’t Anyone Till You (04:01) 8 Everything I Have Is Yours (04:30) |
 | Album: 6 of 43 Title: A Recital By Billie Holiday Released: 1956 Tracks: 12 Duration: 12:05 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 If the Moon Turns Green (02:45) 2 Remember (?) 3 Autumn in New York (03:41) 4 My Man (?) 5 Lover Come Back To Me (?) 6 Stormy Weather (?) 7 Yesterdays (?) 8 Hes Funny That Way (?) 9 I Cant Face The Music (?) 10 How Deep Is The Ocean (How High Is The Sky) (?) 11 What a Little Moonlight Can Do (03:11) 12 I Cried for You (02:26) |
 | Album: 7 of 43 Title: Songs for Distingué Lovers Released: 1957 Tracks: 6 Duration: 33:19 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Day In, Day Out (06:49) 2 A Foggy Day (04:42) 3 Stars Fell on Alabama (04:30) 4 One for My Baby (and One More for the Road) (05:42) 5 Just One of Those Things (05:34) 6 I Didnt Know What Time It Was (06:01) |
 | Album: 8 of 43 Title: Body and Soul Released: 1957 Tracks: 8 Duration: 40:39 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Body and Soul (06:23) 2 They Can’t Take That Away From Me (04:12) 3 Darn That Dream (06:20) 4 Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off (03:25) 5 Comes Love (04:02) 6 Gee, Baby, Ain’t I Good to You (05:38) 7 Embraceable You (06:48) 8 Moonlight in Vermont (03:48) |
 | Album: 9 of 43 Title: All or Nothing at All Released: 1958 Tracks: 12 Duration: 51:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Do Nothin’ Till You Hear From Me (04:14) 2 Cheek to Cheek (03:37) 3 Ill Wind (06:17) 4 Speak Low (04:28) 5 I Wished on the Moon (03:27) 6 But Not for Me (03:50) 7 All or Nothing at All (05:41) 8 We’ll Be Together Again (04:26) 9 Sophisticated Lady (04:51) 10 April in Paris (03:05) 11 Say It Isnt So (03:18) 12 Love Is Here to Stay (03:42) |
 | Album: 10 of 43 Title: Stay With Me Released: 1958 Tracks: 10 Duration: 42:14 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 I Wished on the Moon (06:49) 2 Aint Misbehavin (04:38) 3 Everything Happens to Me (06:20) 4 Say It Isnt So (03:01) 5 Ive Got My Love to Keep Me Warm (03:56) 6 Always (03:57) 7 Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me (05:00) 8 How Deep Is the Ocean? (02:56) 9 What a Little Moonlight Can Do (03:10) 10 I Cried for You (Now Its Your Turn to Cry Over Me) (02:27) |
| Stay With Me : Allmusic album Review : Featuring recordings from February 1955 and released in 1958, Stay with Me is a late entry in Billie Holidays career. She was fading, but hadnt lost the dramatic quality in her delivery, nor her ability to project and tell a shattering story. Shes backed by trumpeter Charlie Shavers, pianist Oscar Peterson, guitarist Herb Ellis, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Ed Shaughnessy. [Some reissues add three bonus cuts.] | ||
 | Album: 11 of 43 Title: Last Recording Released: 1959-07 Tracks: 12 Duration: 37:21 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 All of You (02:33) 2 Sometimes I’m Happy (02:49) 3 You Took Advantage of Me (03:12) 4 When It’s Sleepy Time Down South (04:08) 5 There’ll Be Some Changes Made (02:55) 6 ’Deed I Do (02:17) 7 Don’t Worry ’bout Me (03:11) 8 All the Way (03:25) 9 Just One More Chance (03:47) 10 It’s Not for Me to Say (02:29) 11 I’ll Never Smile Again (03:27) 12 Baby, Won’t You Please Come Home? (03:03) |
| Last Recording : Allmusic album Review : In many ways, a sad event. 1988 reissue of an album with Ray Ellis and his orchestra. Its poignant in a tragic way. | ||
 | Album: 12 of 43 Title: Billie Holidays Greatest Hits Released: 1968 Tracks: 11 Duration: 34:27 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?) (03:09) 2 Don’t Explain (03:24) 3 Solitude (03:11) 4 Easy Living (03:13) 5 Good Morning Heartache (03:08) 6 Crazy He Calls Me (03:03) 7 God bless the child (02:57) 8 That Ole Devil Called Love (02:53) 9 Them There Eyes (02:49) 10 Youre My Thrill (03:18) 11 Aint Nobodys Business If I Do (03:22) |
| Billie Holiday's Greatest Hits : Allmusic album Review : GRPs Greatest Hits is not designed for collectors or serious fans, as it will likely frustrate them. Casual fans, however, and the curious will be well served by this 19-track collection of highlights from Billie Holidays Decca recordings, featuring such songs as "Easy Living," "Solitude," "God Bless the Child," "TAint Nobodys Bizness if I Do," "Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be)" and "Crazy He Calls Me." Its not an ideal collection, and it doesnt contain all of her great performances for Decca, but its a nice sampler that makes for an effective introduction to this era. | ||
 | Album: 13 of 43 Title: Sixteen of Her Greatest Interpretations Released: 1972 Tracks: 16 Duration: 51:33 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Strange Fruit (03:13) 2 Yesterdays (03:26) 3 Fine and Mellow (03:18) 4 I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues (02:53) 5 How Am I to Know? (02:46) 6 My Old Flame (03:05) 7 Ill Get By (03:01) 8 I Cover the Waterfront (03:32) 9 Ill Be Seeing You (03:32) 10 Im Yours (03:18) 11 Embraceable You (03:18) 12 As Time Goes By (03:14) 13 Hes Funny That Way (03:18) 14 Lover, Come Back to Me (03:20) 15 Billie’s Blues (03:10) 16 On the Sunny Side of the Street (03:03) |
 | Album: 14 of 43 Title: The Golden Years 1933-1941 Released: 1982 Tracks: 48 Duration: 2:21:30 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Your Mother’s Son‐In‐Law (02:47) 2 Riffin’ the Scotch (02:34) 3 Them There Eyes (02:50) 4 These Foolish Things (03:19) 5 Did I Remember? (02:52) 6 No Regrets (02:37) 7 A Fine Romance (02:54) 8 Easy to Love (03:13) 9 The Way You Look Tonight (03:09) 10 Pennies From Heaven (03:15) 11 That’s Life I Guess (03:21) 12 I Can’t Give You Anything but Love (Baby) (03:29) 13 This Year’s Kisses (03:08) 14 Why Was I Born? (02:52) 15 The Mood That I’m In (03:01) 16 I’ll Never Be the Same (03:03) 1 Without Your Love (02:54) 2 Swing, Brother, Swing (01:51) 3 They Cant Take That Away From Me (03:24) 4 Getting Some Fun Out of Life (03:03) 5 Travellin’ All Alone (02:15) 6 When Youre Smiling (03:01) 7 If Dreams Come True (03:04) 8 I Cant Get Started (02:47) 9 Back in Your Own Backyard (02:42) 10 On the Sentimental Side (03:06) 11 When a Woman Loves a Man (02:25) 12 You Go to My Head (02:54) 13 The Very Thought of You (02:46) 14 Thats All I Ask of You (03:01) 15 Dream of Life (02:45) 16 Long Gone Blues (03:05) 1 Some Other Spring (03:03) 2 The Man I Love (03:06) 3 Ghost of Yesterday (02:39) 4 Body and Soul (02:59) 5 I’m Pulling Through (03:11) 6 Tell Me More and More and Then Some (03:10) 7 Laughing at Life (02:56) 8 Time on My Hands (You in My Arms) (03:06) 9 Georgia on My Mind (03:01) 10 Romance in the Dark (02:16) 11 All of Me (03:01) 12 God Bless the Child (03:00) 13 Am I Blue? (02:47) 14 I Cover the Waterfront (02:57) 15 Love Me or Leave Me (03:21) 16 Gloomy Sunday (03:13) |
 | Album: 15 of 43 Title: The Silver Collection Released: 1984 Tracks: 14 Duration: 1:05:14 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 I Wished on the Moon (03:28) 2 Moonlight in Vermont (03:52) 3 Say It Isnt So (03:19) 4 Our Love Is Here to Stay (03:42) 5 Darn That Dream (06:20) 6 But Not for Me (03:50) 7 Body and Soul (06:23) 8 Comes Love (04:01) 9 They Cant Take That Away From Me (04:13) 10 Embraceable You (06:49) 11 Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off (03:25) 12 Gee, Baby, Ain’t I Good to You (05:38) 13 All or Nothing at All (05:43) 14 We’ll Be Together Again (04:26) |
 | Album: 16 of 43 Title: The Billie Holiday Songbook Released: 1986 Tracks: 14 Duration: 45:42 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Good Morning, Heartache (03:31) 2 My Man (02:38) 3 Billies Blues (03:28) 4 What a Little Moonlight Can Do (03:12) 5 Dont Explain (02:38) 6 Lady Sings the Blues (03:46) 7 Lover Man (02:59) 8 God Bless the Child (04:00) 9 Fine and Mellow (03:28) 10 I Cried for You (02:29) 11 Strange Fruit (03:05) 12 Stormy Blues (03:27) 13 Travlin Light (03:09) 14 I Cover the Waterfront (03:47) |
 | Album: 17 of 43 Title: From the Original Decca Masters Released: 1986 Tracks: 15 Duration: 47:36 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Ain’t Nobody’s Business If I Do (03:23) 2 Baby Get Lost (03:16) 3 Them There Eyes (02:50) 4 Keeps On Rainin’ (03:16) 5 God Bless the Child (03:10) 6 Do Your Duty (03:16) 7 You’re My Thrill (03:24) 8 Gimmie a Pigfoot (and a Bottle of Beer) (02:45) 9 Crazy He Calls Me (03:05) 10 Now or Never (03:18) 11 Please Tell Me Now (03:15) 12 Lover Man (Where Can He Be) (03:23) 13 Good Morning Heartache (03:08) 14 Solitude (03:10) 15 This Is Heaven to Me (02:51) |
 | Album: 18 of 43 Title: Compact Jazz: Billie Holiday Released: 1987 Tracks: 13 Duration: 59:21 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Nice Work If You Can Get It (03:50) 2 I Hadn’t Anyone Till You (04:04) 3 Do Nothin Till You Hear From Me (04:15) 4 I Get a Kick Out of You (05:41) 5 Gone With the Wind (03:25) 6 A Fine Romance (03:34) 7 Sophisticated Lady (04:51) 8 Please Dont Talk About Me When Im Gone (04:21) 9 Prelude to a Kiss (05:34) 10 I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues (05:53) 11 Cheek to Cheek (03:36) 12 I Dont Want to Cry Anymore (03:56) 13 Ill Wind (06:14) |
 | Album: 19 of 43 Title: 20 Golden Greats Released: 1987 Tracks: 20 Duration: 1:00:26 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 My Man (02:57) 2 Dont Explain (03:22) 3 Swing Brother Swing (01:47) 4 Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?) (03:17) 5 I Cover the Waterfront (03:26) 6 Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans (06:37) 7 Ill Get By (01:46) 8 When Your Lover Has Gone (01:58) 9 Keeps on a Rainin (02:45) 10 Miss Brown to You (01:47) 11 Do Nothin Till You Hear From Me (03:37) 12 Cant Get Started (02:43) 13 Fine and Mellow (03:10) 14 Yesterday (03:23) 15 Shes Funny That Way (03:13) 16 On the Sunny Side of the Street (03:01) 17 Strange Fruit (03:03) 18 My Old Flame (03:00) 19 Lover Came Back to Me (02:18) 20 They Cant Take That Away From Me (03:16) |
 | Album: 20 of 43 Title: Lady Day & Prez 1937-1941 Released: 1987 Tracks: 18 Duration: 52:23 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 All Of Me (03:58) 2 The Man I Love (03:04) 3 I Cant Get Started (02:46) 4 The Very Thought Of You (02:44) 5 Back In Your Own Backyard (02:36) 6 When Youre Smiling (02:46) 7 Travlin All Alone (02:10) 8 Getting Some Fun Out Of Life (03:01) 9 Without Your Love (02:48) 10 A Sailboat In The Moonlight (02:46) 11 Me, Myself And I (02:30) 12 Ill Never Be The Same (03:00) 13 Foolin Myself (02:58) 14 Mean To Me (03:04) 15 Yours And Mine (03:12) 16 Sun Showers (03:02) 17 I Must Have That Man (02:52) 18 This Years Kisses (03:06) |
 | Album: 21 of 43 Title: The Quintessential Billie Holiday, Volume 2 Released: 1987 Tracks: 16 Duration: 48:36 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Life Begins When You’re in Love (03:04) 2 Its Like Reaching for the Moon (03:21) 3 These Foolish Things (03:19) 4 I Cried for You (03:13) 5 Guess Who (03:10) 6 Did I Remember? (02:51) 7 No Regrets (02:38) 8 Summertime (02:55) 9 Billies Blues (02:40) 10 A Fine Romance (02:52) 11 I Can’t Pretend (03:05) 12 One, Two, Button Your Shoe (02:50) 13 Let’s Call a Heart a Heart (03:03) 14 Easy to Love (03:12) 15 With Thee I Swing (03:17) 16 The Way You Look Tonight (02:59) |
 | Album: 22 of 43 Title: The Lady Sings the Blues Released: 1987 Tracks: 16 Duration: 50:02 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues (02:52) 2 On the Sunny Side of the Street (03:01) 3 Yesterdays (03:28) 4 The Man I Love (03:03) 5 Body and Soul (02:57) 6 Georgia on My Mind (03:17) 7 All of Me (03:00) 8 Love Me or Leave Me (03:18) 9 Embraceable You (03:15) 10 I Love My Man (03:04) 11 My Old Flame (03:00) 12 Love Come Back to Me (03:20) 13 Fine And Mellow (03:14) 14 Strange Fruit (03:05) 15 God Bless the Child (02:54) 16 My Last Affair (03:08) |
 | Album: 23 of 43 Title: In Rehearsal Released: 1987 Tracks: 10 Duration: 36:59 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 I Got It Bad, And That Aint Good (05:45) 2 Just Friends (02:58) 3 Walking In Heaven With You (02:00) 4 I Dont Stand A Ghost Of A Chance With You (01:52) 5 Please Dont Talk About Me When Im Gone (01:57) 6 I Dont Want To Cry (05:31) 7 Prelude To A Kiss (02:45) 8 Restless/Moonlight In Vermont (05:10) 9 Jeepers Creepers (05:10) 10 Jeepers Creepers ending, (03:51) |
 | Album: 24 of 43 Title: The Quintessential Billie Holiday, Volume 1: 1933-1935 Released: 1987-03-20 Tracks: 16 Duration: 47:38 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Your Mothers Son-In-Law (02:46) 2 Riffin the Scotch (02:36) 3 I Wished on the Moon (03:07) 4 What a Little Moonlight Can Do (03:01) 5 Miss Brown to You (03:03) 6 A Sunbonnet Blue (02:52) 7 What a Night, What a Moon, What a Girl (02:59) 8 Im Painting the Town Red (03:01) 9 Its Too Hot for Words (02:49) 10 Twenty Four Hours a Day (03:03) 11 Yankee Doodle Never Went to Town (02:44) 12 Eeny Meeny Miney Mo (03:15) 13 If You Were Mine (03:12) 14 These ’n’ That ’n’ Those (03:14) 15 You Let Me Down (02:54) 16 Spreadin Rhythm Around (02:55) |
 | Album: 25 of 43 Title: Billie Holliday and Her Orchestra Released: 1988 Tracks: 16 Duration: 1:13:30 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Cheek to Cheek (03:36) 2 Sophisicated Lady (04:45) 3 Just One of Those Things (05:30) 4 Comes Love (03:57) 5 Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off (03:25) 6 They Cant Take That Away From Me (04:08) 7 But Not for Me (03:50) 8 Body and Soul (06:17) 9 A Foggy Day (04:38) 10 Moonlight in Vermont (03:46) 11 I Wished on the Moon (03:23) 12 Say It Isnt So (03:14) 13 One for My Baby (And One More for the Road) (05:39) 14 Love Is Here to Stay (03:39) 15 Embraceable You (06:49) 16 Day in Day Out (06:47) |
 | Album: 26 of 43 Title: The Quintessential Billie Holiday, Volume 3: 1936-1937 Released: 1988 Tracks: 16 Duration: 48:17 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Who Loves You (03:14) 2 Pennies From Heaven (03:18) 3 That’s Life I Guess (03:09) 4 I Cant Give You Anything but Love (03:28) 5 One Never Knows - Does One? (03:04) 6 I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm (02:57) 7 If My Heart Could Only Talk (03:05) 8 Please Keep Me in Your Dreams (02:18) 9 He Aint Got Rhythm (02:51) 10 This Years Kisses (03:10) 11 Why Was I Born? (02:51) 12 I Must Have That Man (02:56) 13 The Mood That I’m In (03:01) 14 You Showed Me the Way (03:01) 15 Sentimental & Melancholy (02:39) 16 My Last Affair (03:08) |
 | Album: 27 of 43 Title: 16 Greatest Hits Released: 1988 Tracks: 17 Duration: 45:09 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Nobodys Business (02:21) 2 Miss Brown To You (01:49) 3 Hes Funny That Way (02:55) 4 I Cover The Waterfront (03:37) 5 Lover Come Back To Me (02:20) 6 Dont Explain (03:18) 7 Lover Man (03:14) 8 My Man (02:52) 9 Dont Be Late (03:14) 10 I Loves You Porgy (02:30) 11 Everything A Good Man Needs (03:08) 12 No Detour Ahead (02:21) 13 Youre Driving Me Crazy (01:13) 14 Them There Eyes (01:46) 15 Swing Brother Swing (01:47) 16 They Cant Take That Away From Me (03:00) 17 Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me (03:36) |
 | Album: 28 of 43 Title: The Billie Holiday Collection Released: 1988 Tracks: 14 Duration: 40:39 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 My Man (02:53) 2 Dont Explain (03:23) 3 Swing Brother Swing (01:48) 4 Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?) (03:17) 5 I Cover The Waterfront (03:27) 6 When Your Lover Has Gone (01:58) 7 Miss Brown To You (01:49) 8 Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me (03:39) 9 Fine And Mellow (03:11) 10 Strange Fruit (03:03) 11 Lover Come Back To Me (02:20) 12 They Cant Take That Away From Me (03:32) 13 Shes Funny That Way (03:14) 14 On The Sunny Side Of The Street (02:59) |
 | Album: 29 of 43 Title: Ladys Decca Days, Volume Two Released: 1988 Tracks: 12 Duration: 37:56 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Aint Nobodys Bizness (03:22) 2 The Blues Are Brewin (03:03) 3 Porgy and Bess (02:57) 4 Good Morning Heartache (03:08) 5 Do Your Duty (03:16) 6 Youre My Thrill (03:23) 7 Somebodys on My Mind (02:56) 8 You Cant Lose a Broken Heart (vocal duet with Louis Armstrong) (03:15) 9 Solitude (03:10) 10 Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be?) (03:22) 11 Them There Eyes (02:50) 12 Deep Song (03:10) |
 | Album: 30 of 43 Title: Lady Day (1939-1944) The Sixteen Original Commodore Interpretations Released: 1988 Tracks: 16 Duration: 51:33 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Ill Get By (03:01) 2 My Old Flame (03:05) 3 Embraceable You (03:18) 4 Billie’s Blues (03:10) 5 I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues (02:53) 6 I Cover the Waterfront (03:32) 7 Hes Funny That Way (03:18) 8 Yesterdays (03:26) 9 Strange Fruit (03:13) 10 On the Sunny Side of the Street (03:03) 11 Im Yours (03:18) 12 Fine and Mellow (03:18) 13 Lover, Come Back to Me (03:20) 14 Ill Be Seeing You (03:32) 15 As Time Goes By (03:14) 16 How Am I to Know? (02:46) |
 | Album: 31 of 43 Title: The Quintessential Billie Holiday, Volume 4: 1937 Released: 1988 Tracks: 16 Duration: 47:32 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Carelessly (03:08) 2 How Could You (02:32) 3 Moanin Low (03:05) 4 Where Is the Sun (02:48) 5 Lets Call the Whole Thing Off (02:39) 6 They Cant Take That Away From Me (03:04) 7 I Dont Know If Im Coming or Going (02:48) 8 Sun Showers (03:08) 9 Yours and Mine (03:18) 10 Ill Get By (03:09) 11 Mean to Me (03:09) 12 Foolin Myself (03:02) 13 Easy Living (03:03) 14 Ill Never Be the Same (03:05) 15 Me, Myself and I (02:38) 16 A Sailboat in the Moonlight (02:51) |
 | Album: 32 of 43 Title: Lady Sings of Love Released: 1988 Tracks: 14 Duration: 03:50 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Solitude (?) 2 How Deep Is the Ocean? (?) 3 All the Way (?) 4 But Not for Me (03:50) 5 Willow Weep for Me (?) 6 I Only Have Eyes for You (?) 7 Ill Never Smile Again (?) 8 (I Dont Stand) A Ghost of a Chance (with You) (?) 9 I Wished on the Moon (?) 10 No Good Man (?) 11 Lets Call the Whole Thing Off (?) 12 Love Me or Leave Me (?) 13 Easy to Love (?) 14 Dont Worry About Me (?) |
 | Album: 33 of 43 Title: Billies Blues Released: 1988-05-17 Tracks: 16 Duration: 50:58 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Anouncement (00:27) 2 Blue Moon (02:15) 3 All of Me (01:43) 4 My Man (02:51) 5 Them Their Eyes (01:40) 6 I Cried for You (03:22) 7 What a Little Moonlight Can Do (02:45) 8 I Cover the Waterfront (03:10) 9 Anouncement (00:20) 10 Billies Blues (11:35) 11 Lover, Come Back to Me (06:39) 12 Blue Turning Grey Over You (02:01) 13 Be Fair With Me Baby (02:36) 14 Rocky Mountain Blues (03:04) 15 Detour Ahead (03:03) 16 Travlin Light (03:18) |
 | Album: 34 of 43 Title: Strange Fruit Released: 1989 Tracks: 16 Duration: 51:23 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Strange Fruit (03:13) 2 Yesterdays (03:25) 3 Fine and Mellow (03:16) 4 I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues (02:52) 5 How Am I to Know (02:45) 6 My Old Flame (03:03) 7 Ill Get By (02:59) 8 I Cover the Waterfront (03:32) 9 Ill Be Seeing You (03:33) 10 Im Yours (03:18) 11 Embraceable You (03:18) 12 As Time Goes By (03:12) 13 Hes Funny That Way (03:17) 14 Lover Come Back to Me (03:21) 15 I Love My Man (Billies Blues) (03:09) 16 On the Sunny Side of the Street (03:02) |
 | Album: 35 of 43 Title: Me, Myself and I Released: 1989 Tracks: 22 Duration: 1:04:31 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 What a Little Moonlight Can Do (03:01) 2 Miss Brown to You (03:02) 3 Twenty Four Hours a Day (03:03) 4 Yankee Doodle Never Went to Town (02:47) 5 If You Were Mine (03:16) 6 These ’n’ That ’n’ Those (03:14) 7 Spreadn Rhythm Around (02:58) 8 Let’s Call a Heart a Heart (03:03) 9 Please Keep Me in Your Arms (02:18) 10 This Years Kisses (03:10) 11 I Must Have That Man (02:57) 12 Ill Get By (03:08) 13 Mean to Me (03:08) 14 Foolin Myself (02:59) 15 Easy Living (03:05) 16 Ill Never Be the Same (03:03) 17 Me, Myself and I (02:37) 18 A Sailboat in the Moonlight (02:53) 19 Without Your Love (02:52) 20 Getting Some Fun Out of Life (03:03) 21 Travelin All Alone (02:16) 22 Hes Funny That Way (02:38) |
 | Album: 36 of 43 Title: Autour de Minuit Released: 1989 Tracks: 15 Duration: 1:02:51 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Sophisticated Lady (04:49) 2 God Bless The Child (03:58) 3 Everything Happens To Me (06:23) 4 Embraceable You (06:47) 5 You Go To My Head (02:56) 6 My Man (02:36) 7 These Foolish Things (Remind Me Of You) (03:35) 8 Good Morning Heartache (03:28) 9 I Dont Stand A Ghost Of A Chance With You (04:28) 10 Solitude (03:31) 11 I Must Have That Man (03:05) 12 I Dont Want To Cry Anymore (03:55) 13 Travelin Light (03:10) 14 One For My Baby (And One More For The Road) (05:39) 15 Well Be Together Again (04:24) |
 | Album: 37 of 43 Title: In Person, In Concert Released: 1989-01-01 Tracks: 20 Duration: 59:53 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 My Man (02:30) 2 Miss Brown to You (01:59) 3 Keeps on Raining (02:43) 4 I Cover the Waterfront (02:55) 5 All of Me (03:41) 6 Good Morning Heartache (03:47) 7 Maybe Youll Be There (03:24) 8 Them There Eyes (01:52) 9 Lover Man (02:31) 10 Stormy Weather (03:31) 11 Willow Weep for Me (03:30) 12 I Only Have Eyes for You (01:46) 13 Please Dont Talk About Me When Im Gone (01:55) 14 I Love You Porgy (02:29) 15 Fine and Mellow TV (08:46) 16 Foolin Myself (02:27) 17 Easy to Remember (03:27) 18 Moanin Low (01:53) 19 Dont Explain (02:48) 20 When Your Lover Has Gone (01:59) |
 | Album: 38 of 43 Title: "Fine and Mellow" Released: 1990 Tracks: 16 Duration: 48:44 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Lover Man (03:23) 2 Do Nothin Till You Hear From Me (03:36) 3 My Man (02:59) 4 Them There Eyes (01:34) 5 I Cover The Waterfront (03:19) 6 Lover Come Back To Me (02:21) 7 Stormy Weather (03:29) 8 They Cant Take That Away From Me (03:17) 9 Willow Weep For Me (03:22) 10 Youve Changed (03:28) 11 Swing Brother Swing (01:47) 12 Introduction Into Fine and Mellow (01:05) 13 Its So Easy To Remember (03:18) 14 What a Little Moonlight Can Do - Fooling Myself (04:45) 15 I Dont Stand a Ghost of a Chance (03:28) 16 Dont Explain (03:25) |
| "Fine and Mellow" : Allmusic album Review : This CD contains 20 selections featuring Billie Holiday in a variety of live performances covering a 15-year period. Starting with two songs in 1944 in which she was backed by the Esquire All-Stars and continuing through TV appearances and club dates, one can hear the gradual aging and decline of Lady Days voice which definitely took a turn for the worse between 1955-56. And yet oddly enough the last five numbers, which were performed April 15, 1959 (making them Holidays final recordings), actually find her sounding stronger than she had in a few years, perhaps in a final gasp of energy. Of great historical value, this set has plenty of strong moments to justify its acquisition. | ||
 | Album: 39 of 43 Title: Good Morning Heartache Released: 1994 Tracks: 14 Duration: 41:10 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Miss Brown to You (02:00) 2 Loverman (02:38) 3 I Wonder Where Our Love Has Gone (04:02) 4 Them There Eyes (01:51) 5 I Love My Man (03:55) 6 You Aint Gonna Bother Me No More (03:04) 7 Good Morning Heartache (03:47) 8 Maybe Youll Be There (03:29) 9 Detour Ahead (02:19) 10 I Cover the Waterfront (03:00) 11 All of Me (01:57) 12 Keeps on a Rainin (02:47) 13 Fine and Mellow (03:31) 14 I Love You, Porgy (02:45) |
 | Album: 40 of 43 Title: Billie Holiday Released: 1997 Tracks: 12 Duration: 35:49 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Summertime (02:54) 2 I Cant Give You Anything but Love (03:28) 3 A Fine Romance (02:52) 4 Pennies From Heaven (03:17) 5 The Mood That Im In (03:00) 6 Thats Life I Guess (03:08) 7 Ive Got My Love to Keep Me Warm (02:54) 8 Carelessly (03:07) 9 Detour Ahead (02:20) 10 How Could You (02:31) 11 Gettin Some Fun Out of Life (03:02) 12 This Is My Last Affair (03:10) |
 | Album: 41 of 43 Title: Solo Lo Mejor De Billie Holiday Released: 2002 Tracks: 15 Duration: 00:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 All of Me (?) 2 St. Louis Blues (?) 3 Fine and Mellow (?) 4 The Man I Love (?) 5 Body and Soul (?) 6 Georgia on My Mind (?) 7 Summertime (?) 8 Love Me or Leave Me (?) 9 Solitude (?) 10 A Fine Romance (?) 11 I Cover the Waterfront (?) 12 Night and Day (?) 13 Carelessly (?) 14 Moanin Low (?) 15 Sun Showers (?) |
 | Album: 42 of 43 Title: Lady Sings the Blues Released: 2006-08-25 Tracks: 18 Duration: 1:08:32 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Lady Sings the Blues (03:47) 2 Come Rain or Come Shine (04:23) 3 Blue Moon (03:29) 4 Good Morning Heartache (03:31) 5 God Bless the Child (03:59) 6 Baby, Won’t You Please Come Home? (03:03) 7 Ill Wind (06:17) 8 Autumn in New York (03:43) 9 Don’t Worry ’bout Me (03:11) 10 I Dont Want to Cry Anymore (03:55) 11 Willow Weep for Me (03:08) 12 It’s Not for Me to Say (02:29) 13 My Man (02:38) 14 Stormy Weather (03:43) 15 When Your Lover Has Gone (04:59) 16 I Must Have That Man (03:06) 17 One for My Baby (and One More for the Road) (05:39) 18 I’ll Never Smile Again (03:27) |
| Lady Sings the Blues : Allmusic album Review : Taken from a pair of sessions taped during 1955-1956, Lady Sings the Blues finds Holiday in top form and backed by the sympathetic likes of tenor saxophonist Paul Quinichette, trumpeters Charlie Shavers and Harry Edison, pianist Wynton Kelly, and guitarists Kenny Burrell and Barney Kessel. And while these autumnal sides bear some of the frayed vocal moments often heard on Holidays 50s Verve sides, the majority here still ranks with her best material. This is especially true of the cuts from the June 1956 date, which produced unparalleled versions of "No Good Man," "Some Other Spring," and "Lady Sings the Blues." See why many fans prefer the "worn out" Holiday heard here to the more chipper singer featured on those classic Columbia records from the 30s. | ||
 | Album: 43 of 43 Title: Lady in Satin Released: 2010-12-06 Tracks: 24 Duration: 1:21:52 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 I’m a Fool to Want You (03:25) 2 For Heaven’s Sake (03:29) 3 You Don’t Know What Love Is (03:51) 4 I Get Along Without You Very Well (03:01) 5 For All We Know (02:55) 6 Violets for Your Furs (03:27) 7 You’ve Changed (03:19) 8 It’s Easy to Remember (04:03) 9 But Beautiful (04:32) 10 Glad to Be Unhappy (04:10) 11 I’ll Be Around (03:26) 12 The End of a Love Affair (04:48) 1 All of You (02:33) 2 Sometimes I’m Happy (02:49) 3 You Took Advantage of Me (03:12) 4 When It’s Sleepy Time Down South (04:08) 5 There’ll Be Some Changes Made (02:55) 6 ’Deed I Do (02:17) 7 Don’t Worry ’bout Me (03:11) 8 All the Way (03:25) 9 Just One More Chance (03:47) 10 It’s Not for Me to Say (02:29) 11 I’ll Never Smile Again (03:27) 12 Baby, Won’t You Please Come Home? (03:03) |
| Lady in Satin : Allmusic album Review : This was Billie Holidays penultimate album, recorded when her body was telling her enough was enough. During the sessions with arranger Ray Ellis she was drinking vodka neat, as if it were tap water. Despite her ravaged voice (the sweetness had long gone), she was still an incredible singer. The feeling and tension she manages to put into almost every track set this album as one of her finest achievements. "Youve Changed" and "I Get Along Without You Very Well" are high art performances from the singer who saw life from the bottom up. | ||