''All or Nothing at All'' is a studio album by

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

, released in 1958 on

Verve Records Verve Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Founded in 1956 by Norman Granz, the label is home to the world's largest jazz catalogue, which includes recordings by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simon ...

, catalog MGV8329. There are 12 songs on the LP taken from five different recording sessions that took place in 1956 and 1957. Holiday was backed by a "relaxed and understanding" small combo which included the trumpeter

Harry "Sweets" Edison Harry "Sweets" Edison (October 10, 1915 – July 27, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and a member of the Count Basie Orchestra. His most important contribution was as a Hollywood studio musician, whose muted trumpet can be heard bac ...

and the saxophonist

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Career Early life and career A native of Kansas City, Missouri, he studied violin, learned how to play blues on the piano from ...

. A 1959 ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' article noted that Holiday's voice "had become a very limited instrument which she used with the craft and guile of an aging pitcher who can no longer pour his fast one across the plate." Album cover art is by

David Stone Martin David Stone Martin, born David Livingstone Martin (June 13, 1913 – March 6, 1992 in New London, Connecticut) was an American artist best known for his illustrations on jazz record albums.Detailed biographical information is spread throughout ...

Track listing

Original LP release

LP side 1 #"

Do Nothing till You Hear from Me "Do Nothing till You Hear from Me" (also written as "Do Nothin' Til You Hear from Me") is a song with music by Duke Ellington and lyrics by Bob Russell. It originated as a 1940 instrumental ("Concerto for Cootie") that was designed to highlight th ...

" ( Duke Ellington, Bob Russell) – 4:12 #"

Cheek to Cheek "Cheek to Cheek" is a song written by Irving Berlin in 1934–35, specifically for the star of his new musical, Fred Astaire. The movie was ''Top Hat'', co-starring Ginger Rogers.

" (

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russ ...

) – 3:35 #" Ill Wind" ( Harold Arlen,

Ted Koehler Ted L. Koehler (July 14, 1894 – January 17, 1973) was an American lyricist. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972. Life and career Koehler was born in 1894 in Washington, D.C. He started out as a photo-engraver, but w ...

) – 6:14 #"

Speak Low "Speak Low" (1943) is a popular song composed by Kurt Weill, with lyrics by Ogden Nash. Background It was introduced by Mary Martin and Kenny Baker in the Broadway musical '' One Touch of Venus'' (1943). The 1944 hit single was by Guy Lombardo ...

" (

Ogden Nash Frederic Ogden Nash (August 19, 1902 – May 19, 1971) was an American poet well known for his light verse, of which he wrote over 500 pieces. With his unconventional rhyming schemes, he was declared by ''The New York Times'' the country's bes ...

, Kurt Weill) – 4:25 #"

We'll Be Together Again "We'll Be Together Again" is a 1945 popular song composed by Carl T. Fischer, with lyrics by Frankie Laine. Fischer was Laine's pianist and musical director when he composed the tune, and Laine was asked to write the lyrics for it. The Pied Pi ...

" (

Carl T. Fischer Carl T. Fischer (1912–1954) was a Native American jazz pianist and composer. He worked with Frankie Laine, and composed Laine's 1945 hit song ''We'll Be Together Again'', and '' You've Changed'' with lyrics by Bill Carey. Background Carl Theo ...

, Frankie Laine) – 4:24 #"

All or Nothing at All "All or Nothing at All" is a song composed in 1939 by Arthur Altman, with lyrics by Jack Lawrence. Frank Sinatra recording Frank Sinatra's August 31, 1939 recording of the song, accompanied by Harry James and his Orchestra was a huge hit in 194 ...

" (Arthur Altman, Jack Lawrence) – 5:39 LP side 2 #"

Sophisticated Lady "Sophisticated Lady" is a jazz standard, composed as an instrumental in 1932 by Duke Ellington. Background Additional credit is given to publisher Irving Mills whose words were added to the song by Mitchell Parish. The words met with approva ...

" (Ellington, Irving Mills,

Mitchell Parish Mitchell Parish (born Michael Hyman Pashelinsky; July 10, 1900 – March 31, 1993) was an American lyricist, notably as a writer of songs for stage and screen. Biography Parish was born to a Jewish family in Lithuania, Russian Empire in July 190 ...

) – 4:48 #" April in Paris" (

Vernon Duke Vernon Duke ( 16 January 1969) was a Russian-born American composer/songwriter who also wrote under his birth name, Vladimir Dukelsky. He is best known for " Taking a Chance on Love," with lyrics by Ted Fetter and John Latouche (1940), "I Can' ...

E. Y. Harburg Edgar Yipsel Harburg (born Isidore Hochberg; April 8, 1896 – March 5, 1981) was an American popular song lyricist and librettist who worked with many well-known composers. He wrote the lyrics to the standards "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" ( ...

) – 3:02 #" I Wished on the Moon" (

Dorothy Parker Dorothy Parker (née Rothschild; August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American poet, writer, critic, and satirist based in New York; she was known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles. From a conflicted and unhap ...

Ralph Rainger Ralph Rainger ( Reichenthal; October 7, 1901 – October 23, 1942) was an American composer of popular music principally for films. Biography Born Ralph Reichenthal in New York City, United States, Rainger initially embarked on a legal career, ...

) – 3:25 #" But Not for Me" (

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

, Ira Gershwin) – 3:48 #" Say It Isn't So" (Irving Berlin) – 3:22 #"

Our Love Is Here to Stay "Love Is Here to Stay" is a popular song and jazz standard composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin for the movie ''The Goldwyn Follies'' (1938). History "Love Is Here to Stay" was first performed by Kenny Baker in ''The Goldwy ...

" (Gershwin, Gershwin) – 3:41

Personnel

*Billie Holiday – vocals *

–

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

–

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

Jimmy Rowles James George Hunter (August 19, 1918 – May 28, 1996), known professionally as Jimmy Rowles (sometimes spelled Jimmie Rowles), was an American jazz pianist, vocalist, and composer. As a bandleader and accompanist, he explored multiple styles in ...

–

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

* Red Mitchell – bass *

Joe Mondragon Joe Mondragon (February 2, 1920 – July 1987) was an American jazz bassist. Early life Mondragon was born in Antonito, Colorado, and raised in the Española Valley region of New Mexico. Mondragon was of Apache and Hispanic origin. Career ...

– bass *

Alvin Stoller Alvin Stoller (October 7, 1925 – October 19, 1992) was an American jazz drummer. Though he seems to have been largely forgotten, he was held in high regard in the 1940s and 1950s. He was best known for playing drums on both Mitch Miller's ...

– drums *

Barney Kessell Barney Kessel (October 17, 1923 – May 6, 2004) was an American jazz guitarist born in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Known in particular for his knowledge of chords and inversions and chord-based melodies, he was a member of many prominent jazz groups as ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

Other versions

* ''All Or Nothing At All'' (LP), Verve Records, US, 1959 * ''All Or Nothing At All'' (LP, RE), Verve Records, Spain, 2010 * ''All Or Nothing At All'' (LP, Album, RE), Verve Records, France, 2011 * ''All Or Nothing At All'' (LP), Verve Records, Analogue Productions US 2012 * ''All Or Nothing At All'' (LP, RE, Album), WaxTime, Europe, 2012 * ''All Or Nothing At All'' (LP, Album, RE), Verve Records US

CD Reissue

A 2 CD re-issue from 1995 combined all of the tracks from this and two other Holiday albums recorded at the same time, '' Body and Soul'' and ''

Songs for Distingué Lovers ''Songs for Distingué Lovers'' is an LP album, album by Vocal jazz, jazz singer Billie Holiday, released in 1958 in music, 1958 on Verve Records. It was originally available in both Monaural, mono (catalogue number MGV 8257) and stereo (catalog n ...

'', with two additional bonus tracks taken from the same recording sessions.

CD Reissue track listing

CD disc 1 #"Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me" (Ellington, Russell) – 4:12 #"Cheek to Cheek" (Berlin) – 3:35 #"Ill Wind" (Arlen, Koehler) – 6:14 #"Speak Low" (Nash, Weill) – 4:25 #"We'll Be Together Again" (Fischer, Laine) – 4:24 #"All or Nothing at All" (Altman, Lawrence) – 5:39 #"Sophisticated Lady" (Ellington, Mills, Parish) – 4:48 #"April in Paris" (Duke, Harburg) – 3:02 #"I Wished on the Moon" (Parker, Rainger) – 3:25 #" Moonlight in Vermont" ( John Blackburn,

Karl Suessdorf Karl A. Suessdorf (April 28, 1911 – February 25, 1982) was an American songwriter. Biography The son of Henry F. Suessdorf, he was born in Valdez, Alaska, United States, where his father operated from 1907 to 1917 the Copper Block Buffet, a ...

) – 3:49 #" Foggy Day" (Gershwin, Gershwin) – 4:40 #"

I Didn't Know What Time It Was "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" is a popular song composed by Richard Rodgers with lyrics by Lorenz Hart for the 1939 musical '' Too Many Girls''. Introduced by Richard Kollmar and Marcy Westcott in the stage musical, early hit versions were r ...

" ( Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers) – 5:59 #" Just One of Those Things" ( Cole Porter) – 5:31 #"Comes Love" ''(alternate take, bonus track)'' – 3:58 #" Comes Love" (

Lew Brown Lew Brown (born Louis Brownstein; December 10, 1893 – February 5, 1958) was a lyricist for popular songs in the United States. During World War I and the Roaring Twenties, he wrote lyrics for several of the top Tin Pan Alley composers, esp ...

Sam H. Stept Samuel Howard Stept (aka Sammy Stept; 18 September 1897 – 1 December 1964) was an American songwriter who wrote for Broadway, Hollywood and the big bands. He became known simply as Sam Stept or Sam H. Stept – he rarely used his full middle n ...

, Charles Tobias) – 4:00 CD disc 2 #" Day In, Day Out" ( Rube Bloom, Johnny Mercer) – 6:47 #"

Darn That Dream "Darn That Dream" is a popular song composed by Jimmy Van Heusen with lyrics by Eddie DeLange. It was published in 1939 and ranked No. 1 in 1940 when a recording was released by Benny Goodman in an arrangement by Eddie Sauter with Mildred Bailey ...

" (

Eddie DeLange Eddie DeLange (''né'' Edgar DeLange Moss; 15 January 1904 – 15 July 1949) was an American bandleader and lyricist. Famous artists who recorded some of DeLange's songs include Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Duk ...

, Jimmy Van Heusen) – 6:19 #"But Not for Me" (Gershwin, Gershwin) – 3:48 #" Body and Soul" (Eyton, Johnny Green,

Edward Heyman Edward Heyman (March 14, 1907October 16, 1981) was an American lyricist and producer, best known for his lyrics to " Body and Soul," "When I Fall in Love," and " For Sentimental Reasons." He also contributed to a number of songs for films. Biog ...

Robert Sour The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, hono ...

) – 6:22 #"

Just Friends ''Just Friends'' is a 2005 American Christmas comedy film directed by Roger Kumble, written by Adam 'Tex' Davis and starring Ryan Reynolds, Amy Smart, Anna Faris, Chris Klein and Christopher Marquette. The plot focuses on a formerly obese high ...

" (

John Klenner John Klenner (24 February 1899 – 13 August 1955) was a German-born American pianist and composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are compos ...

, Sam M. Lewis) ''(instrumental, bonus track)'' – 6:26 #" Stars Fell on Alabama" (Parish, Frank Perkins) – 4:29 #"Say It Isn't So" (Berlin) – 3:22 #"Our Love Is Here to Stay" (Gershwin, Gershwin) – 3:41 #"

One for My Baby (and One More for the Road) "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)" is a hit song written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer for the movie musical '' The Sky's the Limit'' (1943) and first performed in the film by Fred Astaire. Background Harold Arlen described the so ...

" (Arlen, Mercer) – 5:39 #"

They Can't Take That Away from Me "They Can't Take That Away from Me" is a 1937 popular song with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. It was introduced by Fred Astaire in the 1937 film ''Shall We Dance'' and gained huge success. Overview The song is performed b ...

" (Gershwin, Gershwin) – 7:10 #" Embraceable You" (Gershwin, Gershwin) – 6:47 #"

Let's Call the Whole Thing Off "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" is a song written by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin for the 1937 film ''Shall We Dance'', where it was introduced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers as part of a celebrated dance duet on roller skates. The shee ...

" (Gershwin, Gershwin) – 3:24 #"Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You" ( Andy Razaf,

Don Redman Donald Matthew Redman (July 29, 1900 – November 30, 1964) was an American jazz musician, arranger, bandleader, and composer. Biography Redman was born in Piedmont, Mineral County, West Virginia, United States. His father was a music teacher ...

) – 5:37

References

External links

* All or Nothing At All CD reissue on the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

, includes audio samples and liner notes. {{Authority control 1958 albums Billie Holiday albums Albums produced by Norman Granz Verve Records albums Albums with cover art by David Stone Martin