''Billie Holiday'' is the third 10 inch LP album of original material by jazz singer

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 si ...

, released on

Clef Records Clef Records was an American jazz record label founded by Norman Granz in 1946. It became part of Verve Records, which Granz created in 1956. Clef recordings were, in the mid 1950s, licensed to Columbia (UK) who issued 78rpm discs with a special w ...

in 1954. The recordings took place in 1952 and 1954. Her final album would also be given the same title, prior to being changed to ''

Last Recording ''Last Recording'' ( MGM Records, 1959) is final album Billie Holiday recorded. It was originally released during Holiday's lifetime with the title ''Billie Holiday'', and was retitled after her death. It is not to be confused with the 1954 Clef R ...

'' instead.

Content

In a 1954 review,

Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

magazine praises the album, saying:

"The set is an experience in mounting pleasure that can do anything but increase still further no matter how often the LP is replayed. As for comparing it with earlier Teddy Wilson-Billie sessions, what's the point? Count your blessings in having both. Speaking of time, Billie's beat and variations thereon never cease to be among the seven wonders of jazz."

Two recordings, "

What a Little Moonlight Can Do "What a Little Moonlight Can Do" is a popular song written by Harry M. Woods in 1934. In 1934, Woods moved to London for three years where he worked for the British film studio Gaumont British, contributing material to several films, one of which ...

" and "

I Cried for You "I Cried for You" is a pop and jazz standard with music written by Gus Arnheim and Abe Lyman, with lyrics by Arthur Freed. It was introduced by Abe Lyman and His Orchestra in 1923. The recording by Benny Krueger and His Orchestra the same year p ...

" were also recorded by Holiday in the 1930s with Teddy Wilson's band, at the beginning of her career. In 1956, when the 10 inch format was phased out, Clef reissued the contents of this album on two different newly released 12 inch compilation LPs. Five songs (tracks A1-B1) were added to '' A Recital By Billie Holiday'', and the other three (tracks B2-B4) were added to ''

Solitude Solitude is a state of seclusion or isolation, meaning lack of socialisation. Effects can be either positive or negative, depending on the situation. Short-term solitude is often valued as a time when one may work, think, or rest without distu ...

''.

Track listing

;A side # " Love for Sale" (

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

) – 2:56 # " Moonglow" (

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 ...

, Will Hudson,

Irving Mills Irving Harold Mills (born Isadore Minsky; January 16, 1894 – April 21, 1985) was an American music publisher, musician, lyricist, and jazz artist promoter. He sometimes used the pseudonyms Goody Goodwin and Joe Primrose. Personal Mills was ...

) – 2:58 # " Everything I Have Is Yours" (

Harold Adamson Harold Campbell Adamson (December 10, 1906 – August 17, 1980) was an American lyricist during the 1930s and 1940s. Early life Adamson, the son of building contractor Harold Adamson and Marion "Minnie" Campbell Adamson, was born and raised in ...

Burton Lane Burton Lane ( Levy; February 2, 1912 – January 5, 1997) was an American composer and lyricist primarily known for his theatre and film scores. His most popular and successful works include '' Finian's Rainbow'' in 1947 and ''On a Clear Day You ...

) – 3:43 # "If the Moon Turns Green" (

George Cates George Cates (October 19, 1911 – May 10, 2002) was an American music arranger, conductor, songwriter and record executive known for his work with Lawrence Welk and his orchestra. Biography Born and raised in New York City, New York, United ...

Bernie Hanighen Bernard D. Hanighen (April 27, 1908 in Omaha, Nebraska – October 19, 1976 in New York City, New York) Attended Hackley School (Tarrytown, New York) - Class of 1926, also attended Harvard University - Class of 1930. He was an American songwrit ...

) – 2:46 ;B side # " Autumn in New York" (

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't ...

) – 3:43 # " How Deep Is the Ocean?" (

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 Russi ...

) – 3:00 # "

" (

Harry M. Woods Henry MacGregor WoodsIMDb bio for Harry M. Woods
(November 4, 1896 – January 14, 1970) was a

) – 3:14 # "

" (

Gus Arnheim Gus Arnheim (September 4, 1897 – January 19, 1955) was an American pianist and an early popular band leader. He is noted for writing several songs with his first hit being "I Cried for You" from 1923. He was most popular in the 1920s and 1930s. He ...

Arthur Freed Arthur Freed (September 9, 1894 – April 12, 1973) was an American lyricist and Hollywood film producer. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture twice, in 1951 for ''An American in Paris'' and in 1958 for '' Gigi''. Both films were musicals. ...

Abe Lyman Abe Lyman (August 4, 1897 – October 23, 1957) was a popular bandleader from the 1920s to the 1940s. He made recordings, appeared in films and provided the music for numerous radio shows, including ''Your Hit Parade''. His name at birth was Abra ...

) – 2:27

Personnel

April 1952 recordings

(Tracks A1–B1)
The exact date of this session is not known.

Norman Granz Norman Granz (August 6, 1918 – November 22, 2001) was an American jazz record producer and concert promoter. He founded the record labels Clef, Norgran, Down Home, Verve, and Pablo. Granz was acknowledged as "the most successful impresar ...

signed Holiday to his record label after returning from Europe on April 21, 1952, so the session presumably occurred sometime after that.''Billie Holiday Songs''
sessionography, 1952, accessed Dec 22, 2015 *

, vocals *

Flip Phillips Joseph Edward Filippelli (March 26, 1915 – August 17, 2001), known professionally as Flip Phillips, was an American jazz tenor saxophone and clarinet player. He is best remembered for his work with Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic conce ...

, tenor sax *

Charlie Shavers Charles James Shavers (August 3, 1920 – July 8, 1971) was an American jazz trumpeter who played with Dizzy Gillespie, Nat King Cole, Roy Eldridge, Johnny Dodds, Jimmie Noone, Sidney Bechet, Midge Williams, Tommy Dorsey, and Billie Holiday. He ...

, trumpet *

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, ...

, piano *

Barney Kessel 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 a ...

, guitar *

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 * Ray Brown, bass

April 14, 1954 recordings

(Tracks B2-B4) *

, vocals *

, trumpet *

, piano *

Herb Ellis Mitchell Herbert Ellis (August 4, 1921 – March 28, 2010), known professionally as Herb Ellis, was an American jazz guitarist. During the 1950s, he was in a trio with pianist Oscar Peterson. Biography Born in Farmersville, Texas, and raised ...

, guitar *

Ed Shaughnessy Edwin Thomas "Ed" Shaughnessy (January 29, 1929 – May 24, 2013) was a swing music and jazz drummer long associated with Doc Severinsen and a member of The Tonight Show Band on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson''. Biography Shaughn ...

, drums * Ray Brown, bass

References

{{Authority control Billie Holiday albums 1954 albums Clef Records albums Verve Records albums Albums produced by Norman Granz