Capturing the singer at the height of her powers, with a roster of sidemen that includes Jack Teagarden, Roy Eldridge, Ben Webster and Lester Young, the 10CD box set presents the songs — all of them - in chronological order. CDs seven to 10 feature an additional 77 tracks consisting of alternate takes, broadcast and film soundtracks, plus two concert performances from The page CD booklet previously a whopping pages includes photos, song list and an insightful essay by Gary Giddins.
File under: essential. I was crazy for her. As a child, she even took a job doing chores and running errands for a local madam in exchange for a chance to play records on the madam's Victrola. Holiday later got a chance to work with Louis Armstrong with the two of them starring in the musical New Orleans. It climbed to the No. Holiday returned the favor, choosing to rename him "Pres" or "Prez" depending on the source. The nickname was short for president of the saxophone, according to Donald Clarke's Billie Holiday: Wishing on the Moon.
The pair became friends in the mids and later toured together with Count Basie. They also recorded together on a number of different projects, including her television special The Sound of Jazz. The song's lyrics came from a poem written by Abel Meeropol, a teacher and social activist.
He was inspired to write it after seeing a photograph of a lynching. The image so deeply disturbed him that he penned the poem in protest of racial violence. Meeropol later set the poem to music, and the resulting song found its way to Holiday.
Columbia, her record label at the time, didn't want her to record the song at first because of its controversial subject matter. Holiday ended up releasing the song on the Commodore label in , and it went on to sell a million copies. At the age of 18, Holiday was discovered by producer John Hammond while she was performing in a Harlem jazz club. Hammond was instrumental in getting Holiday recording work with an up-and-coming clarinetist and bandleader Benny Goodman.
With Goodman, she sang vocals for several tracks, including her first commercial release "Your Mother's Son-In-Law" and the top 10 hit "Riffin' the Scotch. Known for her distinctive phrasing and expressive, sometimes melancholy voice, Holiday went on to record with jazz pianist Teddy Wilson and others in Around this time, Holiday met and befriended saxophonist Lester Young, who was part of Count Basie 's orchestra on and off for years.
He even lived with Holiday and her mother Sadie for a while. Young gave Holiday the nickname "Lady Day" in — the same year she joined Basie's band. In return, she called him "Prez," which was her way of saying that she thought it was the greatest. Holiday toured with the Count Basie Orchestra in The following year, she worked with Artie Shaw and his orchestra. Holiday broke new ground with Shaw, becoming one of the first female African American vocalists to work with a white orchestra.
Promoters, however, objected to Holiday — for her race and for her unique vocal style — and she ended up leaving the orchestra out of frustration. She developed some of her trademark stage persona there — wearing gardenias in her hair and singing with her head tilted back.
Holiday recorded the song with the Commodore label instead. Holiday married James Monroe in Already known to drink, Holiday picked up her new husband's habit of smoking opium. The marriage didn't last — they later divorced — but Holiday's problems with substance abuse continued. Holiday refused and kept singing the song.
Anslinger was a widely known racist and made it his mission to take Holiday down for her drug and alcohol addiction and relentlessly pursued her all the way up until her death in That same year, Holiday had a hit with "God Bless the Child. Menu Contact. Visit Us Shopping Cart 0 items. The Homecoming Campaign Learn more. Back to search results Billie Holiday Considered by many to be one of the greatest jazz vocalists of all time, Billie Holiday triumphed over adversity to forever change the genres of jazz and pop music with her unique styling and interpretation.
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