''Billie Holiday Sings'' (MGC-118) is a 10-inch LP album made 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 s ...

, released in the United States by

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 1952. It was her first album for the label, and her first album of original material, following several compilations of previously released 78rpm sides for Columbia,

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

, and

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

. In 1956, when the 10-inch format was phased out, the album was reissued by

as ''Solitude'' (MG C-690), with four extra tracks recorded at a second session sometime in April 1952 (exact date unknown), with the same musicians.''Billie Holiday Discography''
accessed December 23, 2015. The final track, " Tenderly", had been previously released on her second 10-inch LP, ''

An Evening with Billie Holiday ''An Evening with Billie Holiday'' (MG C-144) is the second 10-inch LP studio album by jazz singer Billie Holiday, released by Clef Records in 1953. In 1956, when the 10-inch format was phased out, the album was reissued by Clef with the ...

'' (MG C-144). The other three new songs had been previously released on her third 10-inch LP, simply titled ''

'' (MG C-161).

Track listing

1952 10" LP, ''Billie Holiday Sings''

;A side # "

I Only Have Eyes for You "I Only Have Eyes for You" is a romantic love song by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Al Dubin, written for the film ''Dames'' (1934) when Dick Powell introduced it. Several successful recordings of the song were made in 1934; later, there we ...

" ( Al Dubin, Harry Warren) – 2:57 # "You Turned the Tables on Me" (

Louis Alter Louis Alter (June 18, 1902 – November 5, 1980) was an American pianist, songwriter and composer. At 13, he began playing piano in theaters showing silent films. He studied at the New England Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Stuar ...

, Sidney D. Mitchell) – 3:29 # " Blue Moon" ( Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) – 3:31 # "

(In My) Solitude "(In My) Solitude" is a 1934 composition by Duke Ellington, with lyrics by Eddie DeLange and Irving Mills. It has been recorded numerous times and is considered a jazz standard. Ellington reported that he composed it in a recording studio in 20 m ...

" (

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 ...

, Duke Ellington, Irving Mills) – 3:31 ;B side # "

These Foolish Things "These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)" is a standard with lyrics by Eric Maschwitz, writing under the pseudonym Holt Marvell, and music by Jack Strachey, both Englishmen. Harry Link, an American, sometimes appears as a co-writer; his input ...

" (

Harry Link Harry Link (born John Harry Linkey, January 25, 1896, Philadelphia – July 5, 1956, New York City) was an American vaudeville actor and songwriter. He wrote and co-wrote several well-known jazz standards. Career Link studied at the Wharton S ...

Holt Marvell Albert Eric Maschwitz OBE (10 June 1901 – 27 October 1969), sometimes credited as Holt Marvell, was an English entertainer, writer, editor, broadcaster and broadcasting executive. Life and work Born in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England, and desc ...

, Jack Strachey) – 3:38 # " (You'd Be So) Easy to Love" ( Cole Porter) – 3:01 # "

You Go to My Head "You Go to My Head" is a 1938 popular song composed by J. Fred Coots with lyrics by Haven Gillespie. Numerous versions of the song have been recorded, and it has since become a pop and jazz standard. Melody and lyrics Alec Wilder terms Coots' me ...

" ( J. Fred Coots,

Haven Gillespie James Lamont Gillespie (February 6, 1888 – March 14, 1975) pen name Haven Gillespie, was an American Tin Pan Alley composer and lyricist. He was the writer of "You Go to My Head", "Honey", "By the Sycamore Tree", "That Lucky Old Sun", " Breezi ...

) – 2:56 # "

East of the Sun (and West of the Moon) "East of the Sun (and West of the Moon)" is a popular song written by Brooks Bowman, an undergraduate member of Princeton University's Class of 1936, for the 1934 production of the Princeton Triangle Club's production of Stags at Bay. It was pub ...

" ( Brooks Bowman) – 2:54

1956 12" LP, ''Solitude''

;A side # "

" ( Brooks Bowman) – 2:54 # " Blue Moon" ( Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) – 3:31 # "

" ( J. Fred Coots,

) – 2:56 # " You Turned the Tables on Me" (

, Sidney D. Mitchell) – 3:29 # "

You'd Be So Easy to Love "(You'd Be So) Easy to Love" is a popular song written by Cole Porter for William Gaxton to sing in the 1934 Broadway show '' Anything Goes''. However Gaxton was unhappy about its wide vocal range and it was cut from the musical. Porter re-wrote ...

" ( Cole Porter) – 3:01 # "

" (

, Jack Strachey) – 3:38 ;B side # "

" ( Al Dubin, Harry Warren) – 2:57 # "

" (

, Duke Ellington, Irving Mills) – 3:31 # " 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) – 3:43 # " Love for Sale" (Porter) – 2:56 # " Moonglow" (

, Will Hudson, Irving Mills) – 2:58 # " Tenderly" ( Walter Gross, Jack Lawrence) – 3:23

Personnel

Performance

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

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 ...

–

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 ...

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 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 ...

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 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 ...

* Ray Brown –

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...

* Barney Kessel –

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 ...

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

Production

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 impres ...

– producer *

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 ...

– artwork (''Billie Holiday Sings'') * Alex de Paula - artwork (''Solitude'')

References

{{Authority control 1952 albums 1956 albums Billie Holiday albums Clef Records albums Verve Records albums Albums produced by Norman Granz Albums with cover art by David Stone Martin Albums recorded at Radio Recorders