"God Bless the Child" is a song written 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 ...

and Arthur Herzog Jr. in 1939. It was first recorded on May 9, 1941, by Billie Holiday and released by the

Okeh Records Okeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name was spelled "OkeH" from the initials of Ott ...

in 1942. Holiday's version of the song was honored with the

Grammy Hall of Fame Award The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

in 1976. It was also included in the list of ''

Songs of the Century The "Songs of the Century" list is part of an education project by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the National Endowment for the Arts, and Scholastic Inc. that aims to "promote a better understanding of America's musical and ...

'', by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

and the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

Billie Holiday recording sessions

Billie Holiday recorded the song three times. First recording (Session #44, Columbia/Okeh): Columbia Studio A, 799 Seventh Avenue, New York City, May 9, 1941,

Eddie Heywood Edward Heywood Jr. (December 4, 1915 – January 3, 1989) was an American jazz pianist particularly active in the 1940s and 1950s. Biography Heywood was born in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. His father, Eddie Heywood Sr., was also a jazz m ...

and his Orchestra with

Roy Eldridge David Roy Eldridge (January 30, 1911 – February 26, 1989), nicknamed "Little Jazz", was an American jazz trumpeter. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos exhibiting a departure from ...

(trumpet), Jimmy Powell and Lester Boone (alto saxophone), Ernie Powell (trumpet),

(piano), Johan Robins (guitar), Paul Chapman (guitar),

Grachan Moncur II Grachan Moncur II (sometimes credited as Grachan Moncur, born September 2, 1915 – November 3, 1996) was an American jazz bassist with the Savoy Sultans. Early life Moncur was a multi-instrumentalist as a teenager, learning trombone, tuba, a ...

(bass),

Herbert Cowans Herbert "Kat" Cowans or Cowens (born May 24, 1904 - Jan. 23rd, 1993) was an American jazz drummer born in Texas. Cowans worked as a shoeshine boy as a child. His first professional engagement as a drummer was with the Satisfied Five, a local T ...

(drums),

(vocal). Second recording (Session #65, her final Decca session): Los Angeles March 8, 1950, Gordon Jenkins and his Orchestra (CD: Complete Decca vol.2, tk 23 & 24) Dick ‘Dent’ Eckles (fl)(ts) Charles LaVere (p) ‘Bob’ Bain (g) Lou Butterman (b) Nick Fatool (d) Billie Holiday (v) The Gordon Jenkins Singer chorus + 4 Strings Third and final recording (Session #76, Verve): New York City, June 7, 1956, Billie Holiday with Tony Scott & his Orchestra (CD The Complete BH on Verve, viol. 7 tk 5-8) Charlie Shavers (tp) Tony Scott (cl) Paul Quinichette (ts) Wynton Kelly (p) Kennie Burrell (g) Aaron Bell (b) Lennie Mc Browne (d) Billie Holiday (v)

Origin and interpretation

In her autobiography ''Lady Sings the Blues'' Holiday indicated that an argument with her mother over money led to the song. She stated that during the argument she said "God bless the child that's got his own." The anger over the incident led her to use that line as the starting point for a song, which she worked out in conjunction with Herzog. In his 1990 book ''Jazz Singing'',

Will Friedwald Will Friedwald (born September 16, 1961) is an American author and music critic. He has written for newspapers that include the '' Wall Street Journal'', '' New York Times'', '' Village Voice'', '' Newsday'', '' New York Observer'', and '' New Y ...

describes the song as "sacred and profane," as it references the Bible while indicating that religion seems to have no effect in making people treat each other better.Liner notes pages 6 and 7 in ''Billie Holiday's Greatest Hits''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:God Bless The Child 1939 songs 1941 singles Billie Holiday songs Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Songs written by Arthur Herzog Jr. Songs written by Billie Holiday Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance