Last Recordings
Encyclopedia
Last Recordings, originally titled Billie Holiday before her death, is the last album of Billie Holiday
released in 1959.
(1958), Billie Holiday wanted to record another album with arranger Ray Ellis
. When she returned to the studio in March 1959, jazz critic and friend of Holiday's Leonard Feather
, said Holiday "walked into the studio statuesque and sharp as ever."
Unlike Lady In Satin, Billie Holiday had a lighter string orchestra, minus the choir, and more horns, including a saxophone and a more jazz like feeling. Songs like "All of You", "'Deed I Do", and "Baby Won't You Please Come Home" have a lighter and happier tempo and do not include strings.
Holiday told Ellis she wanted to “sound like Sinatra” on this album; but she was in such poor health from years of difficulty and substance abuse that a nurse sometimes had to help keep her propped up on a high stool as she sang.
During the time of recording Billie Holiday, Holiday's health was taking its toll. Some say that she did not look like herself at all, and looked like a ghost of what she once was.
said that the producers "accidentally" adjusted the speed at 1/4 pitch faster in the studio making Holiday's voice high pitched in some songs like "You Took Advantage of Me". In this album, her voice sounds much older than a woman 50 years old, but it turns out Holiday made this album shy of her 44th birthday.
, her jazz friend.
After the album was finished being made on March 11, 1959, Billie Holiday's life long friend Lester Young
died on March 15, 1959, 4 days after Holiday's last album was done.
Billie Holiday died 5 months later on July 17, 1959 at the age of 44.
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
released in 1959.
Content
After the success of her album, Lady in SatinLady in Satin
Lady in Satin is an album by jazz singer Billie Holiday released in 1958 on Columbia Records, catalogue CL 1157 in mono and CS 8048 in stereo. It is the next to final album completed by the singer and released in her lifetime...
(1958), Billie Holiday wanted to record another album with arranger Ray Ellis
Ray Ellis
Ray Ellis was an American record producer, arranger and conductor. The orchestration for Billie Holiday's Lady in Satin is probably his best known work in the jazz vein.-Biography:...
. When she returned to the studio in March 1959, jazz critic and friend of Holiday's Leonard Feather
Leonard Feather
Leonard Geoffrey Feather was a British-born jazz pianist, composer, and producer who was best known for his music journalism and other writing.-Biography:...
, said Holiday "walked into the studio statuesque and sharp as ever."
Unlike Lady In Satin, Billie Holiday had a lighter string orchestra, minus the choir, and more horns, including a saxophone and a more jazz like feeling. Songs like "All of You", "'Deed I Do", and "Baby Won't You Please Come Home" have a lighter and happier tempo and do not include strings.
Holiday told Ellis she wanted to “sound like Sinatra” on this album; but she was in such poor health from years of difficulty and substance abuse that a nurse sometimes had to help keep her propped up on a high stool as she sang.
During the time of recording Billie Holiday, Holiday's health was taking its toll. Some say that she did not look like herself at all, and looked like a ghost of what she once was.
Voice
By the year 1959, Billie Holiday's voice had taken a toll due to use of hard drugs and alcohol. It is evident that her voice had changed for the worse since her release of Lady In Satin. Producer and arranger Ray EllisRay Ellis
Ray Ellis was an American record producer, arranger and conductor. The orchestration for Billie Holiday's Lady in Satin is probably his best known work in the jazz vein.-Biography:...
said that the producers "accidentally" adjusted the speed at 1/4 pitch faster in the studio making Holiday's voice high pitched in some songs like "You Took Advantage of Me". In this album, her voice sounds much older than a woman 50 years old, but it turns out Holiday made this album shy of her 44th birthday.
Facts
In the song "There'll Be Some Changes Made", Holiday replaces the name Jack Benny in the lyric "Even Jack Benny has been changin' his jokes" to Frank SinatraFrank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, her jazz friend.
After the album was finished being made on March 11, 1959, Billie Holiday's life long friend Lester Young
Lester Young
Lester Willis Young , nicknamed "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. He also played trumpet, violin, and drums....
died on March 15, 1959, 4 days after Holiday's last album was done.
Billie Holiday died 5 months later on July 17, 1959 at the age of 44.
Track listing
- "All of YouAll of You"All of You" is a popular song written by Cole Porter and published in 1954.It was featured in the musical film Silk Stockings and been recorded by Fred Astaire, Bobby Darin, Ella Fitzgerald on her 1972 album: Ella Loves Cole, Billie Holiday, Tony Martin, and Anita O'Day.The jazz pianist Bill Evans...
" - (Cole PorterCole PorterCole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
) -2:30 - "Sometimes I'm Happy" - (Irving CaesarIrving CaesarIrving Caesar was an American lyricist and theater composer who wrote lyrics for "Swanee," "Sometimes I'm Happy," "Crazy Rhythm," and "Tea for Two," one of the most frequently recorded tunes ever written. He was born and died in New York.Caesar, the son of Morris Keiser, a Romanian Jew, was...
, Clifford Gray, Vincent Youmans) -2:46 - "You Took Advantage of MeYou Took Advantage of Me"You Took Advantage of Me" is a 1928 popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart for the musical Present Arms , where it was introduced by Joyce Barbour and Busby Berkeley as the characters Edna Stevens and Douglas Atwell....
" - (Richard Rogers, Lorenz Hart) - 2:46 - "When It's Sleepy Time Down SouthWhen It's Sleepy Time Down South"When It's Sleepy Time Down South", also known as "Sleepy Time Down South", is a 1931 jazz song written by Clarence Muse, Leon René and Otis René. It was sung in the movie Safe in Hell by Nina Mae McKinney, and became the theme song of Louis Armstrong, who recorded it almost a hundred times during...
" - (Leon Rene, Otis Rene, Clarence Muse) - 4:04 - "There'll Be Some Changes MadeThere'll Be Some Changes Made"There'll Be Some Changes Made" is a popular song with music by Benton Overstreet and lyrics by Billy Higgins, published in 1921. The song is a jazz standard, with many recordings having been made.-References in popular culture:...
" - (W. Benton Overstreet, Billy Higgins) - 2:52 - " 'Deed I Do'Deed I Do"Deed I Do" is a 1926 jazz standard composed by Fred Rose with lyrics by Walter Hirsch. It was introduced by vaudeville performer S. L. Stambaugh and popularized by Ben Bernie's recording. It was recorded by influential clarinetist and bandleader Benny Goodman as his debut recording in December...
" - (Walter Hirsch, Fred Rose) - 2:14 - "Don't Worry 'Bout MeDon't Worry 'bout Me"Don't Worry 'bout Me" is a 1938 song composed by Rube Bloom, with lyrics written by Ted Koehler.-Notable recordings:*Dave Brubeck - Jazz Goes to College *Ella Fitzgerald - Newport Jazz Festival: Live at Carnegie Hall...
" - (Ted KoehlerTed KoehlerTed L. Koehler was an American lyricist.-Life and career:Koehler was born in Washington, D.C. He started out as a photo-engraver but was attracted to the music business, where he started out as a theater pianist for silent films. He moved on to write for vaudeville shows and Broadway, and he also...
, Rube BloomRube BloomReuben Bloom was a Jewish American multi-faceted entertainer, and in addition to being a songwriter, pianist, arranger, band leader, recording artist, vocalist, and writer .During his career, he worked with many well-known performers, including Bix Beiderbecke, Joe Venuti, Ruth Etting,...
) - 3:08 - "All the Way" - (Sammy Cahn, Jimmy Van Heusen) - 3:22
- "Just One More Chance" - (Sam Coslow, Arthur Johnston) - 3:43
- "It's Not for Me to Say" - (Al Stillman, Robert Allen) - 2:25
- "I'll Never Smile AgainI'll Never Smile Again"I'll Never Smile Again" is a 1939 song written by Ruth Lowe.The most successful and best known version of the song was recorded by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra, with vocals provided by Frank Sinatra and The Pied Pipers. This recording was released as a Victor 78, 26628A, in 1940...
" - (Ruth LoweRuth LoweRuth Lowe was a Canadian pianist and songwriter. She wrote the song "I'll Never Smile Again" after her husband died during surgery...
) - 3:23 - "Baby Won't You Please Come HomeBaby Won't You Please Come Home"Baby Won't You Please Come Home" is a blues song written by Charles Warfield and Clarence Williams in 1919. The song's authorship is disputed; Warfield claims that he was the sole composer of the song....
" - (Charles Warfield, Clarence Williams) - 3:03