Lady Sings the Blues (1956)

About this title: Taken from a pair of sessions taped during 1955-1956, Lady Sings the Blues finds Holiday in top form and backed by the sympathetic likes of tenor saxophonist Paul Quinichette, trumpeters Charlie Shavers and Harry Edison, pianist Wynton Kelly, and guitarists Kenny Burrell and Barney Kessel. And while these autumnal sides bear some of the frayed vocal moments often heard on Holiday's '50s Verve sides, the majority here still ranks with her best material. This is especially true of the cuts from the June 1956 date, which produced unparalleled versions of "No Good Man," "Some Other Spring," and ... read more

Tracks:

1. Lady Sings the Blues [Holiday/Nichols]
2. Trav'lin Light [Mundy/Mercer/Oliver]
3. I Must Have That Man [McHugh/Fields]
4. Some Other Spring [Herzog]
5. Strange Fruit [Allan]
6. No Good Man [Higginbotham/Fisher]
7. God Bless the Child [Holiday/Herzog]
8. Good Morning Heartache [Higginbotham/Fisher]
9. Love Me or Leave Me [Donaldson/Kahn]
10. Too Marvelous for Words [Mercer/Whiting]
11. Willow Weep for Me [Ronell]
12. I Thought About You [VanHeusen/Mercer]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.