 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(July 2016) |
| "Fine and Mellow" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Billie Holiday | ||||
| A-side | "Strange Fruit" | |||
| Released | 1939 | |||
| Recorded | April 20, 1939 | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Label | Commodore | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Billie Holiday | |||
| Billie Holiday singles chronology | ||||
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"Fine and Mellow" is a jazz standard written by Billie Holiday, [1] who first recorded it on April 20, 1939 on the Commodore label. [2] It is a blues lamenting the bad treatment of a woman at the hands of "my man".
The song was famously performed by Billie Holiday in 1957 in a television special, The Sound of Jazz . [3] The line-up included several jazz legends (the first six are listed in the order of their solos):
It has been covered several times, sometimes with a change in lyrics or emphasis. For example, Lou Rawls switched the gender to a girlfriend [4] and Eva Cassidy sang it in a defiant tone. Notable cover versions were sung by Nina Simone (on the 1959 At Town Hall ), Dee Dee Bridgewater on her Billie Holiday tribute album, and Ella Fitzgerald on her eponymous album.
"The Sound of Jazz" is a 1957 edition of the CBS television series The Seven Lively Arts and was one of the first major programs featuring jazz to air on American network television.
James Carter is an American jazz musician widely recognized for his technical virtuosity on saxophones and a variety of woodwinds. He is the cousin of noted jazz violinist Regina Carter.
Curtis Edward Amy was an American jazz saxophonist.
Lester Willis Young, nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist.
A Perfect Match is a 1979 live album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, accompanied by the Count Basie Orchestra, and featuring Count Basie himself on the last track.
Fine and Mellow is an album by Ella Fitzgerald, recorded in early 1974 but not released until 1979. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album in 1980, Fitzgerald's second win in four years.
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book is a 1957 studio album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, accompanied by Duke Ellington and his orchestra, focusing on Ellington's songs.
Dear Ella is a 1997 studio album by Dee Dee Bridgewater, recorded in tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, who had died the previous year.
"God Bless the Child" is a song written by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog Jr. in 1939. It was first recorded on May 9, 1941, by Billie Holiday and released by the Okeh Records in 1942.
"Lady Sings the Blues" is a song written by jazz singer Billie Holiday and jazz pianist Herbie Nichols.
"Don't Explain" is a song written by jazz singer Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog Jr. It was Holiday's final song.
"Miss Brown to You" is a song with music composed by Richard A. Whiting and Ralph Rainger, and lyrics written by Leo Robin.
Lady Sings the Blues is an album by American jazz vocalist Billie Holiday released in December 1956. It was Holiday's last album released on Clef Records; the following year, the label would be absorbed by Verve Records. Lady Sings the Blues was taken from sessions taped during 1954 and 1956. It was released simultaneously with her ghostwritten autobiography of the same name.
Eleanora Fagan (1915–1959): To Billie with Love From Dee Dee Bridgewater is a 2009 studio album by Dee Dee Bridgewater, recorded in tribute to Billie Holiday. It won the 2011 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album, Bridgewater's third Grammy win in her career. Bridgewater had previously starred in Lady Day in the late 1980s, a biographical play about Holiday.
Fine and Mellow: Live at Birdland West is a 1988 live album by Carmen McRae.
Blue Gardenia is the twenty-fifth studio album by Etta James, released through the record label Private Music. It was produced by John Snyder, who had worked with James on five of her previous studio albums. Blue Gardenia contains thirteen jazz standards from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. All of the standards were arranged by pianist Cedar Walton, with the exception of "Love Letters", which was arranged by Josh Sklair. Between November 2000 and February 2001, Snyder and Walton assembled musicians to record tracks while James was recovering from a flu; her vocals were added following her recovery. In addition to Walton, artists appearing on the album included Red Holloway on tenor saxophone and Dorothy Hawkins, James' mother, who provided vocals on the title track. Hawkins died in May 2002, less than a year after the album's release.
Women in jazz have contributed throughout the many eras of jazz history, both as performers and as composers, songwriters and bandleaders. While women such as Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald were famous for their jazz singing, women have achieved much less recognition for their contributions as composers, bandleaders and instrumental performers. Other notable jazz women include piano player Lil Hardin Armstrong and jazz songwriters Irene Higginbotham and Dorothy Fields.
The Essential Billie Holiday: Carnegie Hall Concert Recorded Live is a live album by jazz singer Billie Holiday that was recorded on November 10, 1956 at Carnegie Hall in New York City. The two sets promoted Billie Holiday's autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues.
The Complete Commodore & Decca Masters is a 3CD box set of recordings by Billie Holiday, released by Hip-O Records in 2009, compiling all the master takes released as 78rpm singles by Commodore and Decca Records. It includes an essay by Ashley Kahn.
Harlem on My Mind is a studio album by American jazz singer Catherine Russell, released on September 9, 2016. It earned Russell a Grammy Award nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album.
