Maps of Music
Songs for Distingué Lovers (1958)
Where the lyrics of Songs for Distingué Lovers take you, and where it was really made.
The six bonus tracks on the 1997 reissue were recorded at the same 1957 sessions, yet they were taken from two other Holiday albums of the late 1950s.
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Capitol Studios, Los Angeles (1958)
Recording site Capitol Studios — The album was recorded at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles from January 3 to January 9, 1957, with Norman Granz producing. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there: See the map for directions.
Album story
Overview
- Songs for Distingué Lovers: eighth studio album by jazz singer Billie Holiday
- Released in 1958 on Verve Records
- Originally issued in mono (MGV 8257) and stereo (MGVS 6021)
- Produced by Norman Granz
- Six standards from the Great American Songbook of classic pop
Background
- Holiday sang in a small jazz band setting, a context comfortable for her
- Five of the six songs were written by songwriters later tackled by Ella Fitzgerald on her Songbooks series
- The sessions reunited Holiday with trumpeter Harry Edison and saxophonist Ben Webster
- Edison had been a member of the Count Basie Orchestra during Holiday's brief stay as the band's female singer
- Webster had recorded under her own name for Vocalion Records and Okeh Records
Recording
- Recorded at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles from January 3 to January 9, 1957
- Personnel: Holiday (vocals), Harry Edison (trumpet), Ben Webster (tenor saxophone), Jimmy Rowles (piano), Barney Kessel (guitar)
- Double bass and drums changed by track: Red Mitchell, Alvin Stoller, Joe Mondragon and Larry Bunker
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org
Tracklist
| 1 | Day In, Day Out | 6:51 |
| 2 | A Foggy Day | 4:44 |
| 3 | Stars Fell on Alabama | 4:32 |
| 4 | One for My Baby (and One More for the Road) | 5:43 |
| 5 | Just One of Those Things | 5:35 |
| 6 | I Didn't Know What Time It Was | 6:08 |
| 7 | Let's Call the Whole Thing Off | 3:27 |
| 8 | I Wished on the Moon | 3:29 |
| 9 | They Can't Take That Away From Me | 4:14 |
| 10 | Body and Soul | 6:26 |
| 11 | Moonlight in Vermont | 3:53 |
| 12 | Love Is Here to Stay | 3:42 |
Sources: musicbrainz.org
Artist
Formation
- Born Eleanora Fagan on April 7, 1915, in Philadelphia; grew up in Baltimore.
- Began singing in Harlem nightclubs as a young teenager, taking her stage name from actress Billie Dove and her father Clarence Halliday.
- Discovered by producer John Hammond, who arranged her recording debut in November 1933 with Benny Goodman.
Members
- Solo artist; frequent collaborators included pianist Teddy Wilson and tenor saxophonist Lester Young, who nicknamed her "Lady Day".
Career
- Signed to Brunswick in 1935; recorded many sessions with Teddy Wilson, including "What a Little Moonlight Can Do".
- Toured with Count Basie and Artie Shaw in 1937–1938, among the first Black women to work with a white orchestra.
- Recorded "Strange Fruit" for Commodore in 1939, which became her best-selling record.
- Had hits on Decca in the 1940s, including "Lover Man" and "God Bless the Child".
- Arrested for narcotics in 1947 and sentenced to prison; returned to perform a sold-out Carnegie Hall concert in 1948.
- Recorded for Verve and Columbia in the 1950s, including the album Lady in Satin (1958).
- Died on July 17, 1959, at age 44 from cirrhosis and heart failure.
- Won four posthumous Grammy Awards; inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Reception
At release
- Released by Verve Records in 1958, the eighth studio album by Billie Holiday
- Mono edition catalogue number MGV 8257, stereo edition MGVS 6021
- Recorded at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles from January 3 to January 9, 1957
- Its sessions brought Holiday back together with Harry Edison and Ben Webster
Reappraisal
- Verve reissued the album on October 28, 1997 in its Master Edition series
- The reissue was remastered using 20-bit technology and added six bonus tracks
- The bonus tracks were all recorded at the same sessions
- Two bonus tracks came from All or Nothing At All, and four came from Body and Soul
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Trivia
- Discogs release notes say all selections were recorded in 1/57, meaning January 1957.
- Five of the six original songs were written by songwriters that Ella Fitzgerald later covered in her Songbooks series.
- Harry Edison had played in the Count Basie Orchestra during Holiday's brief time as that band's female singer.
- The bonus tracks "I Wished on the Moon" and "Love Is Here to Stay" came from All or Nothing At All.
- Jimmy Rowles (piano) and Barney Kessel (guitar) completed the core lineup alongside Holiday, Edison and Webster.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com
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