Last Recording
Her twelfth and final studio album, made with Ray Ellis for MGM in March 1959.
Billie Holiday, 1959
- Released
- 1959
- Label
- MGM Records
Originally issued as Billie Holiday and retitled Last Recording after her death, this was her twelfth and final studio album. She wanted to make another record with Ray Ellis, but Ellis had moved from Columbia to MGM, so she switched labels as well to avoid breaching her Columbia contract. The sound is lighter than Lady in Satin, with a smaller string group, no choir and more horns. Songs such as "All of You", "'Deed I Do" and "Baby Won't You Please Come Home" have no strings. The album was completed on 11 March 1959.
In "There'll Be Some Changes Made" she replaced Jack Benny in the lyric with Frank Sinatra. The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings gave it three stars, in brackets to signal reservations about the album as a whole.
Track listing
- All of You2:30
- Sometimes I'm Happy2:46
- You Took Advantage of Me2:46
- When It's Sleepy Time Down South4:04
- There'll Be Some Changes Made2:52
- 'Deed I Do2:14
- Don't Worry 'bout Me3:08
- All the Way3:22
- Just One More Chance3:43
- It's Not for Me to Say2:25
- I'll Never Smile Again3:23
- Baby Won't You Please Come Home3:03
Personnel
- Billie Holiday vocals
- Ray Ellis arranger, conductor
- Harry Edison trumpet
- Joe Wilder trumpet
- Billy Byers trombone
- Tommy Mitchell bass trombone
- Gene Quill alto saxophone
- Al Cohn tenor saxophone
- Danny Bank baritone saxophone
- Hank Jones piano
- Barry Galbraith guitar
- Milt Hinton bass
- Osie Johnson drums
More from Billie Holiday
Lady Sings the Blues (1956), Body and Soul (1957), Lady in Satin (1958)
Sources
- Last Recording, Wikipedia
- Billie Holiday timeline, Billie Holiday official site (Estate of Billie Holiday)