Fine and Mellow
Her own blues, recorded for Commodore on the day of Strange Fruit and filmed in 1957 with Lester Young.
Billie Holiday (1939)
- Written by
- Billie Holiday
- Released
- 1939
Holiday wrote this blues. She first recorded it for Commodore on 20 April 1939, the same day as Strange Fruit. Milt Gabler credited it as the jukebox hit on the other side of that record.
In 1957 the CBS program The Sound of Jazz broadcast her performance with a band that included Ben Webster, Lester Young, Vic Dickenson, Gerry Mulligan, Coleman Hawkins and Roy Eldridge on solos, with Doc Cheatham on trumpet, Danny Barker on guitar, Milt Hinton on bass, Mal Waldron on piano and Osie Johnson on drums. Her interplay with her old friend Lester Young is the memorable part. She also sang it at Carnegie Hall on 10 November 1956.
On stage
- 1957, CBS, The Sound of Jazz Television performance with Lester Young, Ben Webster and Coleman Hawkins among the soloists.
- 1956-11-10, Carnegie Hall, New York Second of two concerts that day, later released as The Essential Billie Holiday.
Covers and versions
- Nina Simone (1959) On the album At Town Hall.
- Dee Dee Bridgewater On her Billie Holiday tribute album.
- Eva Cassidy Sung in a defiant tone.
- Lou Rawls Changed the gender in the lyric.
More songs by Billie Holiday
Strange Fruit, God Bless the Child, Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?), I'm a Fool to Want You, Good Morning Heartache
Sources
- Fine and Mellow, Wikipedia
- Billie Holiday, Wikipedia
- Strange Fruit, Wikipedia