My Essential Songs: Billie Holiday

If you know me, you would know that my favourite female singer in all of history is Billie Holiday. It's hard today to find people who like her as much as I do and hardly anyone listens to her anymore, it seems. (If you do, then please get in touch—my Twitter handle is @3ftMonster—I would love to love Billie Holiday with you). Anyways, Lady Day is one of the great queens of jazz and one of the greatest singers to ever grace music with their talent.

Unfortunately, Billie Holiday developed cirrhosis and was told to stop drinking so much alcohol, it wasn't long before she ignored the doctors orders and continued. She was rushed to the hospital with liver and heart disease. In fact, in one of the strangest cases in history, Billie Holiday was being targeted by the FBI after it was found she was involved in narcotics—she was finally found in the hospital. She was placed under arrest on her deathbed, read her last rites, and she finally died on the July 17, 1959. It was 3:10 AM. She died with only $0.70 in her bank account after being swindled out of her earnings by various other people.

She is buried in St. Raymond's Cemetery in Bronx, New York.

We lost an iconic singer at a young age, and even if it isn't uncommon, it is saddening. Billie Holiday paved the way for great singers of jazz and swing alike, and for black women in music. From a young age, Holiday had an incredible voice and an ear for music; she performed in halls and was gained the respect of some of the biggest names in the jazz industry during her lifetime.

She is my favourite female singer of all time and one of my favourite singers in all of history—I cannot describe how much I love and adore her music and her voice. I have compiled a list of 100 essential songs in no particular order and a bonus 30 songs at the end. So please, if we could get on with our list and I hope it makes you decide to listen to some Billie Holiday today.

Oh, and if you're really interested in her then please read her amazing autobiography: Lady Sings the Blues by Billie Holiday.

100-91

100. "Prelude to a Kiss"

99. "Road to Love"

98. "Love, Come Back to Me"

97. "Tenderly"

96. "Everything I Have is Yours"

95. "All of You"

94. "Nice Work if You Can Get It"

93. "Sophisticated Lady"

92. "Love for Sale"

91. "A Foggy Day"

90-81

90. "Violets for your Furs"

89. "Day in, Day out"

88. "Deep Song"

87. "Come Rain, Come Shine"

86. "The End of a Love Affair"

85. "Baby I Don't Cry Over You"

84. "Glad to Be Unhappy"

83. "For Heaven's Sake"

82. "Weep No More"

81. "There Is No Greater Love"

80-71

80. "You Better Go Now"

79. "No Good Man"

78. "I Loves You, Porgy"

77. "Embraceable You"

76. "Dream of Life"

75. "It's Like Reaching for the Moon"

74. "The Moon Looks Down and Laughs"

73. "Saddest Tale"

72. "One Never Knows, Does One?"

71. "Pennies From Heaven"

70-61

70. "Mandy Is Two"

69. "No Regrets"

68. "Yiddishe Momme"

67. "I'll Look Around"

66. "Moanin' Low"

65. "More Than You Know"

64. "My Last Affair"

63. "It's Not For Me to Say"

62. "Mean to Me"

61. "Romance in the Dark"

60-51

60. "As Time Goes By"

59. "Baby Get Lost"

58. "You Showed Me the Way"

57. "For Heaven's Sake"

56. "Travellin' All Alone"

55. "Softly"

54. "I'm Yours"

53. "I Cover the Waterfront"

52. "Laughing at Life"

51. "If Dreams Come True"

50-41

50. "That Ole Devil Called Love"

49. "I'm Pulling Through"

48. "I Must Have That Man"

47. "You Can't Lose a Broken Heart"

46. "I Hear Music"

45. "How Am I to Know?"

44. "Big Stuff"

43. "Jeepers Creepers"

42. "But Beautiful"

41. "I'll Be Seeing You"

40-31

40. "I'm a Fool to Want You"

39. "Solitude"

38. "Some Other Spring"

37. "Miss Brown to You"

36. "The Way You Look Tonight"

35. "My Man"

34. "Lover Man"

33. "You've Changed"

32. "Ain't Nobody's Business if I Do"

31. "If the Moon Turns Green"

30-21

30. "Travellin' Light"

29. "Detour Ahead"

28. "Crazy He Calls Me"

27. "Sing, Brother, Sing"

26. "Good Morning, Heartache"

25. "Let's Do It"

24. "All of Me"

23. "Night and Day"

22. "Body and Soul"

21. "Them There Eyes"

20-11

20. "When a Woman Loves a Man"

19. "Sailboat in the Moonlight"

18. "Sugar"

17. "You Go to My Head"

16. "I Cried for You"

15. "Billie's Blues"

14. "If You Were Mine"

13. "Easy Living"

12. "A Fine Romance"

11. "These Foolish Things"

10-1

10. "Strange Fruit"

9. "Don't Explain"

8. "Me, Myself and I"

7. "Love Me or Leave Me"

6. "Lady Sings the Blues"

5. "Gloomy Sunday"

4. "Fine and Mellow"

3. "God Bless the Child"

2. "What a Little Moonlight Can Do"

1. "Summertime"

Bonus Tracks

30. "He Ain't Got Rhythm"

29. "It's Easy to Remember"

28. "This Year's Kisses"

27. "Who Wants Love?"

26. "My Old Flame"

25. "Blues are Bluer"

24. "Please Tell Me How"

23. "Do Your Duty"

22. "Keeps on Rainin'"

21. "Now or Never"

20. "You Took Advantage of Me"

19. "Just One More Chance"

18. "I'll Never Smile Again"

17. "Rocky Mountain Blues"

16. "Guilty"

15. "No More"

14. "You're My Thrill"

13. "Yesterdays"

12. "He's Funny That Way"

11. "I Can't Face the Music"

10. "Blue Moon"

9. "Everything Happens to Me"

8. "Willow Weep for Me"

7. "How Deep is the Ocean?"

6. "I Only Have Eyes for You"

5. "I Wished on the Moon"

4. "Say It Isn't So"

3. "Storyville"

2. "You're Driving Me Crazy"

1. "My Way"

Conclusion

Billie Holiday's career spanned from around 1933 until her death in 1959, and throughout that time, she had worked and met some classic jazz singers that were contemporary to herself. She has been pictured with people like Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald, and has worked with Artie Shaw and Teddy Wilson. Count Bassie and has even performed at the famed Carnegie Hall (where people like Bob Dylan would take the stage in the 60s).

A film about her life was made starring Diana Ross. It was alright, I guess, but I didn't think Diana Ross had as much style and presence as Billie Holiday. The film was called Lady Sings the Blues and was about her life and career—especially the turbulence of that career.

On May 27, 1947, Billie Holiday was due in court for the possession of narcotics only around a week or so after winning the Metronomemagazine's popularity poll and coming fifth on the Billboard list. She was sick and vomiting, knowing that her lawyer was not coming to represent her. She plead guilty and went to prison for just under a year.

On January 22, 1949, Billie Holiday was arrested yet again; this time in her hotel room. She was in court for a contract dispute and, by now, had split with her husband and with her drug dealer. It was during this time that Holiday's songs were not played on the radio as much because of her reputation.

She spent the last 12 years of her life being banned from anywhere that sold alcohol—due to her conviction, she had her cabaret card revoked, and yet, she still managed to get alcohol. It would be this that would kill her.