Lady in Satin
by Billie Holiday
- Type: Album
- Released: June 1958
- Label: Columbia
- Country: United States
- Length: 1:05:18
- Community rating: 4.22/5 from 5 ratings
Album Notes & Community Reviews
Billie Holiday's penultimate album, 'Lady in Satin', deliberately moved away from her small jazz combo work, instead featuring the singer's personally requested lavish and delicate orchestral arrangements from Ray Ellis. The production places Holiday's fragile, weathered voice, altered by years of hardship and abuse, against a lush backdrop of strings and choir. While retaining her masterful phrasing and emotional depth, the album's sound was initially divisive but is now considered a poignant and raw interpretation of Great American Songbook standards, and the last album released in her lifetime.
Genres
Descriptors: vocal, moody, strings, political, devastating
Tracklist
- I'm a Fool to Want You (3:25)
- For Heaven's Sake (3:28)
- You Don't Know What Love Is (3:50)
- I Get Along Without You Very Well (3:00)
- For All We Know (2:55)
- Violets for Your Furs (3:26)
- You've Changed (3:46)
- It's Easy to Remember (4:03)
- But Beautiful (4:31)
- Glad to Be Unhappy (4:08)
- I'll Be Around (3:25)
- The End of a Love Affair (4:53)
- I'm a Fool to Want You (3:25)
- I'm a Fool to Want You (with Ray Ellis & His Orchestra) - Take 2 [Alternate] (3:25)
- The End of a Love Affair - The Audio Story (9:53)
- The End of a Love Affair (4:53)
Credits
- Billie Holiday - vocals, Primary Artist
- Ray Ellis - arranger, conductor, liner notes [may 1997]
- Mel Davis - trumpet
- Urbie Green - trombone
- J. J. Johnson - trombone
- George Ockner - violin and concertmaster
- David Soyer - cello
- Janet Putnam - harp
- Danny Bank - flute, woodwind
- Phil Bodner - flute, woodwind
- Romeo Penque - flute, woodwind
- Tom Mitchell - trombone
- Mal Waldron - piano
- Barry Galbraith - guitar
- Milt Hinton - bass
- Osie Johnson - drums
- Elise Bretton - backing vocals, soprano vocals, Written-By
- Miriam Workman - backing vocals, soprano vocals
- Claus Ogerman - arranger
- Emmanual Green - violin
- Harry Hoffman - violin
- Harry Katzmann - violin
- Leo Kruczek - violin
- Milton Lomask - violin
- Harry Meinikoff - violin
- David Newman - violin
- Samuel Rand - violin
- David Sarcer - violin
- Sid Brecher - viola
- Richard Dichler - viola
- Maurice Brown - cello
- Tom Parshley - flute
- Billy Butterfield - trumpet
- Jimmy Ochner - trumpet
- Bernie Glow - trumpet
- Jack Green - trombone
- Lois - soprano vocals
- Phil Kraus - percussion
- Irving Townsend - producer, liner notes
- Fred Plaut - engineer
- Phil Schaap - reissue producer, digitally mastered by
- Arnold Newman - photography by
- Howard Fritzson - art direction [reissue]
- Patti Matheny - coordinator [a&r coordination]
- Randall Martin - design [reissue]
- Debra Parkinson - digitally mastered by
- Mark Wilder - digitally mastered by
- Don Hunstein - photography by [liner, back cover]
- Seth Rothstein - product manager [project director]
- Ray Ellis And His Orchestra - Primary Artist
- Frank Sinatra - Written-By
- Jack Wolf - Written-By
- Joel Herron - Written-By
- Donald Meyer - Written-By
- Sherman Edwards - Written-By
- Don Raye - Written-By
- Gene DePaul - Written-By
- Hoagy Carmichael - Written-By
- J. Fred Coots - Written-By
- Sam Lewis - Written-By