Billie Holiday Hits

"No one has ever sung or will ever sing like Billie Holiday (1915-1959). Although her vocal range was much more limited than those of other famous jazz singers like Sarah Vaughan or Ella Fitzgerald (both of whom had an astonishing versatility from the low to the high registers), Billie made her interpretations so expressive that even the most trite lyrics sounded almost profound. This set consist of her 14 greatest hits, among them her two studio versions of the poignant protest song “Strange Fruit,” her unforgettable reading of “All of Me” with Lester Young on tenor sax, and her best recordings of her own compositions “Fine and Mellow,” “God Bless the Child,” “Lady Sings the Blues” (with music by the great Herbie Nichols), and “Don’t Explain.”