Studio Album · No. 7
Lady in Satin Songwriting Credits by Billie Holiday
Produced by Irving Townsend · Engineered by Fred Plaut
Holds writing credit on 0 of 12 tracks
Authorship Breakdown 0 / 12 documented
Scored across the 12 tracks with documented writers, by whether Billie Holiday carries a lyricist or composer credit.
Share of the 12 tracks where a band member is credited, by role.
By the Numbers
Billie Holiday writes none of Lady in Satin. She is a pure interpreter here, taking twelve standards from the American songbook and reshaping them with her worn late voice over Ray Ellis's orchestral arrangements. The writing credits belong to established songbook names: Frank Sinatra, Jack Wolf, and Joel Herron on 'I'm a Fool to Want You'; Bill Carey and Carl Fischer on 'You've Changed'; Hoagy Carmichael on 'I Get Along Without You Very Well'; Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart on 'It's Easy to Remember' and 'Glad to Be Unhappy'; Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke on 'But Beautiful'; and Alec Wilder on 'I'll Be Around.' The composer column uses these writers' legal birth names where they differ from the names on the label, for example Edward Chester Babcock for Van Heusen and Gene Vincent de Paul for Gene de Paul. The album's authorship story is entirely in the performance, not the pen.
Lady in Satin is the penultimate studio album by Billie Holiday, released by Columbia Records in June 1958 and her first for the label in sixteen years. It sets her voice against a lush 40-piece orchestra arranged and conducted by Ray Ellis, a departure from the small jazz combos of her earlier work. By this point her instrument was frayed and weathered by years of hard living, and the record trades range and agility for raw emotional weight. Every song is a standard she interprets rather than writes, drawn from the American songbook and centered on themes of loss and longing, including 'I'm a Fool to Want You' and 'You've Changed.' Columbia gave the project an unusually large budget, and the result is one of the most divisive and admired albums of her late career. Holiday died the following year, making this near-final statement a document of a singer wringing meaning from a voice in decline.
Track Listing & Credits 12 tracks
| # | Title | Lyricist(s) | Composer(s) | Producer(s) | Performers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
I'm a Fool to Want You
|
Frank SinatraJack WolfJoel Herron | Francis Albert SinatraJack WolfJoel Herron | Irving Townsend | Billie Holiday (Vocals)Ray Ellis (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 2 |
For Heaven's Sake
|
Elise BrettonSherman EdwardsDonald Meyer | Elise BrettonSherman EdwardsDonald Meyer | Irving Townsend | Billie Holiday (Vocals)Ray Ellis (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 3 |
You Don't Know What Love Is
|
Don RayeGene de Paul | Donald MacRae Wilhoite Jr.Gene Vincent de Paul | Irving Townsend | Billie Holiday (Vocals)Ray Ellis (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 4 |
I Get Along Without You Very Well
|
Hoagy Carmichael | Hoagland Howard Carmichael | Irving Townsend | Billie Holiday (Vocals)Ray Ellis (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 5 |
For All We Know
|
Sam M. LewisJ. Fred Coots | Sam M. LewisJohn Frederick Coots | Irving Townsend | Billie Holiday (Vocals)Ray Ellis (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 6 |
Violets for Your Furs
|
Tom AdairMatt Dennis | Tom AdairMatthew Loveland Dennis | Irving Townsend | Billie Holiday (Vocals)Ray Ellis (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 7 |
You've Changed
|
Bill CareyCarl Fischer | Bill CareyCarl Fischer | Irving Townsend | Billie Holiday (Vocals)Ray Ellis (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 8 |
It's Easy to Remember
|
Lorenz HartRichard Rodgers | Lorenz Milton HartRichard Charles Rodgers | Irving Townsend | Billie Holiday (Vocals)Ray Ellis (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 9 |
But Beautiful
|
Johnny BurkeJimmy Van Heusen | John Francis BurkeEdward Chester Babcock | Irving Townsend | Billie Holiday (Vocals)Ray Ellis (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 10 |
Glad to Be Unhappy
|
Lorenz HartRichard Rodgers | Lorenz Milton HartRichard Charles Rodgers | Irving Townsend | Billie Holiday (Vocals)Ray Ellis (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 11 |
I'll Be Around
|
Alec Wilder | Alexander Lafayette Chew Wilder | Irving Townsend | Billie Holiday (Vocals)Ray Ellis (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 12 |
The End of a Love Affair
|
Edward Redding | Edward Redding | Irving Townsend | Billie Holiday (Vocals)Ray Ellis (Arranger, Conductor) |