Studio Album · No. 8
Last Recording Songwriting Credits by Billie Holiday
Produced by Ray Ellis
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
Every song on the album is a standard, so Billie Holiday is the interpreter, not the author, and her name does not appear in the writing credits. The songs come from the deep pop and jazz songbook: Cole Porter, Rodgers and Hart, Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen, Al Stillman and Robert Allen. Several of the credited writers worked under stage names, so the composer column carries their legal names where they differ, such as Isidor Keiser for Irving Caesar, Percival Davis for Clifford Grey, Edward Chester Babcock for Jimmy Van Heusen, and Samuel Cohen for Sammy Cahn. Ray Ellis produced, arranged, and conducted every track.
Last Recording is the final studio album by Billie Holiday, recorded on March 3, 4, and 11, 1959 and released by MGM Records that July. Originally issued under the plain title Billie Holiday, it was renamed Last Recording after her death and reunited her with arranger and conductor Ray Ellis, who had shaped the strings on Lady in Satin the year before. Ellis pulled back the heavy orchestration this time, framing her voice with a smaller jazz group of horns and rhythm players including Harry Edison, Hank Jones, and Milt Hinton. The twelve tracks are all standards, from Cole Porter's 'All of You' to Ruth Lowe's 'I'll Never Smile Again,' sung by a voice worn thin by illness yet still unmistakably her own. Holiday finished the sessions four days before Lester Young died on March 15, 1959, and she herself died on July 17, 1959 at age 44, four months after the last date. The record is the closing statement of one of the defining voices in jazz.
Track Listing & Credits 12 tracks
| # | Title | Lyricist(s) | Composer(s) | Producer(s) | Performers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
All of You
|
Cole Porter | Cole Porter | Ray Ellis | Billie Holiday (Lead Vocals)Ray Ellis (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 2 |
Sometimes I'm Happy
|
Irving CaesarClifford GreyVincent Youmans | Isidor KeiserPercival DavisVincent Youmans | Ray Ellis | Billie Holiday (Lead Vocals)Ray Ellis (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 3 |
You Took Advantage of Me
|
Richard RodgersLorenz Hart | Richard RodgersLorenz Hart | Ray Ellis | Billie Holiday (Lead Vocals)Ray Ellis (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 4 |
When It's Sleepy Time Down South
|
Leon RenéOtis RenéClarence Muse | Leon RenéOtis RenéClarence Muse | Ray Ellis | Billie Holiday (Lead Vocals)Ray Ellis (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 5 |
There'll Be Some Changes Made
|
W. Benton OverstreetBilly Higgins | W. Benton OverstreetBilly Higgins | Ray Ellis | Billie Holiday (Lead Vocals)Ray Ellis (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 6 |
'Deed I Do
|
Walter HirschFred Rose | Walter HirschKnowles Fred Rose | Ray Ellis | Billie Holiday (Lead Vocals)Ray Ellis (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 7 |
Don't Worry 'bout Me
|
Ted KoehlerRube Bloom | Ted KoehlerRube Bloom | Ray Ellis | Billie Holiday (Lead Vocals)Ray Ellis (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 8 |
All the Way
|
Sammy CahnJimmy Van Heusen | Samuel CohenEdward Chester Babcock | Ray Ellis | Billie Holiday (Lead Vocals)Ray Ellis (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 9 |
Just One More Chance
|
Sam CoslowArthur Johnston | Sam CoslowArthur Johnston | Ray Ellis | Billie Holiday (Lead Vocals)Ray Ellis (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 10 |
It's Not for Me to Say
|
Al StillmanRobert Allen | Albert Irving SilvermanRobert Allen Deitcher | Ray Ellis | Billie Holiday (Lead Vocals)Ray Ellis (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 11 |
I'll Never Smile Again
|
Ruth Lowe | Ruth Lowe | Ray Ellis | Billie Holiday (Lead Vocals)Ray Ellis (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 12 |
Baby Won't You Please Come Home
|
Charles WarfieldClarence Williams | Charles WarfieldClarence Williams | Ray Ellis | Billie Holiday (Lead Vocals)Ray Ellis (Arranger, Conductor) |