Studio Album · No. 3
Velvet Mood Songwriting Credits by Billie Holiday
Produced by Norman Granz · Engineered by Ralph Thorne
Holds writing credit on 0 of 8 tracks
Authorship Breakdown 0 / 8 documented
Scored across the 8 tracks with documented writers, by whether Billie Holiday carries a lyricist or composer credit.
Share of the 8 tracks where a band member is credited, by role.
By the Numbers
Velvet Mood is a pure interpreter's album: Billie Holiday wrote none of its eight songs, and the credits belong entirely to the standards writers she covers. The composer column carries their legal names where they differ from the bylines - Duke Ellington as Edward Kennedy Ellington, the Gershwins as Jacob Gershwine and Israel Gershovitz, Harold Arlen as Hyman Arluck, Burton Lane as Burton Levy - while the lyricist column keeps the familiar professional names. Norman Granz produced every track, and the same session band appears throughout, so the only variable across the record is which songwriting team Holiday is reading.
Velvet Mood is a studio album by Billie Holiday, released in 1956 on Norman Granz's Clef Records. It draws from the same August 1955 Los Angeles sessions that produced its companion record Music for Torching, backing Holiday with a small group of first-call jazz players. The eight-song program is built entirely from popular standards, from Duke Ellington's 'Prelude to a Kiss' to the Gershwins' 'Nice Work If You Can Get It,' with Holiday interpreting rather than writing the material. Her supporting cast includes Harry 'Sweets' Edison on trumpet, Benny Carter on alto saxophone, Jimmy Rowles on piano, and Barney Kessel on guitar. The album captures Holiday in the ballad-heavy, conversational late style of her Granz years, several years before her death in 1959.
Track Listing & Credits 8 tracks
| # | Title | Lyricist(s) | Composer(s) | Producer(s) | Performers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Prelude to a Kiss
|
Irving MillsIrving Gordon | Edward Kennedy EllingtonIsadore MinskyIsrael Goldener | Norman Granz | Billie Holiday (Vocals)Harry Edison (Trumpet)Benny Carter (Alto Saxophone)Jimmy Rowles (Piano)Barney Kessel (Guitar)John Simmons (Bass)Larry Bunker (Drums) |
| 2 |
When Your Lover Has Gone
|
Einar Aaron Swan | Einar Aaron Swan | Norman Granz | Billie Holiday (Vocals)Harry Edison (Trumpet)Benny Carter (Alto Saxophone)Jimmy Rowles (Piano)Barney Kessel (Guitar)John Simmons (Bass)Larry Bunker (Drums) |
| 3 |
Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone
|
Sidney ClareBee Palmer | Samuel Howard SteptSidney ClareBeatrice Charlotta Palmer | Norman Granz | Billie Holiday (Vocals)Harry Edison (Trumpet)Benny Carter (Alto Saxophone)Jimmy Rowles (Piano)Barney Kessel (Guitar)John Simmons (Bass)Larry Bunker (Drums) |
| 4 |
Nice Work If You Can Get It
|
Ira Gershwin | Jacob GershwineIsrael Gershovitz | Norman Granz | Billie Holiday (Vocals)Harry Edison (Trumpet)Benny Carter (Alto Saxophone)Jimmy Rowles (Piano)Barney Kessel (Guitar)John Simmons (Bass)Larry Bunker (Drums) |
| 5 |
I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues
|
Ted Koehler | Hyman ArluckTheodore L. Koehler | Norman Granz | Billie Holiday (Vocals)Harry Edison (Trumpet)Benny Carter (Alto Saxophone)Jimmy Rowles (Piano)Barney Kessel (Guitar)John Simmons (Bass)Larry Bunker (Drums) |
| 6 |
What's New?
|
Johnny Burke | Robert Sherwood HaggartJohn Francis Burke | Norman Granz | Billie Holiday (Vocals)Harry Edison (Trumpet)Benny Carter (Alto Saxophone)Jimmy Rowles (Piano)Barney Kessel (Guitar)John Simmons (Bass)Larry Bunker (Drums) |
| 7 |
I Hadn't Anyone Till You
|
Ray Noble | Raymond Stanley Noble | Norman Granz | Billie Holiday (Vocals)Harry Edison (Trumpet)Benny Carter (Alto Saxophone)Jimmy Rowles (Piano)Barney Kessel (Guitar)John Simmons (Bass)Larry Bunker (Drums) |
| 8 |
Everything I Have Is Yours
|
Harold Adamson | Burton LevyHarold Campbell Adamson | Norman Granz | Billie Holiday (Vocals)Harry Edison (Trumpet)Benny Carter (Alto Saxophone)Jimmy Rowles (Piano)Barney Kessel (Guitar)John Simmons (Bass)Larry Bunker (Drums) |