God Bless the Child (Billie Holiday song)

Infobox Single
Name = God Bless the Child


Artist = Billie Holiday
from Album =
A-side =
B-side = "Solitude"
Released = 1942
Format = 78 rpm
Recorded = Friday, May 9, 1941
Genre = Jazz
Length = 2:57
Label = Okeh
Writer = Billie Holiday, Arthur Herzog Jr.
Producer = Edward B. Marks Music Corporation

Infobox Single
Name = God Bless the Child


Artist = The Simpsons
Album = The Simpsons Sing the Blues
A-side =
B-side =
Released = 1991
Format = CD single
Recorded = 1990
Genre = Soundtrack
Length =
Label = Geffen
Writer = Billie Holiday, Arthur Herzog Jr.
Producer = John Boylan, Bryan Loren, DJ Jazzy Jeff
Certification =
Last single = "Deep, Deep Trouble" (1991)
This single = "God Bless the Child" (1991)
Next single = "The Simpsons Theme" (2007)
Misc =

"God Bless the Child" is a song written by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog Jr. in 1939, first recorded on May 9, 1941 under the Okeh label.

Holiday's version of the song was honored with the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in (1976). [ [http://www.grammy.com/Recording_Academy/Awards/Hall_Of_Fame/ Grammy Hall of Fame Award list] ] It was also included in the list of "Songs of the Century", by the Recording Industry of America and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Recording session

Session #44: 799 Seventh Avenue, New York City, May 9, 1941, Eddie Heywood and his Orchestra with Roy Eldridge (trumpet) Jimmy Powell, Lester Boone (alto saxophone), Ernie Powell (trumpet), Eddie Heywood (piano), Paul Chapman (guitar), Grachan Moncur II (bass), Herbert Cowans (drums), Billie Holiday (vocal) [ [http://www.billieholidaysongs.com/ Billie Holiday's God Bless the Child] ]

Origin and Interpretation

In her autobiography Lady Sings the Blues [Holiday, Billie. "Lady Sings the Blues", Hal Leonard Corporation, (1985) - ISBN 0793524458] Holiday indicated an argument with her mother over money led to the song. She indicated that during the argument she said the line "God bless the child that's got his own." The anger over the incident led her to turn that line into a starting point for a song, which she worked out in conjunction with Herzog. In "Jazz Singing" Will Friedwald [Friedwald, Will. "Jazz Singing: America's Great Voices from Bessie Smith to Bebop and Beyond", Da Capo, (1996) - ISBN 0306807122] indicates it as "sacred and profane" as it references the Bible while indicating that religion seems to have no effect in making people treat each other better. [Liner notes pages 6 and 7 in "Billie Holiday's Greatest Hits"] The lyrics refer to a Biblical verse, probably . [ [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=49&chapter=19&version=31 Bible Gateway] ]

Notable cover versions

* Gene Ammons (1958)
* Stanley Turrentine (1960)
* Carmen McRae (1961)
* Anita O'Day (1961)
* Lou Rawls (1962)
* Richie Havens (1972)
* Aretha Franklin (1962)
* Stevie Wonder (1968)
* Fifty Foot Hose (1968)
* Blood, Sweat & Tears (1969)
* Liza Minnelli (1971)
* Diana Ross (1972)
* Ella Fitzgerald (1982)
* Crystal Gayle (1985)
* The Simpsons (Lisa Simpson/voice actor Yeardley Smith) (1990)
* Barbra Streisand (1991)
* Diane Schuur (1992)
* Eva Cassidy (1992)
* Tony Bennett (1995)
* Gladys Knight (2006)
* Jill Scott (2007)
* Moby (2007)
* and others. [ [http://wm07.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=17:568628~1~T00A All Music List] ] [ [http://www.secondhandsongs.com/song/7762 Second Hand Songs] ]

It also inspired a children's picture book. [Holiday, Billie. "God Bless the Child", Harper Collins, (2004) - ISBN 0060287977] It was included on the "The Simpsons Sing the Blues" album, performed by Lisa Simpson (Yeardley Smith). Tony Bennett recorded the song as an overdubbed "duet" with Holiday for his 1997 album "Tony Bennett on Holiday". Tricky released a version of the song on "Angels with Dirty Faces" (1998), retitled as "Carriage for Two".

Appearances in the media

Film

*
* Two Weeks Notice
* Schindler's List

Television

* "Liza with a 'Z"' (1972): Sung by Liza Minnelli in this Emmy Award-winning television concert directed by Bob Fosse.
* Theme song for the first two seasons of Roc (1991–1992), sung by Jerry Lawson
* Grey's Anatomy (2006): Sung by Chandra Wilson in "Staring at the Sun" [ [http://www.film.com/tv/story/musicongreysanatomygodblessthechild/12586489 Music on Grey's Anatomy: God Bless the Child] ]
* American Idol: Sung by Mikalah Gordon for the top 20, Katharine McPhee in her 2006 audition in San Francisco, and also LaKisha Jones on March 13, 2007
* The title of the 11th episode of season 4 of The Wire comes from the lyrics ("That's Got His Own").

Literature

* Biyi Bandele references the song in his novel "The Street"

Video Games

*BioShock soundtrack: The three remixed tracks on the CD include "Beyond the Sea", "God Bless the Child" and "Wild Little Sisters"; the original recordings of these songs are in the game.

Footnotes