Irene Higgenbotham

Infobox musical artist
Name = Irene Higginbotham

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Born = birth date|1918|6|11|mf=y
Died = death date and age|1988|8|27|1918|6|11
New York City, New York, USA
Origin = Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
Instrument = Piano
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Genre = Blues, Jazz
Occupation = Songwriter, Pianist
Years_active = 1930s – 1988
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Irene Higginbotham (born June 11, 1918, in Worcester, Massachusetts, died August 27, 1988 in New York City, New York) ["Irene Higginbotham", The Black Perspective in Music, Vol. 16, No. 2 (Autumn, 1988), p. 247] was an American songwriter and concert pianist. Famously known for co-writing the Billie Holiday's song "Good Morning Heartache" (1946). [ [http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300&mode=results&searchstr=370041508&search_in=i&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=20&start=1 ASC
] ]

Biography

While her closest connection in the popular music of the 1930s and 1940s was the great jazz singer Billie Holiday, the prolific songwriter was niece of classic jazz trombonist J.C. Higginbotham, and ex-wife of jazz pianist Teddy Wilson. [ [http://www.answers.com/topic/irene-higginbotham-vocal-music-artist Irene Higginbotham bio] ] She was a music student of Kemper Harold and Frederic Hall. She was also a concert pianist at fifteen and joined American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) in 1944.

Her popular-song compositions included: [ [http://wm08.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:kifoxqtjldhe~1~T32C Songs Composed by Irene Higginbotham] ]

* "Good Morning Heartache" (1946), recorded by Billie Holiday, and many others

* "No Good Man", recorded by Billie Holiday (1946), and Nina Simone (1961)

* "This Will Make You Laugh", recorded by Nat King Cole Trio in 1941 and in 1993 by daughter Natalie Cole, also Carmen McRae (1955), Marvin Gaye (1978), John Pizzarelli (1992), and Keith Ingham (1998)

* "Are You Livin' Old Man", recorded by Anita O'Day with the Stan Kenton Orchestra (1942), and June Christy with the Stan Kenton Orchestra (1945)

* "It's Mad, Mad, Mad", recorded by Duke Ellington (1947)

* "I Got News for You", recorded by Woody Herman (1948)

* "Mean and Evil Blues", recorded by Dinah Washington (1948)

* "No Sale", recorded by Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five (1945)

* "That Did It, Marie", recorded by Peggy Lee and Benny Goodman & His Orchestra (1941)

* "The Bottle's Empty" recorded by Coleman Hawkins (1945)

Also see ASCAP pages for a partial list. [ [http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300&mode=results&searchstr=5064000&search_in=c&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=20&start=1 ASC
] ]

Footnotes

External links

* [http://nightlights.blogs.wfiu.org/tag/Irene_Higginbotham Ghosts of Yesterday: Billie Holiday and the Two Irenes (a Jazz Mystery)]
* [http://jazzhistorydatabase.com/blog-chet/?p=16 Jazzsphere ten: Good morning Irene, Part 1]
* [http://jazzhistorydatabase.com/blog-chet/?p=17 Jazzsphere eleven: Good morning Irene, Part 2]