ME AND MY OLD VOICE: Billie Holiday in Her Own Words

[calico1947]

So glad you liked it and thanks for the wonderful comment.

[gjmf]

Wow, thank you SO much! It was delightful, this is a very good contribution to B Holiday's legacy. Thanks.

[loulou2lou]

This recording is probably the second thing I would take out my burning house the first,my cat Sassy.This is gold.

[lamper2]

you've done SO MANY music fans a great service by posting this! thanks! 

[jonvi33]

@calico1947 Wow! I have to thank you. This is amazing. Now I feel that I know more about the real Lady Day.

[calico1947]

@jonvi33 Thank you for the kind words and compliment.

[nuffsweet]

THANK YOU Calico! wonderful to have more insight into her struggle, pain and humor in between Billie's amazing voice! Inspiring!

[calico1947]

@nuffsweet You're welcome.

[1adoremusic]

she was hilarious!

[gjmf]

@1adoremusic Indeed!

[pittancepro]

You are very welcome fruitistic. Thanks for the wonderful comment.

[fruitistic]

Awesomeness. Thank you.

[calico1947]

It certainly does. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment.

[4114224]

So nice to hear Billie singing "I Got It Bad", one of my all-time favorites. It's so well suited to her style.

[deewanderingminstrel]

We're all in the rough so to speak...Billie was a woman in pain who possessed the courage to communicate her vulnerability in song, urging the remainder of us along the path, where-ever that may lead us...I feel cheated that Billie left us too soon not unlike most of those walking wounded soldiers extraordinaire, those gifted within & with the arts, most live an abbreviated life with so much more to offer....history has proven most "artists" live a life, unfulfilled, leaving us, unfulfilled :(

[vangoghmatisse1]

HAS THE FASHION INDUSTRY COPIED HER, ABSOLUTELY!!!! OVER AND OVER.

[calico1947]

Thank you so much jahlaune.

[jahlaune]

excellant job

[pittancepro]

You're are so welcome settinger14.

[settinger14]

Fantastic stuff. Thank you for the obvious love you invested into this. So many photos all in one place! So many of the greats have left us so long ago - great to have these reminders in media that will last forever. Thank you.

[calico1947]

That's great. Thank you very kindly. I'm curious, what was the name of the LP and what label was it on? I love your comment "she was swingin' even when she was talkin'." Back in the 80s I got to hang around with Dizzy Gillespie for a day and everything he did: walking, talking, whatever, had a rhythm to it. Like Billie, someone, something, God if you want, touched them on the head and made them special and we are the lucky the ones who can enjoy these wonderful artists through their recordings.

[jesterbob383]

@calico1947 Well said!

[oysterpippo]

I got this and others rehearsals recording and interviews in some LP I bought in the 70s, but with images, on video, it's touching me in a new way... she was swingin even while she was talking... pure godmade

[calico1947]

Thank you for watching and responding here.

[JustinAZ420]

love it.....thanks enjoyed it..

[calico1947]

Thank you darchylde612 for the wonderful comment. Your response is exactly the thing I had hoped would come through in the film. Again much thanks and Happy Holidays to you.

[darchylde612]

love this....thanks calico. this reharsal tape gives us a visual of a living, breathing billie holiday, her many moods and emotions. it goes far to show us that she was more than just a singer, that she was a person.  love this.

[calico1947]

Interesting. Just riffin'? Or an inside joke? A little Gershwin nod maybe...? Instrumentalists do it all the time so why not a singer. In fact, it's rare to hear a singer, outside of scatting, make a musical reference that way. I'll say it is because musicians are more musically adept than most singers. And Billie was not only a singer but a musician of the highest order. A Louis Armstrong disciple. IMVHO. We'll never know but I'm with you. Yeah. She was riffin' on the lyrics. What a singer!

[Loumademe]

'When the fish are jumpin and Friday rolls around'? lol Was she riffin on the lyric? Ellington didn't write that shit! lol My girl. :-D

[THERIGHTREVEREND]

Oh she sung "Got It Bad" her voice was still beautiful! What are people talking about?????? I know the texture had changed, but listen to her vibrato it is controlled and it is beautiful! When she bends that "heart out" into 6 syllables, MAN OH MAN! That was Classic Holiday!

[calico1947]

I couldn't agree more. By the way, that was the impetus for this piece. The entry for Billie Holiday in the highly regarded 'The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians,' that can be found in practically every library educational institution around the country, states that after the 1950s Billie Holiday had lost her skill as a singer. Clearly her performance of 'I've Got it Bad and That Ain't Good,' negates that loose statement. Till the end, her amazing musical talent never left her.

[MusicLoverBrian1]

@THERIGHTREVEREND

I agree! When Billie sung "I've Got It Bad And That Ain't Good" she STILL had it! Even when she did her last album "Lady In Satin" she still had it. Many said that by the time she recorded that album her voice was already gone. Of course it wasn't the same as it was when she first started her career but her voice certainly wasn't gone! "I've Got It Bad" is just one example. Listen to "I'm A Fool To Want You" . . . it's just as beautiful and actually one of her best ballads.

[Princessgolde]

HOW CAN WE THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR SUCH POSTINGS AS THIS ONE? THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

[calico1947]

@Princessgolde You are very welcome and thank you for taking the time to express your feelings here. It inspires one to carry on with other projects.

[youngnclyon]

That was absolutely brilliant! So many people who remember Miss Holiday only remember or recognize the tragic aspects of her life. These rehersal recordings show her ture artistry. Working out tunes, discussing music..these recordings are rich with value. This film was very moving. Rest in peace Lady.

[calico1947]

@youngnclyon Thank you kindly youngnclyon. I can't agree more with your statement about the tragic aspects of her life tending to be the main focus in books and films. She was a strong woman with great humor and insight and that's what I wanted to show in the film. I also wanted her to speak for herself. It's no accident that I chose the song "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone" to begin the piece as a sort of musical reprimand from the great jazz singer to me, the director.

[zunzemma]

Thank you!!so precious hearing her spoken voice!all gift your are blessed!!!Big hugs

[calico1947]

@zunzemma You're welcome and thank you for the kind words. Hugs back.

[nyloser2]

Very good!

Just finished reading the anniversary issue of her autobiography.

I've been converted.

[jclark2k3]

Bravo Calico. I visited her plot today after watching lady sings the blues last night. This was just the icing on the cake. All this woman wanted in life was love, I wish she could have hung around long enough to see how truly loved she was.

[calico1947]

I couldn't agree more. Thanks.

[carolinagirl279]

@jclark2k3 I AGREE...TRULY LOVED SHE WAS!



[AwaTu]

Excellent post, my Friend! —By the by, for those that are interested in the most comprehensive, factual representation of Billie's life, I highly recommend "Wishing on the Moon" by Donald Clarke...

[debbyluvsbud]

she started sounding like louis armstrong, that happened because of the alcohol abuse

i still love the lady

[68shamoa]

I have tears...

[calico1947]

It was my intent to let the lady speak for herself in the hope that people for themselves would hear the spirit of a lady who had endured much more than we can image. Whose singular voice in conversation was filled with all that is in the human character: pride, anger, sentimentality, and humor; a quality that is always lacking in the telling of the Billie Holiday story. Her story in her own words, I should think, would bring laughter as well as tears. Thank you so much for the comment.

[68shamoa]

thanks to you Calico1947!

[jenniewilliamsmural]

This is excellent. To tell you the truth, I was a little annoyed by the credits before seeing the video...now I see, it was done with skill and love

[calico1947]

Thank you jenniewilliamsmural. A great deal of thought, time, and love went into the making of this small, modest short. I can only hope that those same qualities come through when it is viewed. Billie Holiday's music, her talent and her spirit was and is an inspiration.

[miaaspyder10]

I love her...Thank You for Posting!!!!

[calico1947]

Thank you nigel1034 for the extremely nice compliment. I really appreciate it.

[nigel1034]

This video is simply amazing!

Thank you for showing what I could do more with my videos(:

[rreettyyuull]

i love watching and listening to her

[Arron413]

This was a very entertaining and informative video. Keep up the good work!