@claudiosucks that's dope yo...i prolly was like the same age when i fell in love with billie holiday....kids my age didn't understand but i stuck with it....now i'm the dopest musician i know..
She had this way to draw you in with her vocal pauses, and mesmerizing voice.its sad the way she died with nothing in the bank and44 ,too soon for such a great talent.
Love her rendition of Porgy. Billie is just sensational, sultry, and elegant all at the same time. She had that ability to hold your attention to her voice. So nice to see her and hear her voice in this live interview. I was 8 yrs old when i heard my mom yell Billie Holiday just died. It was in 1959. The house suddenly went very quiet. At that time I thought Billie was male.
Quite the performance, particularly for someone whose health was in serious decline and who would pass away only 5 months later. This is from February 1959 in London, her last filmed performance and one of her final live performances. Her delivery of the song gives you chills.
C'est un enregistrement de ses dernières années: malheureusement, la voix de cette grande artiste est déjà brisée par la drogue et son coeur par le racisme et la solitude. Il love you, Billie!
The singers we have now, just do not sing with the feeling and emotions like BH did. There just spitting the words out. When you watch her face and, her eyes, you can just see she is living through the words she sings. She has a rare and beautiful gift, one we are not likely to see again.
Just listen to these pop singers' albums that are coming out these days. I don't hear any emotion in their voices and I don't FEEL anything. If you listen to an album from these crappy singers today you can't hear any real instruments because they are all coming from a computer. All emotions and feeling has been drained out of the singer's voice and therefore you don't feel any connection to the song. Singers today just don't FEEL a song like they use to.
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It seems like she's going through the motions here. Her emphasis is so flat, stilted (unlike her version of Strange Fruit), and it makes the song drag along so painfully and may be more sexually suggestive than is merited by the song. Of course the incredible boring backing band doesn't help.
was it morphine or heroin? i know people used morphine since before the turn of the century. but i think it was heroin for her
this is sublime. despite being high, or because she was high. ive always wondered is the drugs helped get her into that timing, or if she would have been more brilliant sober
either way, she is always more riveting than the song, and its equally true here as ever
I have grown up with her music my whole life thanks to my Mom and Dad. I really understood it after an amazing heartbreak and there she was as always, waiting for me to spin a record and breathe along without a skip.
They did a special on tv about Billy some time back and included this footage.The orchestra swings and she rides along so nicely. This is elegance and feeling together and that is what art is all about.
Nina's interpretation is lovely but Billie's 1948 recording with just a quartet is still the definitive version for me--so warm and achingly vulnerable. That was the recording that inspired and influenced Nina's version.
@ChoSimba1 Really? I always loved her but she was so troubled. My aunt was in show biz and new all of the big stars, my aunt and her were good friends.
@BreezyGraffiti lol wow, you did an Amazing job defending Whitney on this video post forum. I was the one who brought up Whitney Houston in the first place, just to say she also had a great version. And I wish i was here for the discussion that went on afterwards. But wow, it looks like i didn't need to be. you did a great job by yourself and stood your own. I was quite impressed with your debating skills. You showed much class, while the other had no class at all. Whitney and Billie did great!
@MrMaestranza "Burping in my face" & mentioning your arse? It's sad you have to devolve to that. Moving on, tasteless cracks about Whitney's drug habit are useless and ironic to your intent, as Billie Holiday struggled with a severe heroin addiction. Moreover, you have NO base for questioning my taste. Whitney Houston has been complimented by many from Barbra Streisand, to Aretha Franklin, to Luciano Pavarotti, who had exceptional taste. Your distaste for something, doesn't make it bad.
@MrMaestranza Who says I have a lack of taste? You? On what basis do you have to make that assessment? Simply because I don't tear down every other talented person to put my favorite artist on a pedestal the way you do? No, sir. That's not a lack of taste. That's the ability to appreciate ALL forms of art & not put on a bad attempt at pseudo-sophistication and pseudo-elitism. Taste is subjective and personal, and should be represented that way. There's no need to tear down an artist for another.
Does anyone else see the remarkable, and Uncanny Simularities between Bill Holiday & Abbey Lincoln?! It'samazing! They look so much alike. If one were to photoshop Braids onto any phot of Billie,you wouldn't knowit wasn't Abbey!
Does anyone else see the remarkable, and Uncanny Simularities between Bill Holiday & Abbey Lincoln?! It'samazing! They look so much alike. If one were to photoshop Braids onto any phot of Billie,you wouldn't knowit wasn't Abbey!
Does anyone else see the remarkable, and Uncanny Simularities between Bill Holiday & Abbey Lincoln?! It'samazing! They look so much alike. If one were to photoshop Braids onto any phot of Billie,you wouldn't knowit wasn't Abbey!
I find it interesting the comparisons of the voices of Billie Holiday and Whitney Houston. Two completely different singers - neither of which could do what the other has become famous for. At any rate, this clip shows a Billie Holiday at decline just a few years short of her death. Her voice is but a mere, dim shadow of what it had been. And Whitney Houston today? Her voice is but a mere, dim shadow of what it had been. You're welcome.
You're absolutely right--they are two completely different singers. Yet even as Billie's voice diminished, she compensated with a tremendous emotional power and a more profound sense of herself as an artist. Whitney still has a chance to pull that proverbial rabbit out of the hat. Incidentally, this clip of Billie was filmed in England in February 1959, just a scant five months before her death.
Whitney Houston would sing Billie Holliday into the back room. I'll never understand why people try to tear down great talent just to hold up their favorite. Simply because someone is a legend from olden days doesn't mean they cannot one day be outdone.
The truth is Billie can't be outdone. You can't compare her with anyone else in her time or even today. As Will Friedwald wrote in his new book on the great jazz and pop singers, she has "no equal and no parallel." Far from being just a relic from the past, Billie's music remains relevant and continues to touch people of all generations. That being said, I do think that Whitney is a tremendous talent. She just needs to redefine herself and take her gift in a new direction.
@billiefan2001 Who says Billie can't be outdone? Who says she can't be compared? Will Friedwald is not a god nor are his words as law. Talent, like many things in life, are subjective. They depend on the perception of the person listening. Billie's music remains relevant, but so does many other great talents. That's not unique. Nor does it suggest she cannot be outdone, as even being outdone is an OPINION. The "best" is subjective to the person listening. So Billie can be outdone.
I never said Friedwald was a god or that his words were law. But that doesn't make his words any less true. I was simply pointing out and agreeing with his assessment. But if it makes you feel better, then in my opinion, Billie can't be outdone. She created an original body of work that is still influential and continues to touch people. That's a fact, not an opinion. Whether or not it's unique is irrelevant.
@billiefan2001 You insinuated that his words had some sort of leverage over the opinion of his words. His words are his OPINION. His opinion is no more valid than the opinion of any one else. I respect your opinion. However, I do not agree with the opinion that Billie cannot be outdone. There are plenty of people through history with equal or greater talent than her. I DO however agree that she created an original body of work. And is still amazing. LOVE her "Cover the Waterfront" interpretation
Whitney Houston cannot (Nor should she)be compared to Billie Holiday, because,Whitney Houston is not a Jazz Singer.
The only simularities between them, are; their Struggles with Drugs, Mens, and That they are both Legendary Icons,in their own right. You have every right to prefer tolistento one over the other,but comparing them; you're way off base.
If you want to talk, "Bottom Line"; "It's the Billie Holidays who paved the way for the Whitney Houstons!"
@Mahutlov1 Not true. Whitney is not a jazz singer, and Billie is not a pop singer. This does not mean that the sound, power, technique, tone, and ability of their voices cannot be compared. A "VOICE" is not based around genre. A voice is the sound as produced by the vocal cords. A singing voice is the melodic use of those sounds. And that can be compared. That being said, Whitney is a far greater singer. Now as for personal preference, that is subjective. Technique is not.
Technique is subjective. It depends on what one finds important in vocal qualities, which can include phrasing, timing, and emotional range in addition to the other qualities you mentioned. The fact that Whitney may surpass Billie in some technical capacities doesn't make her a greater singer. Billie could do things with her voice that Whitney could not. I also think Billie was a terrific pop singer, particularly in her Columbia and Decca period.
@billiefan2001 I disagree that technique is subjective. Note range, dynamic range, textural ability, melisma, & other vocal techniques are not subjective. They are universal building blocks. The things you mentioned (phrasing, timing, emotion) are not "technique" per se. They are the artistic element of singing. What I'm saying is that Whitney is the better technical singer, i.e. greater dynamics, range, power, etc. As for who is the better artist/interpreter, I'd probably agree Billie was.
Yes, I would agree that Billie's strengths were not in dynamic range or power. She was an artist of nuance and made up for her technical limitations with a very distinctive sound and approach. She told Jet magazine in 1952: "I don't have a voice. Jo Stafford and Sarah Vaughan--they have voices. I have a feeling." I think she's selling herself a little short, but there we are.
@BreezyGraffiti Whitney is not a far greater singer, Whitney without question is a greater vocalist but in the term of singing, she is not up to par with Billie.
@Mahutlov1 Correction, there is only 1 Billie and definitely 1 Whitney. Both are legendary icons that paved the way for other R&B and Jazz singers. You have those that make hits, and others who set standards. Billie & Whitney set standards.
@MrMaestranza you had to go into petty insults on Whitney, what a shame. Doesnt change the fact that Whitney "also" did a good job. Whitney has a more powerful clear version.
This is the original presentation of this classic song! I never knew that this one like so many other of her songs known by others actually came out from her! Her artistry know no bounds! Like the saying goes every song she sang became a big hit! It's Great!
Billie is so radiant and stunningly beautiful in this video! Truly a Lady in every sense of the word. She sings this simple song so poignantly and expressively all the while smiling so sincerely to the audience and keeping intimate eye contact with them as well. Billie exudes charisma, elegance,grace, regality,class,and poise. She does all of this in this rendition of "Porgy" without the least bit of self consciousness or pretention for she is the REAL thing. I'll love you forever Miss Holiday
Actually comparing Lady Day to Nina Simone is like comparing President Obama to Martin Luther King Jr. Nina recorded her version of the song only AFTER she'd heard ms. Holiday's recording so maybe SHE Nina Simone is the one who missed the point. This song is about the domestic violence of a woman who although realizes the wrongdoing is unable to part from her man.
Actually comparing Lady Day to Nina Simone is like comparing President Obama to Martin Luther King Jr. Nina recorded her version of the song only AFTER she'd heard ms. Holiday's recording so maybe SHE Nina Simone is the one who missed the point. This song is about the domestic violence of a woman who although realizes the wrongdoing is unable to part from her man.
Also to add on to what you just said Gershwin's Porgy & Bess is also a standard from the Great American Songbook and most of the songs from the songbook were sung by many singers of that era. Songs that Billie sung were also sung by Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Bobby Darin, Mel Torme, Tony Bennett, Peggy Lee, and many many others. Each of these singers put their own style and flair into each of these songs and made them their own. Some renditions are more well known than others.
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this has to be a very low point of her career - she looks ok but you cannot convince me that this sounds good! apalling really -check out nina simone's vastly superior version
This is such a beautiful performance by Lady Day. . . it's a MASTERPIECE! The way she interprets this song with her unique phrasing, diction, and voice that has a girlish quality to it yet it has a gritty sound to it. To me Billie Holiday is the only one who can sing this song. I've listened to other interpretations but I always come back to hers. No matter whether she sings this song live or in the studio she sings it with such beauty. We are lucky to see this perfect performance from Lady Day
Still incredible, after years and years of listening to her singing. The part of God I've had the opportunity to see whenever I've wanted to. An example of what unsuperable and uncomparable and unique can mean. Those few great ladies, like her, really were the discent of the divine to heart.
you know, she's not the complete innocent victim here; she enjoys playing the role of the love enveloped bearing the brunt of the mistreated in love both for others and herself...I would know! Look closely at her expressione: obviously acting!
I don't think Billie Holiday misses the point of this song either. I remember she once said in an interview, "You know, I got to live with my tunes before I sing a song. It's got to mean something man. . . Otherwise, I can't sing. I can't sing. It doesn't mean nothin' to me." Lady Day sung songs that she could relate to and that she felt. That's why she was able to express the emotions of the song in a believable way.
I don't think Billie's version is lacking at all nor does she "miss the point." Part of what made Billie such a unique and singular artist was her ability to create a wholly original interpretation that other artists may not have envisioned. Nina's version is beautiful in its own way but it was Billie who set the standard. This 1959 version, from a BBC broadcast, is wonderful but her 1948 Decca recording is the one to beat. Achingly warm and stark, it's a masterpiece in her canon.
@greatworkteam Yeah man, you hit it right on the head. Billie's version is lacking; Nina Simone is the one who gives this song the depth of vulnerability that's at its source. It's a very "I Hit The Bottom And Am In Desperation" kind of song. I love Billie, but I agree: she misses the point.
@thetragicfigure i just watched nina's version and I didn't really buy your argument until I saw it, and now I must agree. it's just that nina´s rendition is so powerful, so colorful, so vivid in its tragicness.
I've listened to the Christina Aguilera rendition of this song and I agree with you that she does too many vocal acrobatical runs. Why do singers these days feel the need to destroy a song by ornating and over-decorating a song by these vocal acrobatic tricks? What is wrong with keeping it simple? In Billie Holiday's rendition of "I Love You Porgy" she keeps it simple and she is doing a great intrepretation & reading of this song. Btw, I love the musical arrangement too!
@EmoneyBabay1Luv . . . i second that! She is a very beautiful woman and it's the class, poise, grace, and sophistication that she had when she got up on the stage and singed. She didn't have to take off her clothes or do some kind of sexual suggested poses that many female vocalists do today. She knew how to grab the audience by pulling at their souls and her voice is unique and one of a kind. Everytime note that she sings seems to have a point and/or convey some kind of emotion. She was unique!
everyone knows billie didnt have great range or the highest ocatave voice but the fact that she put her emotions into songs made the audience feel her pain and thats what makes her a legend along with her unique phrasing..long live billie holiday R.I.P.
Nina's version is awesome. I lean more to Billie Holliday's version because of the softness. I just like this arrangement better. I could listen to this all day.
Nina,Ella,Louie,Nat,their voices have made a mark in this world but Billie set waves..God gave the beautiful gift of such amazing voices.Seeing & feeling is believing,good music moves you,outside & on the inside.What makes the song believable, is the gift of not only a good voice,but also from the gut, the inside,the soul & boy could you feel it when miss lady day sang it...
Thank you. Wonderful clip. Though I wouldn't say who is better than who in jazz, as most criticisms are all conjecture, Billie Holiday stands at the pantheon of Jazz Singers. Along with Satch, Sass, Ella, and King Cole. Simone was great, certainly. But not like Lady Day.
I won't say Nina's is better. I personally like Nina's version better than anybody's. Actually, I think her version is one of the best songs ever made. I actually like Nina Simone better than I like Billie Holiday, but I LOVE them both., If you can understand that (I know you can)
@claudiosucks that's dope yo...i prolly was like the same age when i fell in love with billie holiday....kids my age didn't understand but i stuck with it....now i'm the dopest musician i know..
teezy4444 2 weeks ago
I'm very sad!! and I'm so fucking alone. Lady thx for this all Time great Performance. R.I.P.
watcherof47 2 months ago 3
God Bless You Billie! Your classic sound is eternal!
NrthDall81 2 months ago 2
@ChoSimba when and how old was billie when she died?
Fl3tch3rb0y 2 months ago
I Love you Billie!!!! Don't let her take me...
Valentino1926 3 months ago
Turn off the ads or I turn off Youtube. No shit. Talkin over another video fucking moronic.
tagmike1 4 months ago
im 16, and i love billie holiday <3
claudiosucks 4 months ago 4
Whitney Houston song her song and did do it justice
alpahaGod 4 months ago
i love you billie
cacavol 4 months ago 2
This is my favorite song by her, and she is my absolute most favorite artist.
MovieGirl868 4 months ago
She had this way to draw you in with her vocal pauses, and mesmerizing voice.its sad the way she died with nothing in the bank and44 ,too soon for such a great talent.
MrStoney2011 4 months ago
Love her rendition of Porgy. Billie is just sensational, sultry, and elegant all at the same time. She had that ability to hold your attention to her voice. So nice to see her and hear her voice in this live interview. I was 8 yrs old when i heard my mom yell Billie Holiday just died. It was in 1959. The house suddenly went very quiet. At that time I thought Billie was male.
719kai719 4 months ago
I wont let anyone take you...
turnex1 5 months ago
My name is porgy. : )
runhorun 5 months ago
damn, Sade or Billie holiday? I'll take both!
runhorun 5 months ago
sing it Billie holiday, sing it. I'm happy listening to this.
runhorun 5 months ago
she is the real bess a true mastepiece
litlewing 5 months ago
classic Billie-note on the end. oh how many songs she ended that way <3
fromamouth 6 months ago
man if i could merge two women together it would be BILLIE HOLIDAY I LOVE HER FIRE and DOROTHY DANDRIDGE she dorothy she doesnt need a reason
thats my dream woman
bluemdrapperbaby 7 months ago
LOOK at lady day, how young and pretty! WHEN will be stop trying to treat our pain with drugs that kill us?
MsJollycholly 7 months ago
That has to be Mal Waldron on piano.
mikenayl 7 months ago
Quite the performance, particularly for someone whose health was in serious decline and who would pass away only 5 months later. This is from February 1959 in London, her last filmed performance and one of her final live performances. Her delivery of the song gives you chills.
dhofkin 7 months ago 2
@dhofkin thank you for the information: it gives a clue of what a performer can do onstage even when near to death...
and this rendition of such a song is SO personal, yes it gieves a chill!!
sumar26 7 months ago
C'est un enregistrement de ses dernières années: malheureusement, la voix de cette grande artiste est déjà brisée par la drogue et son coeur par le racisme et la solitude. Il love you, Billie!
Memale2009 7 months ago
OH my god people...this a musical written by george gershwin called "Porgy and Bess"
bijoubijou 7 months ago
The singers we have now, just do not sing with the feeling and emotions like BH did. There just spitting the words out. When you watch her face and, her eyes, you can just see she is living through the words she sings. She has a rare and beautiful gift, one we are not likely to see again.
jandtsmom 8 months ago 3
@jandtsmom
Just listen to these pop singers' albums that are coming out these days. I don't hear any emotion in their voices and I don't FEEL anything. If you listen to an album from these crappy singers today you can't hear any real instruments because they are all coming from a computer. All emotions and feeling has been drained out of the singer's voice and therefore you don't feel any connection to the song. Singers today just don't FEEL a song like they use to.
MusicLoverBrian1 7 months ago
HEY LET'S ARGUE ABOUT SOMETHING SUBJECTIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!! idiots.
svendiamond 8 months ago 2
LLLLLLLOOOOOOOVVVVVVVEEEE THIS!
America2470 9 months ago 2
CHILS
vanroussy87 9 months ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
It seems like she's going through the motions here. Her emphasis is so flat, stilted (unlike her version of Strange Fruit), and it makes the song drag along so painfully and may be more sexually suggestive than is merited by the song. Of course the incredible boring backing band doesn't help.
zeboink 9 months ago
sinirimi bozdu :/
xtinaozes 10 months ago
The way she bends notes is haunting and other worldly! Wow!
Thunderstormwitch 10 months ago
Puts A smile on my face.
activeskater123 10 months ago
Why was she abused, fucking drug pricks
l8in64 10 months ago
take the first 5 notes and improvize forever
FM7 arpeggio plus a 9th [G]
FACE G the left hand chord comes in on the E to brake your heart
was Gerhwin great or was this song just part of the physics of the cosmos
karpopper 11 months ago
Effortless, raw, honest beauty in her voice. Perfect.
Check out my acoustic version of Loverman... it's got nothing on Billie but hey, you can only try!
mikaelaparracksings 11 months ago
Love Billie Holiday. Voice like soft silk.
danethefurry 11 months ago
I want to know who this Porgy guy is?
KianiKings 11 months ago
@KianiKings
Porgy and Bess....google it :-)
SylM84 11 months ago 2
@KianiKings We will never know who Porgy is??!!
entertainment45 10 months ago
@entertainment45 Porgy & Bess!
KianiKings 10 months ago
@KianiKings Thanks, but I don't even know what that stuff looks like, or does... I just know she's a great singer!!
entertainment45 10 months ago
@KianiKings
He's a character in the Gershwin opera "Porgy and Bess" which this song is from.
TheJalex11 7 months ago
was it morphine or heroin? i know people used morphine since before the turn of the century. but i think it was heroin for her
this is sublime. despite being high, or because she was high. ive always wondered is the drugs helped get her into that timing, or if she would have been more brilliant sober
either way, she is always more riveting than the song, and its equally true here as ever
theblueangel28 11 months ago
I have grown up with her music my whole life thanks to my Mom and Dad. I really understood it after an amazing heartbreak and there she was as always, waiting for me to spin a record and breathe along without a skip.
Mswasabi22 1 year ago
They did a special on tv about Billy some time back and included this footage.The orchestra swings and she rides along so nicely. This is elegance and feeling together and that is what art is all about.
gat1240 1 year ago 9
As well as Billie singing this,I just love Oscar Peterson playing this on the Quiet Time album.
73380401 1 year ago
9 dead people - for they must be dead to press the dislike button on the Queen -
thanks for posting this - if you ever get the chance to see Joey Arias please go as his voice is so so stunning
anthonynewsome 1 year ago
She looks so tired =[
elbraymundo 1 year ago
Will you two halfwits (BreezyGraffiti and MrMaestranza) knock it off and stop cluttering the comments site with your drivel?
helmutbooks 1 year ago
Hi, ChoSimba1,
What was your grandma's last name? Thanks
helmutbooks 1 year ago
So sorry, Nina Simone expressed this better.
bransonbelle 1 year ago
@bransonbelle
Nina's interpretation is lovely but Billie's 1948 recording with just a quartet is still the definitive version for me--so warm and achingly vulnerable. That was the recording that inspired and influenced Nina's version.
billiefan2001 1 year ago
my grandma took care of her before she died....
ChoSimba1 1 year ago 24
@ChoSimba1 what an honor!!! such great lady!
sumar26 7 months ago
@ChoSimba1 Really? I always loved her but she was so troubled. My aunt was in show biz and new all of the big stars, my aunt and her were good friends.
CHNJ101 6 months ago
@CHNJ101 my gma was a nurse, so she saw her last few days, sadly. :(
ChoSimba1 5 months ago
@CHNJ101 what an honor guys!! This was a lady of music!!!
sumar26 1 month ago
@ChoSimba1 Love ..
murigikate 5 months ago
@ChoSimba1 wow!! what a great thing to know!!
yogivic 2 months ago
@MrMaestranza Intention of confirmation of what? I need no confirmation for you, nor am I searching for it. Good day.
BreezyGraffiti 1 year ago
@BreezyGraffiti lol wow, you did an Amazing job defending Whitney on this video post forum. I was the one who brought up Whitney Houston in the first place, just to say she also had a great version. And I wish i was here for the discussion that went on afterwards. But wow, it looks like i didn't need to be. you did a great job by yourself and stood your own. I was quite impressed with your debating skills. You showed much class, while the other had no class at all. Whitney and Billie did great!
WH012 1 year ago
i like Nina Simone's and Billie's versions so much. They are both perfect in different ways.
changemytone 1 year ago
@changemytone Nina's version is paradise, isn't it. Love it!
BreezyGraffiti 1 year ago
Such a beautiful woman. Perfect interpretation of the song. Fragile.
emomarcelor 1 year ago 2
@MrMaestranza "Burping in my face" & mentioning your arse? It's sad you have to devolve to that. Moving on, tasteless cracks about Whitney's drug habit are useless and ironic to your intent, as Billie Holiday struggled with a severe heroin addiction. Moreover, you have NO base for questioning my taste. Whitney Houston has been complimented by many from Barbra Streisand, to Aretha Franklin, to Luciano Pavarotti, who had exceptional taste. Your distaste for something, doesn't make it bad.
BreezyGraffiti 1 year ago
@MrMaestranza Who says I have a lack of taste? You? On what basis do you have to make that assessment? Simply because I don't tear down every other talented person to put my favorite artist on a pedestal the way you do? No, sir. That's not a lack of taste. That's the ability to appreciate ALL forms of art & not put on a bad attempt at pseudo-sophistication and pseudo-elitism. Taste is subjective and personal, and should be represented that way. There's no need to tear down an artist for another.
BreezyGraffiti 1 year ago
Does anyone else see the remarkable, and Uncanny Simularities between Bill Holiday & Abbey Lincoln?! It'samazing! They look so much alike. If one were to photoshop Braids onto any phot of Billie,you wouldn't knowit wasn't Abbey!
I'll love & miss them both,forever!
Mahutlov1 1 year ago
@Mahutlov1 Great observation. Abbey even sounded a bit like Billie. I've always felt that way.
beeshor1 1 year ago
Does anyone else see the remarkable, and Uncanny Simularities between Bill Holiday & Abbey Lincoln?! It'samazing! They look so much alike. If one were to photoshop Braids onto any phot of Billie,you wouldn't knowit wasn't Abbey!
I'll love & miss them both,forever!
Mahutlov1 1 year ago
Does anyone else see the remarkable, and Uncanny Simularities between Bill Holiday & Abbey Lincoln?! It'samazing! They look so much alike. If one were to photoshop Braids onto any phot of Billie,you wouldn't knowit wasn't Abbey!
I'll love & miss them both,forever!
Mahutlov1 1 year ago
@MrMaestranza So then it's a matter of your personal taste, which should be represented that way.
BreezyGraffiti 1 year ago
I find it interesting the comparisons of the voices of Billie Holiday and Whitney Houston. Two completely different singers - neither of which could do what the other has become famous for. At any rate, this clip shows a Billie Holiday at decline just a few years short of her death. Her voice is but a mere, dim shadow of what it had been. And Whitney Houston today? Her voice is but a mere, dim shadow of what it had been. You're welcome.
gray70 1 year ago
@gray70
You're absolutely right--they are two completely different singers. Yet even as Billie's voice diminished, she compensated with a tremendous emotional power and a more profound sense of herself as an artist. Whitney still has a chance to pull that proverbial rabbit out of the hat. Incidentally, this clip of Billie was filmed in England in February 1959, just a scant five months before her death.
billiefan2001 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
@MrMaestranza Whitney Houston's voice > Billie Holliday's. Whitney Houston's accomplishments > Billie Holliday's.
Whitney Houston would sing Billie Holliday into the back room. I'll never understand why people try to tear down great talent just to hold up their favorite. Simply because someone is a legend from olden days doesn't mean they cannot one day be outdone.
BreezyGraffiti 1 year ago
@BreezyGraffiti
The truth is Billie can't be outdone. You can't compare her with anyone else in her time or even today. As Will Friedwald wrote in his new book on the great jazz and pop singers, she has "no equal and no parallel." Far from being just a relic from the past, Billie's music remains relevant and continues to touch people of all generations. That being said, I do think that Whitney is a tremendous talent. She just needs to redefine herself and take her gift in a new direction.
billiefan2001 1 year ago
@billiefan2001 Who says Billie can't be outdone? Who says she can't be compared? Will Friedwald is not a god nor are his words as law. Talent, like many things in life, are subjective. They depend on the perception of the person listening. Billie's music remains relevant, but so does many other great talents. That's not unique. Nor does it suggest she cannot be outdone, as even being outdone is an OPINION. The "best" is subjective to the person listening. So Billie can be outdone.
BreezyGraffiti 1 year ago
@BreezyGraffiti
I never said Friedwald was a god or that his words were law. But that doesn't make his words any less true. I was simply pointing out and agreeing with his assessment. But if it makes you feel better, then in my opinion, Billie can't be outdone. She created an original body of work that is still influential and continues to touch people. That's a fact, not an opinion. Whether or not it's unique is irrelevant.
billiefan2001 1 year ago
@billiefan2001 You insinuated that his words had some sort of leverage over the opinion of his words. His words are his OPINION. His opinion is no more valid than the opinion of any one else. I respect your opinion. However, I do not agree with the opinion that Billie cannot be outdone. There are plenty of people through history with equal or greater talent than her. I DO however agree that she created an original body of work. And is still amazing. LOVE her "Cover the Waterfront" interpretation
BreezyGraffiti 1 year ago
@BreezyGraffiti
Whitney Houston cannot (Nor should she)be compared to Billie Holiday, because,Whitney Houston is not a Jazz Singer.
The only simularities between them, are; their Struggles with Drugs, Mens, and That they are both Legendary Icons,in their own right. You have every right to prefer tolistento one over the other,but comparing them; you're way off base.
If you want to talk, "Bottom Line"; "It's the Billie Holidays who paved the way for the Whitney Houstons!"
Mahutlov1 1 year ago
@Mahutlov1 Not true. Whitney is not a jazz singer, and Billie is not a pop singer. This does not mean that the sound, power, technique, tone, and ability of their voices cannot be compared. A "VOICE" is not based around genre. A voice is the sound as produced by the vocal cords. A singing voice is the melodic use of those sounds. And that can be compared. That being said, Whitney is a far greater singer. Now as for personal preference, that is subjective. Technique is not.
BreezyGraffiti 1 year ago
@BreezyGraffiti
Technique is subjective. It depends on what one finds important in vocal qualities, which can include phrasing, timing, and emotional range in addition to the other qualities you mentioned. The fact that Whitney may surpass Billie in some technical capacities doesn't make her a greater singer. Billie could do things with her voice that Whitney could not. I also think Billie was a terrific pop singer, particularly in her Columbia and Decca period.
billiefan2001 1 year ago
@billiefan2001 I disagree that technique is subjective. Note range, dynamic range, textural ability, melisma, & other vocal techniques are not subjective. They are universal building blocks. The things you mentioned (phrasing, timing, emotion) are not "technique" per se. They are the artistic element of singing. What I'm saying is that Whitney is the better technical singer, i.e. greater dynamics, range, power, etc. As for who is the better artist/interpreter, I'd probably agree Billie was.
BreezyGraffiti 1 year ago
@BreezyGraffiti
Yes, I would agree that Billie's strengths were not in dynamic range or power. She was an artist of nuance and made up for her technical limitations with a very distinctive sound and approach. She told Jet magazine in 1952: "I don't have a voice. Jo Stafford and Sarah Vaughan--they have voices. I have a feeling." I think she's selling herself a little short, but there we are.
billiefan2001 1 year ago
@BreezyGraffiti Whitney is not a far greater singer, Whitney without question is a greater vocalist but in the term of singing, she is not up to par with Billie.
TheQueenAretha 9 months ago 3
@Mahutlov1 Correction, there is only 1 Billie and definitely 1 Whitney. Both are legendary icons that paved the way for other R&B and Jazz singers. You have those that make hits, and others who set standards. Billie & Whitney set standards.
jboogie52000 9 months ago
its her pain, which you can see in billies face..her emotions..original..god bless you billie..
christinecassin 1 year ago
@MrMaestranza you had to go into petty insults on Whitney, what a shame. Doesnt change the fact that Whitney "also" did a good job. Whitney has a more powerful clear version.
WH012 1 year ago
This is the original presentation of this classic song! I never knew that this one like so many other of her songs known by others actually came out from her! Her artistry know no bounds! Like the saying goes every song she sang became a big hit! It's Great!
MultiVictorious1 1 year ago 2
Whitney Houston kills this song! Whitney also does a good job.
WH012 1 year ago
Great to see her live!
tidzja 1 year ago
Wow her voice is very unique and mysterious i lovve it!
dorker1992 1 year ago
In her interview, she said they only came to see how high she was!!!! Damn was she high then.
sonya3020 1 year ago
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Billie is so radiant and stunningly beautiful in this video! Truly a Lady in every sense of the word. She sings this simple song so poignantly and expressively all the while smiling so sincerely to the audience and keeping intimate eye contact with them as well. Billie exudes charisma, elegance,grace, regality,class,and poise. She does all of this in this rendition of "Porgy" without the least bit of self consciousness or pretention for she is the REAL thing. I'll love you forever Miss Holiday
junemcguire 1 year ago
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junemcguire 1 year ago
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Actually comparing Lady Day to Nina Simone is like comparing President Obama to Martin Luther King Jr. Nina recorded her version of the song only AFTER she'd heard ms. Holiday's recording so maybe SHE Nina Simone is the one who missed the point. This song is about the domestic violence of a woman who although realizes the wrongdoing is unable to part from her man.
princeLC 1 year ago
Actually comparing Lady Day to Nina Simone is like comparing President Obama to Martin Luther King Jr. Nina recorded her version of the song only AFTER she'd heard ms. Holiday's recording so maybe SHE Nina Simone is the one who missed the point. This song is about the domestic violence of a woman who although realizes the wrongdoing is unable to part from her man.
princeLC 1 year ago
@princeLC
Great comparison princeLC. I couldn't agree more.
billiefan2001 1 year ago
I really enjoyed her performance, but what was up with the final note?
JudiTheWitch 1 year ago
She is so beautiful and expressive -- she sings this like she's singing to herself, knowing she's dying.
YellowMangerCalling 1 year ago
Beautiful
Shrimpnricemitynice 1 year ago
Isn't this Nina Simone's song?
saki15300 1 year ago
@saki15300
it's from Gershwin's Porgy & Bess, so it's a song for everyone :)
ankagor 1 year ago
@ankagor
Also to add on to what you just said Gershwin's Porgy & Bess is also a standard from the Great American Songbook and most of the songs from the songbook were sung by many singers of that era. Songs that Billie sung were also sung by Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Bobby Darin, Mel Torme, Tony Bennett, Peggy Lee, and many many others. Each of these singers put their own style and flair into each of these songs and made them their own. Some renditions are more well known than others.
MusicLoverBrian1 1 year ago
It's by Gershwin.
It's not anyone's song.
tetrisclock 1 year ago
don't let him handle me and drive me mad.
nandesneto 1 year ago 2
It makes me cry and wish to go back on time just to see her
sarabernal 1 year ago
It's so wonderful! Love Billie Holiday!
KatzenImNebel 1 year ago
Thank you Nerdhoe... I really appreciate you putting this out here to educate us mere mortals... Thanks!
TraceHillside 1 year ago
WONDERFUL
notryannes 1 year ago
i love this woman!
PrincessAguilera 1 year ago 2
Billie can break my heart every single day but the more she does it the more I love her
CharlesCLeary 1 year ago 20
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this has to be a very low point of her career - she looks ok but you cannot convince me that this sounds good! apalling really -check out nina simone's vastly superior version
didleybopp 1 year ago
que linda mujer..
1972Dracula 1 year ago
love her
amonduultje 1 year ago
This is such a beautiful performance by Lady Day. . . it's a MASTERPIECE! The way she interprets this song with her unique phrasing, diction, and voice that has a girlish quality to it yet it has a gritty sound to it. To me Billie Holiday is the only one who can sing this song. I've listened to other interpretations but I always come back to hers. No matter whether she sings this song live or in the studio she sings it with such beauty. We are lucky to see this perfect performance from Lady Day
MusicLoverBrian1 1 year ago 3
Still incredible, after years and years of listening to her singing. The part of God I've had the opportunity to see whenever I've wanted to. An example of what unsuperable and uncomparable and unique can mean. Those few great ladies, like her, really were the discent of the divine to heart.
oysterpippo 1 year ago
you know, she's not the complete innocent victim here; she enjoys playing the role of the love enveloped bearing the brunt of the mistreated in love both for others and herself...I would know! Look closely at her expressione: obviously acting!
sstyblo 1 year ago
shes sings about getting the shit slapped out of her and makes it sound beautiful
crackfiendables 1 year ago 3
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Like Nina Simone's version much better
queenray1 1 year ago
For those of you who think Billie misses the point, Lady Day never misses the point., which is why I appreciate her.
MEdwards24 1 year ago 34
@MEdwards24
I don't think Billie Holiday misses the point of this song either. I remember she once said in an interview, "You know, I got to live with my tunes before I sing a song. It's got to mean something man. . . Otherwise, I can't sing. I can't sing. It doesn't mean nothin' to me." Lady Day sung songs that she could relate to and that she felt. That's why she was able to express the emotions of the song in a believable way.
MusicLoverBrian1 1 year ago
the most expressive female voice I have ever heard Soul Deep
Fredoville1 1 year ago 4
I love you porky is one of my favorites,and i used some pictures from this clip for my special duet with Billie:-)
Thnx for uploading
mtorringa 1 year ago
Sorry,but i made a big mistake',because it it Porgy..........
mtorringa 1 year ago
rock came to ruin the real music! f...k the stones and the beatles!! black people are the best!!!! (i'm not black)
OrO2102 1 year ago
@OrO2102 Its obvious youre not black cause you act so white. Music is expression .
BadboybillyC 1 year ago
shes my girl...im in love..unforgetable
jumpjunkjive 1 year ago 16
great
paulostroff99 1 year ago 2
shes the best for me
datkarada 1 year ago 3
I don't think Billie's version is lacking at all nor does she "miss the point." Part of what made Billie such a unique and singular artist was her ability to create a wholly original interpretation that other artists may not have envisioned. Nina's version is beautiful in its own way but it was Billie who set the standard. This 1959 version, from a BBC broadcast, is wonderful but her 1948 Decca recording is the one to beat. Achingly warm and stark, it's a masterpiece in her canon.
billiefan2001 1 year ago 3
Yeah, She was a wonderful singer. When she didn't have a goofy look on her face, she was a TOTAL hottie.....
Landotter1 1 year ago
This gives me the goosebumps..... what an elegant and beautiful woman, despite the rough life she lived. She should be remembered forever.
SeventhHeaven5655 1 year ago 3
Merveilleux, merci pour le partage!
tychaton08 1 year ago
I feel like she misses the point. She makes it sultry, and confident, but I feel like the song is about being weak, and kind of pathetic
greatworkteam 1 year ago
@greatworkteam Yeah man, you hit it right on the head. Billie's version is lacking; Nina Simone is the one who gives this song the depth of vulnerability that's at its source. It's a very "I Hit The Bottom And Am In Desperation" kind of song. I love Billie, but I agree: she misses the point.
thetragicfigure 1 year ago
@thetragicfigure i just watched nina's version and I didn't really buy your argument until I saw it, and now I must agree. it's just that nina´s rendition is so powerful, so colorful, so vivid in its tragicness.
rio985 1 year ago
from porgy and bess???
CrazyLazySnazzyJazzy 1 year ago
i can sing like that anyday anytime anywhere
abonawas 1 year ago
@abonawas oh i doubt it
01738083370 1 year ago
perfect
mARCarchitectureaz 1 year ago 5
One of my Jazz heroines- Lady Day. . makes me cry. .
MulBerrie 1 year ago 6
@GenuinelyArtificial
I've listened to the Christina Aguilera rendition of this song and I agree with you that she does too many vocal acrobatical runs. Why do singers these days feel the need to destroy a song by ornating and over-decorating a song by these vocal acrobatic tricks? What is wrong with keeping it simple? In Billie Holiday's rendition of "I Love You Porgy" she keeps it simple and she is doing a great intrepretation & reading of this song. Btw, I love the musical arrangement too!
MusicLoverBrian1 1 year ago 5
Fabulous
musicvideosparttwo 1 year ago
Her singing is so expressive. Beautiful.
biggabob 1 year ago 31
This woman is so surreal. Amazing presence.
IceveinsProductions 1 year ago 4
I wish I was alive when she was alive.
707RipOtee 1 year ago 6
Beautiful, in every way
jairywhorer 1 year ago 5
she is so pretty
EmoneyBabay1Luv 1 year ago 45
@EmoneyBabay1Luv . . . i second that! She is a very beautiful woman and it's the class, poise, grace, and sophistication that she had when she got up on the stage and singed. She didn't have to take off her clothes or do some kind of sexual suggested poses that many female vocalists do today. She knew how to grab the audience by pulling at their souls and her voice is unique and one of a kind. Everytime note that she sings seems to have a point and/or convey some kind of emotion. She was unique!
MusicLoverBrian1 1 year ago 6
@EmoneyBabay1Luv id suck a fart out of her ass
krow85 1 year ago
could anyone please upload the song "mellow low" of her??
Assasino86 1 year ago
i love her minimalistic approach to this piece
vmarshall51 1 year ago
And we do (scusi Duke) love you forever Billiie generation after genertion.
nockeliten 2 years ago
everyone knows billie didnt have great range or the highest ocatave voice but the fact that she put her emotions into songs made the audience feel her pain and thats what makes her a legend along with her unique phrasing..long live billie holiday R.I.P.
margaritavlog 2 years ago 5
A very sexy rendition
thestranger11 2 years ago 3
Beautiful performance. Amazing how good she was when she was in poor health. Thank you for sharing this!
divaqueen 2 years ago
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This video's got more dropout than an urban high school
sbhathena 2 years ago
so effortless, so beautiful, so perfect...billie nobody captures a song like you
bijoubijou 2 years ago
She was...
I have no words...
Just this thing in my chest taking my breath away. I wanna cry, I wanna laugh.
Anyway, I don't try to understand anymore why I feel like this about Billie...
She was...
thehappyhedonist 2 years ago 2
ive only just seen her work- what a stunning performer.
x
HelenDiazOfficial 2 years ago
I love this, but damn 1:40 is so scary when she raises her eyebrow! Not I'm a bit afraid of her.
LillaBlue 2 years ago
Nina's version is awesome. I lean more to Billie Holliday's version because of the softness. I just like this arrangement better. I could listen to this all day.
poistu 2 years ago
Dearest Billie, I think everyone felt your pain through your songs.You were an amazing woman & still continue to be such, your missed..
cubaninfusion 2 years ago
Nina,Ella,Louie,Nat,their voices have made a mark in this world but Billie set waves..God gave the beautiful gift of such amazing voices.Seeing & feeling is believing,good music moves you,outside & on the inside.What makes the song believable, is the gift of not only a good voice,but also from the gut, the inside,the soul & boy could you feel it when miss lady day sang it...
cubaninfusion 2 years ago
Thank you. Wonderful clip. Though I wouldn't say who is better than who in jazz, as most criticisms are all conjecture, Billie Holiday stands at the pantheon of Jazz Singers. Along with Satch, Sass, Ella, and King Cole. Simone was great, certainly. But not like Lady Day.
gljazzhead 2 years ago 2
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methinks nina simone is better
threelegduck 2 years ago
methinks not.
billiefan2001 2 years ago 2
true
Nashy30 2 years ago
Billie congratulated Nina on her rendition. The thing about jazz is improvisation and style. vive la difference
(or something like that)
MusicalLyrica 2 years ago 3
I agree. I happened to hear Nina's rendition first, but that's not the way it came about
threelegduck 2 years ago 2
I won't say Nina's is better. I personally like Nina's version better than anybody's. Actually, I think her version is one of the best songs ever made. I actually like Nina Simone better than I like Billie Holiday, but I LOVE them both., If you can understand that (I know you can)
MusicalLyrica 2 years ago 2
viva la difference, indeed!
RoPiDe 2 years ago
I love her and this is my first time hearing her today.. :)
MiZzLondaSwaggaDyme 2 years ago