Fine and Mellow

This article is about the song. For other uses, see Fine and Mellow (disambiguation).
"Fine and Mellow"
Single by Billie Holiday
A-side"Strange Fruit"
Released1939
RecordedApril 20, 1939
GenreJazz
LabelCommodore
Songwriter(s)Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday singles chronology
"I'm Gonna Lock My Heart"
(1938) 		"Fine and Mellow"
(1939) 		"God Bless the Child"
(1942)

"Fine and Mellow" is a jazz standard written by Billie Holiday,[1] who first recorded it on April 20, 1939 on the Commodore label.[2] It is a blues lamenting the bad treatment of a woman at the hands of "my man".

Notable performances and recordings

The song was famously performed by Billie Holiday in 1957 in a television special, The Sound of Jazz.[3] The line-up included several jazz legends (the first six are listed in the order of their solos):

It has been covered several times, sometimes with a change in lyrics or emphasis. For example, Lou Rawls switched the gender to a girlfriend[4] and Eva Cassidy sang it in a defiant tone. Notable cover versions were sung by Nina Simone (on the 1959 At Town Hall), Dee Dee Bridgewater on her Billie Holiday tribute album, and Ella Fitzgerald on her eponymous album.

References

  1. ^ Jacobs, Dick & Harriet. Who Wrote That Song?, Writers Digest Books (1994), page 70 - ISBN 0-89879-639-3
  2. ^ "Fine and Mellow : Billie Holiday : Lyrics". Ladyday.net. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
  3. ^ "JAZZ A film by Ken Burns". PBS. 2012-01-06. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
  4. ^ "Lou Rawls - The Best of Lou Rawls: The Capitol Jazz & Blues Sessions". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2016-07-26.