Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia 1933–1944


When I first began working in Newark, Delaware in the middle of the last decade, there were two decent record stores in town, both on East Main Street within walking distance of one another. Bert's Compact Discs, the one I preferred, was a little further away from the main campus of the University of Delaware, closer to Academy Avenue. This place was a pure music store, stocking a pretty wide selection of import and independent music. The other place, Rainbow Books & Music, was practically sitting inside the university gates. Its selection of music was a lot narrower; in addition, the discs shared space with a textbook and used-book shop. In other words, music wasn't the main focus there, like it was at Bert's.

So for my first couple of months in the area, my visits to Rainbow were few and far between - for me, Bert's was where the 'action' was. I got turned on to Of Montreal in that store, when during one visit, the shopgirl played a prerelease version of a song off of the band's upcoming album, Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?, that I went nuts for. I found ultrarare CDs by New Zealand noise artists (and old favorites) The Dead C there, along with a bunch of other great stuff. I really loved that record store.

During that winter, I went through a lull for a couple of months where I didn't visit the CD shops or purchase any music. I can't recall why I stopped for a while; there probably wasn't anything left that I wanted to get my hands on at that particular time. Finally, one day after work, I decided to drive downtown on my way home and see what was new at Bert's. I was shocked to discover that Bert's had disappeared, seemingly overnight - replaced by a religious bookstore. The change was so thorough and complete that you couldn't even tell that a great music store once resided there. I stood there in front of the entrance in stunned silence, snow flurries swirling around me, shocked and saddened to find that Bert's was no more. I then turned, and for the first time in many months, trudged up the street to Rainbow.

As I mentioned earlier, Rainbow had nowhere near the quantity and selection of music that the other now-defunct record store had. But Rainbow had two things going for it - a fairly large used CD section full of discounted music (a lot of dross to be found in there, to be sure, but in my later visits I found more than enough that was worthwhile), and a section of shelves around the corner and behind the register that held special staff picks and promotions.

I browsed the used racks, but nothing jumped out at me. So on my way out, I stopped to take a look at the promotions shelf. The theme that month was jazz and swing, and featured prominently was a large purple-and-black boxed set containing ALL of Billie Holiday's Columbia Records recordings.

Now, I'm a HUGE Billie Holiday fan, and have been since high school. Back when I was a freshman and involved in the school drama club, one of my first parts was as a featured player in a one-act play called "The Death of Bessie Smith". Up until I had been cast for that show, I had no idea who Bessie Smith, the former "Queen of the Blues", was, nor had any real understanding or interest in the jazz and blues music from that period. So I began educating myself, checking out old records from the local library and reading up on Ms. Smith and other artists from that era, eventually coming around to Billie Holiday. She quickly became my favorite from that period. A family friend had a couple of old Billie Holiday records, that I borrowed and copied onto cassette tapes, and kept in my possession for years. To me, her voice was the personification of jazz and blues. My favorite Holiday song was (and is) "Speak Low" (Please use the email link to contact me for the link to this song: Send Email), which I thought was an original of hers; I learned later that the song was a reworking of a tune from an old WWII-era Broadway show called One Touch of Venus, and was written by none other than the great Kurt Weill, with lyrics by the famous poet Ogden Nash. Holiday just made the song her own, and in my opinion her version of it vastly improves upon the original.


So needless to say, when I saw this ten-disc set, I was very excited . . . until I saw the price tag. The sum thar Rainbow was asking for it was well beyond my means at the time. But I coveted those tunes, so much so that I made what was at that point a rash decision - I was bound and determined to head to Atlantic City that weekend and WIN the purchase price of that music at the poker tables there. I asked the shopkeeper to hold the set for a couple of days, and I would come back for it by Monday. He did as I requested, but all in all he didn't seem too jazzed about it . . .

At that point in time, the prospects of me coming away from New Jersey's casinos with any kind of gain were slim at best. I'd recently started playing no-limit hold 'em again after a layoff of a couple of years, and my once-awesome skills were more than a little bit rusty. My last few trips to Atlantic City had been disasters; guys who I normally would have been wiping the floor with were taking my money seemingly at will. This was coupled with a long and demoralizing run of insanely bad luck, with opponents again and again catching miracle suck-out cards on the river to destroy me - the worst instance occuring during a session at the Borgata, when I turned one of only two straight flushes I've ever held in my life . . . and LOST the hand (that one STILL hurts to this day . . . ). But even with those multiple sessions of ass-kickage, I was confident that I would eventually turn it around and get back into my formerly winning form - hopefully sooner rather than later. I left for A.C. that weekend, full of hope.

Upon arrival in the New Jersey coastal city, I steered clear of bad-luck Borgata, and headed down to the string of casinos located along the famed Boardwalk. I decided to try the Tropicana, a favorite due to their large poker room and the overall ambiance of the property (I try very hard not to be superstitious . . . but at that point I could use all the positive vibes I could find). I made my way down past the shops and restaurants, and quickly found a seat at a $1-2 no limit hold 'em table. My hands were actually sweating as I sat down - the ghosts and memories of all those bad sessions and hellacious beats all came storming back. But I tried to calm down, push those bad thoughts aside, and concentrate on what I was doing . . .

And for the first time in a while, my focus paid off - I made an absolute KILLING at the table that day! Cards kept falling my way, time and time again. By the end of that session that evening, I needed two racks to hold all of the red and green chips I had acquired. I felt like I finally got my poker mojo back! I drove home that evening a very happy man.

In the early afternoon of the next day, Sunday, I drove back to downtown Newark and entered Rainbow. "Remember me?", I asked the guy behind the counter. "I hope you held on to that Billie Holiday set." He seemed very surprised and happy to have me come back as I promised I would; I suspect that his prospects for selling such an expensive set to impoverished students in a college town like that probably weren't too optimistic, so essentially I was doing him a favor by taking it off of his hands. I raced home with the huge leather-bound folder and over the rest of that day, proceeded to burn all ten discs onto my computer and into my MP3 player. In terms of quality and quantity of music, this set could not be beat. I must say that, even all these years later, I'm still very happy with my purchase!

So, on the 53rd anniversary of the death of one of the greatest jazz singers of all time, I proudly present to you Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia 1933–1944, the full ten-disc set, the definitive collection of the music of the sublime Billie Holiday. This one is for the fans and yet-to-be fans of one of the greatest song interpreters of the century. As always, enjoy, and let me know what you think.  

Please use the email link below to contact me, and I will reply with the download links ASAP:  

Send Email

51 comments:

  1. Pleeaaase sort out your comments system. This is my 3rd attempt (the first 2 were eloquent and lengthy meditations on Billie and heartfelt thank yous). Notice that you get lots of visitors and no comments?

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  2. It's not me - I swear! I have no control over the comment process - it's Blogger.com, or Google, or whoever controls this system. Yes, it is an ongoing and annoying problem, and I know it limits the number of comments I receive - I hate it, but I'm powerless to fix it. Try again to post what you want to say - I look forward to reading it.

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  3. Fantastic music!
    This is Billie at her best. Some of what
    she's asked to sing is just dumbfounding,
    but she generally turns it into classic
    jazz music. The mark of a great artist I guess. Thanks so much.

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  4. The thing I like about this collection is that you can chronologically hear how Holiday develops her singing style. In the first disc, she's all power, just belting it out with little regard for subtlety or nuance. But by the second disc, you can really start to hear the Billie Holiday we all know and love coming through. This is a great, great collection, and I'm glad you're happy with it. Enjoy!

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  5. I received my links. My gf would be very happy for this.

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  6. Thank you so much for this wonderful and generous post! I came searching for two discs and ended up with ten!

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    1. See? You heard it here first, folks - the Pee-Pee Soaked Heckhole blog is FIVE TIMES better than advertised! (ha ha!)

      Enjoy, and keep on coming back!

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  7. THANKs for the links!!! they work perfect!!

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  8. Wow. These are absolutely fantastic. Wonderful blog, wonderful music.

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  9. thank u so much!! really love this blog

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  10. Wow! You got back to me quick. Im definitely bookmarking this blog and checking out your other stuff! Thank you!

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  11. It's perfect! I thought it was a long shot asking for the files via email because this post was from 2012, but i got the response very quickly. You won't find this album somewhere else. Bookmarked. Thank you so much!

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  12. Thanks a lot for this so moving voice and music, you sharing the best.
    And thanks too for this quickly answer, I'm very happy and it's great.

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  13. Thanks a lot for this so moving voice and music, you sharing the best.
    And thanks too for this quickly answer, I'm very happy and it's great.

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  14. hello, is it still possible for you to send me the download link please !?

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    1. Sure - just use the "Send Email" link above, so I have an email address to send it to.

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  15. Thank you very much for this great gift that I have after many attempts finally listened with great pleasure. I look after (Decca) forward.

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  16. You,sir,are a legend! Thank you very much for sharing beautiful art of Billie Holiday for us who cannot afford to buy it! You are very kind.

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  17. Thanks for the quick and excellent share!

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  18. hello, is it still possible for you to send me the download link please?,

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    Replies
    1. Sure - just use the "Send Email" link above, so I have an email address to send it to.

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  19. Many many many thanks for a truly superb collection by the one and only Lady Day. Kudos, sir!

    -Chandra

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  20. Fantastic! Such a beautiful collection of music. Means a lot..thank you, thank, thank you! It's generous people like you that really make a difference. ~Levi

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  21. This is a really great collection. The young Billie Holiday was so wonderful.

    Thank you for the links, you have been very fast.

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  22. Thank you so much!
    Sharing Lady Day's music is a contribution to humanity and beyond!
    (This just turn to be one of my favorite blogs ever!)

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  23. Ms.Holiday is the cure to my strange fruit allure please send me my script in all it's musically melodic azure!
    Thanks thanks again !

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  24. Wow, what a remarkable collection! It's as wonderful as I had hoped, and then some. Thank you so much for sharing these gems with us. -Lin

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    1. Glad I could get these to you, Lin! Enjoy, and Happy New Year!

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  25. Like many people I have only heard a few Billie Holiday songs, in movies, documentaries, etc. I'm struck by the sound of sweet sorrow in her voice, and am anxious to delve deep int her oeuvre. Thanks for providing that chance!

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  26. This is awesome! Thank you so much for providing this - I can't believe the link is still good 6 years later - you Da Man!

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  27. Some of the best recording of all time

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  28. Thank you for sending a link and kind message!
    I love Holiday's early recordings in Colombia and Decca. 10 discs enough to enjoy it!

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  29. Thank you for sending the link so rapidly.
    Great music by one of the greatest singer.

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    Replies
    1. Truer words were never spoken...

      Let me know if you're interested in any of my other Billie Holiday posts. All the best to you!

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  30. Thank you so much! -GB

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  31. been looking everywhere for this. thanks a million

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    Replies
    1. Glad I could get it into your hands - enjoy!

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  32. Hello. I am a big fan... I own all of her Verve, Decca and Commodore recordings... I have wanted her Columbia recordings for years... Thank you very much if you can help me with that link so I can check the songs and then go buy the CDs...

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  33. Wow. I had never in my life been in this site: congratulations! It's a beautiful effort, and your writing is wonderful.
    I just found you minutes ago, after months of looking for Billie Holiday's early Columbia recordings...
    You really have magical stuff here... Never found other site worth reading! I will be around for a long time... Thanks again for real culture!

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    1. Hi there! Thanks for the great words!

      Did I sent you these links yet? I don't think I received an email request from you; I need to know what email address to send them to! So if you still would like these, just click the "Send Email" link above, please!

      I look forward to hearing from you soon.

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  34. I pressed the Send Email button, it just opened compose page on Yahoo mail without adress to send to. Is it okay with You if i put my e-mail here or...?

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    1. Sure - send me another message with your email and name; I won't publish it here, but I'll use it to get the files to you.

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  35. All Good.Thanx for the link.My father will be pleased with this.Cheers.

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  36. Amazing collection. Thank you very much.

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  37. Thanks for the great post and for your quick response! Links worked perfectly. Can't wait to dig into this truly incredible set!

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  38. Thanks for this fantastic music of this fantastic singer.
    Sepp

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  39. Thank you for this brilliant album from Lady Day!

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  40. Thanks so much for this superb collection - pure gold! The story's a humdinger too!

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  41. Hi there, i realise that I am very late to the party but i only just discovered your blog and would love a link to download this great album. I have just also replied on the send email link at the top of the page. If it is possible for you to send me a link it would be greatly appreciated? Thanks very much. Eddie

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    1. Like the blog heading says, EVERYTHING ever posted here, no matter how old, is available to requesters for as long as this site is up and running - and I have no plans to end it in the immediate future!

      Link sent - enjoy!

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