Teddy Wilson Videos : Billie Holiday..."That's all l ask of you"...1937

billie holiday/teddy wilson/lester young/jazz/1930s music/dance bands holiday that s all l ask of you 1937

Billie Holiday..."That's all l ask of you"...1937

The great Billie Holiday singing out in her plaintive voice.Alongside Billie is Teddy Wilson piano,Walter Page bass and Lester Young Tenor.Her early life is not well documented.Her father seemed obsessed with his looks and women. Having a daughter might ruin his chances with the young girls,so he promptly would have nothing to do with her.Mistreated by relatives,she eventually seemed to have become a part time prostitute,before getting discovered by the famous record producer John Hammond.He got her a job singing on a record, with Benny Goodman in 1933.Joining the "white" Artie Shaw band proved to be problematic.At times made to enter venues through the rear door due to her colour.Promoters were disinclined to book the band with a black singer.She eventually parted company.Lester Young got her the Teddy Wilson work.Young a brilliant tenor player was a match for Billie when it came to life's difficulties.On his death certificate the cause was written down as "General Debility" the booze,the drugs,cigarettes,late nights and poor eating took their fatal toll.Billie started to get nationwide fame from about 1940 onwards.It was also at this time that her drink and drug problems became serious.Being abused as a child, she seemed to have actively sought out lovers who would abuse her.Unable to settle down,stay of the drugs and out of the eyes of the police,the seeds of self destruction were sown.with the inevitable end result.The Wilson sessions,which had uneventful releases,at ...

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