Vanessa Kaylor: My favorite album of all time is Lady Sings the Blues by Billie Holiday. LSTB was released in 1956. It was her last record with Clef Records who were later absorbed by Verve Records. The sessions were done in New York City at Fine Sound Studio in 1956 and in Los Angeles at Capitol Studios in 1954.
It was released simultaneously with her ghost-written autobiography of the same name. Holiday claims to have never read the book once it was complete. Her early life was difficult and she found solace in music. She had a melancholy in her voice and a very distinct way of expressing herself through her phrasing. She wrote about abuse, addiction, and government persecution.She had substance abuse problems and was given a warning in 1941 by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics to cease singing her controversial track “Strange Fruit” but she continued to perform the song. The band would close with it, the waiters would stop service, the room dark with only a spotlight on Holidays’ face and no encore.
