God Bless the Child (Billie Holiday song)

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For other uses, see God Bless the Child (disambiguation).
“God Bless the Child”
Single by Billie Holiday
B-side "Solitude"
Released 1942
Format 78 rpm
Recorded Friday, May 9, 1941
Genre Jazz
Length 2:57
Label Okeh
Writer(s) Billie Holiday, Arthur Herzog Jr.
Producer Edward B. Marks Music Corporation
“God Bless the Child”
Single by The Simpsons
from the album The Simpsons Sing the Blues
Released 1991
Format CD single
Recorded 1990
Genre Pop
Label Geffen
Writer(s) Billie Holiday, Arthur Herzog Jr.
Producer John Boylan, Bryan Loren, DJ Jazzy Jeff
The Simpsons singles chronology
"Deep, Deep Trouble"
(1991)		 "God Bless the Child"
(1991)		 "The Simpsons Theme"
(2007)

"God Bless the Child" is a song written by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog Jr. in 1939, first recorded on May 9, 1941 under the Okeh label.

Holiday's version of the song was honored with the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in (1976).[1] It was also included in the list of Songs of the Century, by the Recording Industry of America and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Contents

[edit] Recording session

Session #44: 799 Seventh Avenue, New York City, May 9, 1941, Eddie Heywood and his Orchestra with Roy Eldridge (trumpet) Jimmy Powell, Lester Boone (alto saxophone), Ernie Powell (trumpet), Eddie Heywood (piano), Paul Chapman (guitar), Grachan Moncur II (bass), Herbert Cowans (drums), Billie Holiday (vocal)[2]

[edit] Origin and Interpretation

In her autobiography Lady Sings the Blues[3] Holiday indicated an argument with her mother over money led to the song. She indicated that during the argument she said the line "God bless the child that's got his own." The anger over the incident led her to turn that line into a starting point for a song, which she worked out in conjunction with Herzog. In Jazz Singing Will Friedwald[4] indicates it as "sacred and profane" as it references the Bible while indicating that religion seems to have no effect in making people treat each other better.[5] The lyrics refer to a Biblical verse, probably Luke 19:26.[6]

[edit] Notable cover versions

It also inspired a children's picture book.[9] It was included on the The Simpsons Sing the Blues album, performed by Lisa Simpson (Yeardley Smith). Tony Bennett recorded the song as an overdubbed "duet" with Holiday for his 1997 album Tony Bennett on Holiday. Tricky released a version of the song on Angels with Dirty Faces (1998), retitled as "Carriage for Two".

[edit] Appearances in the media

[edit] Film

IMDB database[10]

[edit] Television

[edit] Literature

[edit] Video Games

  • BioShock soundtrack: The three remixed tracks on the CD include "Beyond the Sea", "God Bless the Child" and "Wild Little Sisters"; the original recordings of these songs are in the game.

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Grammy Hall of Fame Award list
  2. ^ Billie Holiday's God Bless the Child
  3. ^ Holiday, Billie. Lady Sings the Blues, Hal Leonard Corporation, (1985) - ISBN 0793524458
  4. ^ Friedwald, Will. Jazz Singing: America's Great Voices from Bessie Smith to Bebop and Beyond, Da Capo, (1996) - ISBN 0306807122
  5. ^ Liner notes pages 6 and 7 in Billie Holiday's Greatest Hits
  6. ^ Bible Gateway
  7. ^ All Music List
  8. ^ Second Hand Songs
  9. ^ Holiday, Billie. God Bless the Child, Harper Collins, (2004) - ISBN 0060287977
  10. ^ IMDB database
  11. ^ Music on Grey's Anatomy: God Bless the Child

[edit] External links


v • d • e
The Simpsons discography
Albums
Singles
"Do the Bartman" (1990)  · "Deep, Deep Trouble" (1990/1991)  · "God Bless the Child" (1991)  · "The Simpsons Theme" (2007)  · "Spider-Pig" (2007)
Languages