Irene Higginbotham

Irene Higginbotham
Born June 11, 1918(1918-06-11)
Origin Worcester, Massachusetts, United States
Died August 27, 1988(1988-08-27) (aged 70)
New York City, New York, United States
Genres Blues, jazz
Occupations Songwriter, pianist
Instruments Piano
Years active 1930s–1988

Irene Higginbotham (June 11, 1918, Worcester, Massachusetts – August 27, 1988, New York City, New York)[1] was an American songwriter and concert pianist. She is best known for co-writing the Billie Holiday song "Good Morning Heartache" (1946).[2]

Biography

While her closest connection in the popular music of the 1930s and 1940s was Holiday, the prolific songwriter was niece of the classic jazz trombonist J.C. Higginbotham. She was a music student of Kemper Harold and Frederic Hall. She was also a concert pianist at fifteen and joined American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) in 1944.

Her popular-song compositions included:[3]

Also see ASCAP pages for a partial list.[4]

Irene Higginbotham has not to be confused with Irene Kitchings (1908-1975), who was married with jazz pianist Teddy Wilson for a short time and has written the jazz standard Some Other Spring.[5]

References

  1. ^ Irene Higginbotham, The Black Perspective in Music, Vol. 16, No. 2 (Autumn, 1988), p. 247
  2. ^ ASCAP: "Good Morning Heartache"
  3. ^ Songs Composed by Irene Higginbotham
  4. ^ ASCAP: Songs Composed by Irene Higginbotham
  5. ^ secondhandsongs

External links