Philip Russom Sings/Plays "Lady Sings the Blues"

Lady Sings the Blues = Most of the songs that Billie Holiday wrote have roots in the abusive childhood she lived in Harlem and her grueling adult life on the road touring as one of the greatest jazz and blues singers of her age. A particularly autobiographical song is "Lady Sings the Blues", which first appeared on her album of the same name in 1956. Note that "Lady Day" was her nickname, the blues were what she sang, and these are both encapsulated in the song title. The words of the song confess that she "wants the world to know what the blues are all about." The song lyric ends with a prophetic line: "She's never gonna sing them [blues] no more." She died three years later from heart failure, at age 44.