God Bless the Child (Billie Holiday song)
Encyclopedia
"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). It was also included in the list of Songs of the Century
, by the Recording Industry Association of America
and the National Endowment for the Arts
.
and his Orchestra with Roy Eldridge
(trumpet) Jimmy Powell, Lester Boone (alto saxophone), Ernie Powell (trumpet), Eddie Heywood
(piano), Johan Robins (guitar), Paul Chapman (guitar), Grachan Moncur II (bass), Herbert Cowans
(drums), Billie Holiday
(vocal)
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. The lyrics refer to an unspecified Biblical verse: "Them that's got shall get, them that don't shall lose, so the Bible says, and it still is news. . . . " This likely refers to Matthew 25:29
or Luke 8:18
.
It also inspired a children's picture book. It was included on the album The Simpsons Sing the Blues
, performed by Lisa Simpson
(Yeardley Smith); this version was released as a single, the third from the album. 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".
In 1999, House producer Alex Gopher sampled parts of the first verse for his track "the Child".
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
and Arthur Herzog, Jr. in 1939, first recorded on May 9, 1941 under the Okeh
Okeh Records
Okeh Records began as an independent record label based in the United States of America in 1918. From 1926 on, it was a subsidiary of Columbia Records.-History:...
label.
Holiday's version of the song was honored with the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in (1976). It was also included in the list of Songs of the Century
Songs of the Century
The "Songs of the Century" list is part of an education project by the Recording Industry Association of America , the National Endowment for the Arts, and Scholastic Inc. that aims to "promote a better understanding of America’s musical and cultural heritage" in American schools...
, by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
and the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
.
Recording session
Session #44: 799 Seventh Avenue, New York City, May 9, 1941, Eddie HeywoodEddie Heywood
Eddie Heywood was a jazz pianist who was popular in the 1940s. His father, Eddie Heyward, Sr. was also a jazz musician from the 1920s. Heywood, Jr...
and his Orchestra with Roy Eldridge
Roy Eldridge
Roy David Eldridge , nicknamed "Little Jazz" was an American jazz trumpet player. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos and his strong influence on Dizzy Gillespie mark him as one of the most exciting musicians of the swing era and a...
(trumpet) Jimmy Powell, Lester Boone (alto saxophone), Ernie Powell (trumpet), Eddie Heywood
Eddie Heywood
Eddie Heywood was a jazz pianist who was popular in the 1940s. His father, Eddie Heyward, Sr. was also a jazz musician from the 1920s. Heywood, Jr...
(piano), Johan Robins (guitar), Paul Chapman (guitar), Grachan Moncur II (bass), Herbert Cowans
Herbert Cowans
Herbert "Kat" Cowans or Cowens was an American jazz drummer born in Texas.Cowans worked as a shoeshine boy as a child. His first professional engagement as a drummer was with the Satisfied Five, a local Texas ensemble. After moving to Wichita Falls, he played in Frenchy's New Orleans Jazz Band,...
(drums), Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
(vocal)
Origin and interpretation
In her autobiography Lady Sings the Blues 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 his 1990 book Jazz Singing, Will FriedwaldWill Friedwald
Will Friedwald is an American author and music critic. He has written for such newspapers as The New York Times, The Village Voice, Newsday, The New York Observer, and The New York Sun, and for such magazines as Entertainment Weekly, Oxford American, New York, Mojo, BBC Music Magazine, Stereo...
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. The lyrics refer to an unspecified Biblical verse: "Them that's got shall get, them that don't shall lose, so the Bible says, and it still is news. . . . " This likely refers to Matthew 25:29
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
or Luke 8:18
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...
.
Notable cover versions
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) - Richie HavensRichie HavensRichard P. "Richie" Havens is an African American folk singer and guitarist. He is best known for his intense, rhythmic guitar style , soulful covers of pop and folk songs, and his opening performance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival.-Career:Born in Brooklyn, Havens was the eldest of nine children...
(1972) - Aretha FranklinAretha FranklinAretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
(1962 for her album The Tender, the Moving, the Swinging Aretha FranklinThe Tender, the Moving, the Swinging Aretha Franklin"Aretha is a natural. No matter what she sings - new songs like Without the One You Love and Don't Cry, Baby or time-tested stadarts like Try a Little Tenderness and I Apologize - she is completely free, uninhibited and thrilling", Billy James, said."...Every step of the way, Aretha has grown. She...
) - Stevie WonderStevie WonderStevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
(1968) - Fifty Foot HoseFifty Foot HoseFifty Foot Hose is a psychedelic rock band that formed in San Francisco in the late 1960s, and reformed in the 1990s. They were one of the first bands to fuse rock and experimental music...
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(1968) - Blood, Sweat & TearsBlood, Sweat & TearsBlood, Sweat & Tears is an American music group, originally formed in 1967 in New York City. Since its beginnings in 1967, the band has gone through numerous iterations with varying personnel and has encompassed a multitude of musical styles...
(1969) - Billy EckstineBilly EckstineWilliam Clarence Eckstine was an American singer of ballads and a bandleader of the swing era. Eckstine's smooth baritone and distinctive vibrato broke down barriers throughout the 1940s, first as leader of the original bop big-band, then as the first romantic black male in popular...
and Linda RonstadtLinda RonstadtLinda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
, duet (1969) - Liza MinnelliLiza MinnelliLiza May Minnelli is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli....
(1971) - Diana RossDiana RossDiana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
(1972) - Tom Browne (1981)
- Dave Van RonkYour Basic Dave Van RonkYour Basic Dave Van Ronk is an album by American folk and blues singer Dave Van Ronk, released in 1982.Your Basic Dave Van Ronk was recorded in one single night session in London in 1981. It is out-of-print but was re-released along with In the Tradition in 2002 by Fantasy Records as Two Sides of...
(1982) - Ella FitzgeraldElla FitzgeraldElla Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
(1982) - Keith JarrettKeith JarrettKeith Jarrett is an American pianist and composer who performs both jazz and classical music.Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey, moving on to play with Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s he has enjoyed a great deal of success in jazz, jazz fusion, and classical music; as...
(1983) - Billy MacKenzieBilly MackenzieWilliam MacArthur "Billy" Mackenzie was a Scottish singer, with a distinctive falsetto voice best known as a member of The Associates.- Biography :...
(Associates (duo))(1984) - Crystal GayleCrystal GayleCrystal Gayle is an American country music singer best known for her 1977 country-pop hit, "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue". An award-winning singer, she accumulated 18 number one country hits during the 1970s and 1980s...
(1985) - The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
(Lisa SimpsonLisa SimpsonLisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
/voice actor Yeardley SmithYeardley SmithYeardley Smith is a French-born American actress, voice actress, writer and painter. She is best known for her long-running role as Lisa Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons....
) (1990) - Barbra StreisandBarbra StreisandBarbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
(1991) - Diane SchuurDiane SchuurDiane Schuur is an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Deedles", she has won two Grammy Awards, headlined many of the world's most prestigious music venues, including Carnegie Hall and The White House and has toured the world performing with such greats as Quincy Jones, Stan Getz, B. B...
(1992) - Eva CassidyEva CassidyEva Marie Cassidy was an American vocalist known for her interpretations of jazz, blues, folk, gospel, country and pop classics. In 1992 she released her first album, The Other Side, a set of duets with go-go musician Chuck Brown, followed by a live solo album, Live at Blues Alley in 1996...
(1992) - Tony BennettTony BennettTony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
(1995) - Vanita Harbour (General HospitalGeneral HospitalGeneral Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
soundtrack) (1998) - Jamie CullumJamie CullumJamie Cullum is an English pop and jazz-pop singer-songwriter. Though he is primarily a vocalist/pianist he also accompanies himself on other instruments including guitar and drums. Since April 2010, he has been presenting a weekly jazz show on BBC Radio 2, broadcast on Tuesdays from 19:00.- Early...
(1999) - Ruthie FosterRuthie FosterRuthie Foster is an American singer-songwriter of blues and folk music.Foster is from Gause, Texas and comes from a family of gospel singers. She studied music at McLennan Community College and then worked in the US Navy, where she started performing. Her debut was released in 1997 and she has...
(2004) - Mikalah GordonMikalah GordonMikalah Analise Gordon is an American singer and eleventh-place finalist on the fourth season of American Idol. She was the second finalist eliminated on March 25, 2005.-Early life:...
(2005) - Theresa SokyrkaTheresa SokyrkaTheresa Sokyrka is a Canadian singer-songwriter. On the second season of Canadian Idol, she was the final runner-up to winner Kalan Porter.-Biography:...
(2005) - Nnenna FreelonNnenna FreelonNnenna Freelon, , is an American jazz singer, composer, producer, and arranger. She has been nominated for five Grammy Awards for her vocal work, and has performed and toured with such top artists as Ray Charles, Ellis Marsalis, Al Jarreau, Anita Baker, Aretha Franklin, Dianne Reeves, Diana Krall,...
(2005) - Gladys KnightGladys KnightGladys Maria Knight , known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer-songwriter, actress, businesswoman, humanitarian, and author...
(2006) - Eva AvilaEva AvilaEva Avila is a singer and songwriter. She won the fourth season of the CTV reality show Canadian Idol in 2006.-Early life:...
(2006) - LaKisha JonesLaKisha JonesLaKisha Ann Jones is an American singer. She placed fourth on the sixth season of American Idol.-Personal life:Jones was born at Hurley Medical Center in Flint, Michigan, to a teacher at the Flint Foundation Academy...
(2007) - Jill ScottJill ScottJill Scott is an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter, poet, and actress. In 2007, Scott made her cinematic debut in the films Hounddog and in Tyler Perry's feature film, Why Did I Get Married? That year, her third studio album, The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3, was released on...
(2007) - MobyMobyRichard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...
(2007) - Laura White (2008)
- Dee Dee BridgewaterDee Dee BridgewaterDee Dee Bridgewater is an American Jazz singer. She is a three-time Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter, as well as a Tony Award - winning stage actress and host of National Public Radio's syndicated radio show JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater...
(2010) - Haley ReinhartHaley ReinhartHaley Reinhart is an American singer from Wheeling, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois who placed third in the tenth season of American Idol. Reinhart is currently signed to 19 and Interscope Records.-Early life:...
(2011) - Jacob LuskJacob LuskJacob Lusk is an American singer from Compton, California, who finished in fifth place on the tenth season of American Idol.-Early life:...
(2011) - and others.
It also inspired a children's picture book. It was included on the album The Simpsons Sing the Blues
The Simpsons Sing the Blues
The Simpsons Sing the Blues is the first album released as an offshoot of The Simpsons. The album contains originally recorded music not featured in the series save for the first verse of the track "Moaning Lisa Blues" which was first featured in the episode "Moaning Lisa", aired February 11, 1990...
, performed by Lisa Simpson
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
(Yeardley Smith); this version was released as a single, the third from the album. Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
recorded the song as an overdubbed "duet" with Holiday for his 1997 album Tony Bennett on Holiday
Tony Bennett on Holiday
Tony Bennett on Holiday is a 1997 studio album by Tony Bennett, recorded in tribute to Billie Holiday.In 1998 Bennett won his fifth Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance for his work on this album....
. Tricky
Tricky
Tricky is an English musician and actor. As a producer and a musician, he is noted for a dark, rich and layered sound and a whispering sprechgesang lyrical style. Culturally, Tricky encourages an intertwining of societies, particularly in his musical fusion of rock and hip hop, high art and pop...
released a version of the song on Angels with Dirty Faces
Angels With Dirty Faces (Tricky album)
Angels with Dirty Faces is the fourth album of Bristol, England rapper/producer Tricky, released in 1998. The title is taken from the film of the same name....
(1998), retitled as "Carriage for Two".
In 1999, House producer Alex Gopher sampled parts of the first verse for his track "the Child".
Film
- Enron: The Smartest Guys in the RoomEnron: The Smartest Guys in the RoomEnron: The Smartest Guys in the Room is a 2005 documentary film based on the best-selling 2003 book of the same name by Fortune reporters Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind, a study of one of the largest business scandals in American history...
- Two Weeks NoticeTwo Weeks NoticeTwo Weeks Notice is a 2002 romantic comedy film starring Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock from Warner Bros. Pictures. The film was written and directed by Marc Lawrence. Upon release, the film received a successful box office run both in the United States and globally.-Plot:Lucy Kelson is a...
- Schindler's ListSchindler's ListSchindler's List is a 1993 American film about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg, and based on the novel Schindler's Ark...
- August RushAugust RushAugust Rush is a 2007 drama film directed by Kirsten Sheridan and written by Paul Castro, Nick Castle, and James V. Hart, and produced by Richard Barton Lewis.-Plot:...
Television
- Liza with a 'Z' (1972): Sung by Liza MinnelliLiza MinnelliLiza May Minnelli is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli....
in this Emmy AwardEmmy AwardAn Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
-winning television concert directed by Bob FosseBob FosseRobert Louis “Bob” Fosse was an American actor, dancer, musical theater choreographer, director, screenwriter, film editor and film director. He won an unprecedented eight Tony Awards for choreography, as well as one for direction...
. Liza continues to sing this song at many of her concerts. - Theme song for the first two seasons of RocRoc (TV series)Roc is an American comedy-drama television series which ran on Fox from August 1991 to May 1994. The series stars Charles S. Dutton as Baltimore garbage collector Roc Emerson and Ella Joyce as his wife Eleanor.-Early episodes:...
(1991–1992), sung by Jerry Lawson - Grey's AnatomyGrey's AnatomyGrey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
(2006): Sung by Chandra WilsonChandra WilsonChandra Danette Wilson is an American actress and director, best known as Dr. Miranda Bailey in the ABC television drama, Grey's Anatomy.-Early life:...
in "Staring at the Sun" - American IdolAmerican IdolAmerican Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
: Sung by Mikalah GordonMikalah GordonMikalah Analise Gordon is an American singer and eleventh-place finalist on the fourth season of American Idol. She was the second finalist eliminated on March 25, 2005.-Early life:...
for the top 20, Katharine McPheeKatharine McPheeKatharine Hope McPhee is an American pop singer, songwriter, actress, model, and television personality. She gained fame as a contestant on the fifth season of the Fox reality show American Idol in 2006, eventually finishing as the runner-up.Her self-titled debut album was released on RCA Records...
in her 2006 audition in San Francisco, LaKisha JonesLaKisha JonesLaKisha Ann Jones is an American singer. She placed fourth on the sixth season of American Idol.-Personal life:Jones was born at Hurley Medical Center in Flint, Michigan, to a teacher at the Flint Foundation Academy...
on March 13, 2007, and Jacob LuskJacob LuskJacob Lusk is an American singer from Compton, California, who finished in fifth place on the tenth season of American Idol.-Early life:...
and Haley ReinhartHaley ReinhartHaley Reinhart is an American singer from Wheeling, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois who placed third in the tenth season of American Idol. Reinhart is currently signed to 19 and Interscope Records.-Early life:...
in 2011 in Hollywood. - The title of the 11th episode of season 4 of The WireThe WIREthe WIRE is the student-run College radio station at the University of Oklahoma, broadcasting in a freeform format. The WIRE serves the University of Oklahoma and surrounding communities, and is staffed by student DJs. The WIRE broadcasts at 1710 kHz AM in Norman, Oklahoma...
comes from the lyrics ("That's Got His Own"). - Once and AgainOnce and AgainOnce and Again is an American television series that aired on ABC from September 21, 1999 to April 15, 2002. It depicts the family of a single mother and her romance with a single father...
(2002): Sung by Evan Rachel WoodEvan Rachel WoodEvan Rachel Wood is an American actress and singer. She began her acting career in the late 1990s, appearing in several television series, including American Gothic and Once and Again...
in Season 3, Episode 12, "Gardenia". - Laura White sings live on The X Factor 5 on Week 3.
- Diana RossDiana RossDiana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
performed the song on her 1978 The Boss" tour, later recorded by HBO for a television special, "Diana Ross:In Concert", in 1992 during her Showtime-aired special, Stolen Moments: The Lady Sings... Jazz and Blues" & in 1993 for a televised special, filmed at New York City's famed Apollo Theater. - Whitney HoustonWhitney HoustonWhitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...
performed the song during her 1997 HBO Concert special, "Classic Whitney Live from Washington, D.C.Classic Whitney Live from Washington, D.C.Classic Whitney, Live from Washington, D.C., were special live concerts by Whitney Houston featuring many of her greatest hits, as well as gospel favorites and songs saluting some of her influences including Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin and Diana Ross. The concerts were held at historic DAR...
" at the famed DAR Constitution HallDAR Constitution HallDAR Constitution Hall is a concert hall in Washington, D.C. It was built in 1929 by the Daughters of the American Revolution to house its annual convention when membership delegations outgrew Memorial Continental Hall. Later, the two buildings were connected by a third structure housing the DAR...
in Washington D.C. The song was performed as a tribute to Diana Ross who had performed the song portraying Billie HolidayBillie HolidayBillie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
in the acclaimed 1972 film "Lady Sings the Blues (film)."
Music
- J. Cole alludes to "God Bless the Child" on his track "In the Morning" from his 2010 mixtape, "Friday Night Lights".
Video Games
- BioShockBioshockBioShock is a first-person shooter video game developed by 2K Boston and designed by Ken Levine. It was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 on August 21, 2007 in North America, and three days later in Europe and Australia. It became available on Steam on August 21, 2007...
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.