BarbieOldNewGreenRedo : Black History Month: Billie Holiday Special on (DOLL) PBS

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Announcer: This evening's program is brought to you by your local PBS station WTTW Chicago. Remembering Billie Holliday and all the fine Jazz ballads from the 30's through the 50's, part of our Black History series for this month.

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Our music begins....

Riffin' the Scotch 1933 Benny Goodman Band

Good evening, I'm your host, Gerry.

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What you just heard was "Riffin' the Scotch" with the Benny Goodman band in 1933 and an eighteen-year-old singer, Eleanora Fagan.

Who was that, you may ask? The answer is the intrepid Billie Holiday. We celebrate tonight her amazing music and the great bands she performed with throughout her career. Our program tonight will span some thirty years, so let's get started.

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I'm pleased to introduce someone you all know as Chicago's Jennifer.

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Thank you, Gerry. This song has a long history going back to 1928 and composed by Sigmund Romberg and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II for another Broadway show, "The New Moon". I'm singing to Billie Hollidays', "Lover Come Back" to me.

Billie Holiday sings, "Lover Come Back to Me," 1944

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Jennifer:

And while I'm waiting here

This heart of mine is singing

Lover come back to me.....

Gerry: Take a bow, Jennifer.

Our next song will be "I Cried for You" which Billie recorded for the Brunswick recording company in 1936.

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Sonnie will switch to the sax with this great old tune.

Sung by our Trio of Jennifer, Callie, and Ella, and they are all hometown gals from the Chicago area.

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Trio: ....that beauty need only be a whisper.

I Cried for You

Gerry: The next great tune, "Willow Weep for Me" was written in 1932 by a woman, Ann Ronell, who also wrote the lyrics. Sung by many different artists over the years, you may even remember the Chad and Jeremy version from the 1965.

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Tonight we will have the sultry tones of Ella singing this old standby for you, with Tres on guitar and Zara on Strings.

Willow Weep for Me 1954 by Billie Holliday

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.....When the shadows fall,

bend old willow and

weep for me,

Weep, weep, willow, weep...

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Gerry: I'm speechless, great beauty, tone, and great lyrics. Thank you, Ella.

Next, how about an upbeat number on film with Billie and Satchmo from the 1947 movie, "New Orleans" and "Blues are a Brewin'"was written by Eddie DeLange and Louis Alter and originally performed by

Louis Armstrong and Billie Holliday.

That's just yesterday, no a few years ago, well seventy-seven. Phew...and who can stand up to Satchmo.

Now something upbeat...with the Mother-Daughter duo, Ella and Callie. Our ladies performing '

"Too Close for Comfort".

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Callie: Be wise, be smart, behave, my heartDon't upset your cart when he's so close

Ella: Be soft, be sweet, but be discreet

Don't go off your feet, he's so close for comfort...

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Duo:

...Too close, too close for comfort, oh, please, not againToo close, too close to know just when to say ""when""

....
On your guard, take care,

while there's such temptationOne thing leads to anotherToo late to run for coverHe's much too close for comfort now.

Applauding Gerry: Ladies, please take a bow...!

We will end our time with Billie together with "I'll be Seeing You," the music by Sammy Fain and lyrics by Irving Kahal. Composed in 1938 for a lost musical that closed after just fifteen performances. Billie was at her best tugging at our own heart's loves and losses.

This standard has endured and Billie Holliday's version is one of the best. Here's our band and our home town gals singing, "I'll be Seeing You."

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Ella:

I'll be seeing you

In all the old familiar places

That this heart of mine embracesAll day through...

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Callie:

In that small cafe

The park across the way

The children's carouselThe chestnut treesThe wishing well...

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Jennifer:

I'll be seeing youIn every lovely summer's dayIn everything that's light and gayI'll always think of you that way...

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Trio: We'll find you in the morning sun

And when the night is new....

We'll be looking at the moon

But we'll be seeing you....

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Gerry: I hope you enjoyed our time together. We want to thank our lovely performers:

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Callie, Ella and of course Jennifer for their heartfelt performances.

Special thanks to our talented band for bringing us back to the days of

Billie Holliday and the great bands of the 1920's to through the 1950's.

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Tres on guitars.....(Tres riffing.....)

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Zara on Strings...

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Sonnie on horns, sax and clarinet and

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Gene, "Sticks" on percussion.

Gerry: We thank all our loyal viewers for your continued support for WTTW Channel 11, Chicago and Black History Month. Without you, these programs would not be possible and of course the great career of

Miss Billie Holliday!

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Thanks for Viewing:

All recordings are from Youtube share.

Lyrics found on LyricFind

Set design and diorama

3 Black Foam core-Dollar store

18" doll backdrop

Dollar store chairs

Piano---thrift store repainted

Drums thrift store

Horns- Frenchorn-ornament, clarinet-painted plastic charm, sax-painted plastic charm.

Ball lights---thrift store

Dolls all Mattel, except Gerry/Gerard-Fresh doll

Tuxedos Mattel

Gals clothing: Callie/Colette-hand sewn me, Ella-Etsy, Jennifer-China

Keyboard and microphones-Mattel

Lighting--totally dark room with 3 small gooseneck spot lamps, 1 above, 1 left, 1 right. Photos taken on my phone, edited on computer.

Personal Note: My mother played the radio constantly all through my childhood. I probably know more songs and lyrics from the 30s-60's than any popular music now. There are so many Black artists to choose from, but it was the Big Bands I remembered the most: Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway as my mom's favorites and Billie Holliday crossed all those big band years with her catalog of standards that are still performed today.