No one has ever sung or will ever sing like Billie Holiday (1915-1959). Although her vocal range was much more limited than those of other famous jazz singers like Sarah Vaughan or Ella Fitzgerald (both of whom had an astonishing versatility from the low to the high registers), Billie made her interpretations so expressive that even the most trite lyrics sounded almost profound. This set consist of her 14 greatest hits, among them her two studio versions of the poignant protest song “Strange Fruit,” her unforgettable reading of “All of Me” with Lester Young on tenor sax, and her best recordings of her own compositions “Fine and Mellow,” “God Bless the Child,” “Lady Sings the Blues” (with music by the great Herbie Nichols), and “Don’t Explain.”

BILLIE HOLIDAY, vocals on all tracks, with:Collective personnel: Frankie Newton, Harry “Sweets” Edison, Emmett Berry,Doc Cheatham (tp), Vic Dickenson (tb), Tab Smith (as), Lester Young, Ben Webster, Coleman Hawkins (ts), Sonny White, Teddy Wilson, Wynton Kelly (p),Barney Kessel (g), Red Mitchell (b), Lennie McBrowne, Jo Jones, Sidney Catlett (d).Orchestras conducted by Toots Camarata, Bob Haggart& Ray Ellis, among others.Recorded in New York and Los Angeles between 1939 & 1958.

• 1. Strange Fruit (Lewis Allan) [Commodore Version]
• 2. God Bless the Child (Billie Holiday-Arthur Herzog, Jr.)
• 3. Lover Man (Jimmy Davis-Jimmy Sherman-Roger "Ram" Ramirez)
• 4. All of Me (Gerald Marks-Seymour Simons)
• 5. Good Morning, Heartache(Ervin Drake-Dan Fisher-Irene Higginb
• 6. Body and Soul (Johnny Green-Edward Heyman-Frank Eyton)
• 7. Gloomy Sunday (Laszls Javor-Sam M. Lewis-Rezso Seress)
• 8. I'm a Fool To Want You (Jack Wolf-Joel Herron-Frank Sinatra)
• 9. I'll Be Seeing You (Sammy Fain-Irving Kahal)
• 10. Trav'lin' Light (Johnny Mercer-Jimmy Mundy-Trummy Young)
• 11. Don't Explain (Billie Holiday-Arthur Herzog, Jr.)
• 12. Lady Sings the Blues (Herbie Nichols-Billie Holiday)
• 13. Fine and Mellow (Billie Holiday)
• 14. Strange Fruit (Lewis Allan) [Verve Version]