| "Left Alone" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Mal Waldron | |
| Composer(s) | Mal Waldron |
| Lyricist(s) | Billie Holiday |
"Left Alone" is a jazz song written by singer Billie Holiday and pianist/composer Mal Waldron, and published by E.B. Marks.
Background[edit]
This is one of seven songs written by or co-written by Holiday that she never recorded.[1][2] According to Waldron, Holiday "came up with the lyrics and sang them to him on a cross-country flight; when the plane landed the song was done."[3]
Mal Waldron began working as pianist for Holiday in mid-1953. Holiday had intended to record the song a number of times but "always forget the damned sheet music."[4] However, Waldron himself recorded the song on his 1959 album Left Alone, and near the end of the LP discusses the origin of the song.[5]
Recordings[edit]
Waldron frequently performed the song for albums, often with tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin (who also played on the Left Alone album). Versions are included in Mal: Live 4 to 1 (1971), Like Old Times (1976), Left Alone '86 (1986), Into the Light (1989), My Dear Family (1993), and Left Alone Revisited (2002).
Other jazz performers who've recorded the song include:
- Abbey Lincoln – Straight Ahead (with Waldron on piano, 1961)
- Johnny Griffin – White Gardenia (1961).
- Jeanne Lee and Ran Blake – The Newest Sound Around (1962)
- Eric Dolphy and Booker Little – Far Cry (1962)
- Kimiko Kasai – One For Lady (with Waldron on piano, 1971)
- Archie Shepp and Dollar Brand – Duet (1978)
- Abraham Burton – Closest to the Sun (1994)
- Jackie McLean and Junko Onishi – Hat Trick (1996)
- Steve Kuhn – Plays Standards (2009)
- Tsuyoshi Yamamoto – Gentle Blues (2013)
- Jane Ira Bloom - Sixteen Sunsets (2013)[6]
An instrumental version of the song appeared on Joe Satriani's Time Machine in 1993. The Satriani version, titled "All Alone", was released as a single, reached No. 21 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart[7] and received a nomination for Best Rock Instrumental Performance at the 1995 Grammy Awards.[8]
Notes[edit]
- ^ Stuart Nicholson (1995). Billie Holiday. Northeastern University Press. ISBN 1-55553-303-5.
- ^ Billie Holiday. THE BEST OF BILLIE HOLIDAY: Songs Recorded and Made Famous By Lady Day. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 0-7935-3687-1.
- ^ Griffin, Farah Jasmine (2002). If You Can't Be Free, Be a Mystery: In Search of Billie Holiday. Random House. p. 173.
- ^ Studio chatter. The Complete Billie Holiday On Verve, 1945–1959. ASIN: B0000046P3, Polygram Records
- ^ Liner Notes for Mal Waldron LP "Left Alone"
- ^ "Sixteen Sunsets - Jane Ira Bloom | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
- ^ "Time Machine – Joe Satriani | Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
- ^ "37th Grammy Awards – 1995". Rock on the Net. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
References[edit]
- Stuart Nicholson, Billie Holiday, ISBN 1-55553-303-5
- Billie Holiday, THE BEST OF BILLIE HOLIDAY: Songs Recorded and Made Famous By Lady Day. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 0-7935-3687-1.
- Donald Clarke, Wishing On the Moon. Viking. ISBN 0-670-83771-7.
- John Chilton, Billie's Blues. Da Capo Preess. ISBN 0-306-80363-1
- John White, Billie Holiday: Her Life and Times ISBN 0-87663-668-7
- Mal Waldron, Left Alone LP Liner Notes ASIN: B00004YR36
- Amazon.com Editorial Review for Mal Waldron CD Left Alone
- Ken Vail, Lady Day's Diary. Sanctuary Publishing. ISBN 1-86074-131-2
