God Bless the Child (Billie Holiday song)

"God Bless the Child" is a song written by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog, Jr. in 1939. It was 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.^[1] 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.

Recording session

Session #44: 799 Seventh Avenue, New York City, May 9, 1941, Eddie Heywood and his Orchestra with Roy Eldridge (trumpet), Jimmy Powell and 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)^[2]

Origin and interpretation

In her autobiography Lady Sings the Blues^[3] Holiday indicated an argument with her mother over money led to the song. She states that during the argument her mother said "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 Friedwald^[4] 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.^[5] The lyrics refer to an unspecified Biblical verse: "Them that's got shall have, them that's not shall lose, so the Bible says, and it still is news. . . . " This likely refers to Matthew 25:29 or Luke 8:18 and Luke 19:26.

Notable cover versions

Frankie Laine (1949)
Gene Ammons (1958)
Harry Belafonte (1958 for the album Belafonte Sings the Blues)^[6]
J. J. Johnson (1959)^[6]
Sam Cooke (1959)^[6]
Stanley Turrentine (1960)
Eric Dolphy (1960)^[6]
Carmen McRae (1961)
Anita O'Day (1961)
Eddie Harris (1961)^[6]
Sonny Rollins (1962)^[6]
Lou Rawls (recorded: February 5, 1962 for the album Stormy Monday)
Aretha Franklin (1962 for her album The Tender, the Moving, the Swinging Aretha Franklin)^[6]
Stevie Wonder (1968)^[6]
Blood, Sweat & Tears (1969)^[6]^[7]
Billy Eckstine and Linda Ronstadt, duet (1969)
Judith Durham (1970) for the album, Gift of Song
Diana Ross (1972)^[6]
Ella Fitzgerald (1982 for the album The Best Is Yet to Come (album)) ^[6]
Eva Cassidy (1992)

In other media

The song was featured in the 2007 video game BioShock. It also inspired a children's picture book.^[8]

In popular culture

Television

The Judy Garland Show (1963): Sung by Judy Henske. Air date November 10, 1963.^[9]
Liza with a 'Z' (1972): Sung by Liza Minnelli in this Emmy Award-winning television concert directed by Bob Fosse. Liza continues to sing this song at many of her concerts.
Theme song for the first two seasons of Roc (1991–1992), sung by Jerry Lawson
Grey's Anatomy (2006): Sung by Chandra Wilson in "Staring at the Sun"^[10]
American Idol: Sung by Mikalah Gordon for the top 20, Katharine McPhee in her 2006 audition in San Francisco, LaKisha Jones on March 13, 2007, and Jacob Lusk and Haley Reinhart in 2011 in Hollywood.
The title of the 11th episode of season 4 of The Wire comes from the lyrics ("That's Got His Own").
Once and Again (2002): Sung by Evan Rachel Wood in Season 3, Episode 12, "Gardenia".
Laura White sings live on The X Factor 5 on Week 3.
Diana Ross 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 Houston performed the song during her 1997 HBO Concert special, "Classic Whitney Live from Washington, D.C." at the famed DAR Constitution Hall in Washington D.C. The song was performed as a tribute to Diana Ross who had performed the song portraying Billie Holiday in the acclaimed 1972 film "Lady Sings the Blues (film)."
Annie Lennox performed it live on The Meridith Vieira Show on October 28, 2014.
Gladys Knight performed it on The Muppet Show Season 5 Episode 16 2 May 1981. (IMDB)

Music

J. Cole alludes to "God Bless the Child" on his track "In the Morning" from his 2010 mixtape, "Friday Night Lights" and his debut studio album "Cole World: The Sideline Story".
2Pac references Billie Holiday and "God Bless the Child" on the song "Hold On, Be Strong" as well as "Hold Ya Head".

Literature

Biyi Bandele references the song in his novel The Street.
Kristin Hunter took the title of the song for her first novel God Bless the Child.

Video Games

BioShock 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.

Notes

↑ "GRAMMY Hall Of Fame". GRAMMY.org. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
↑ "A site dedicated to Billie Holiday's Songs and Discography". Billie Holiday Songs. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
↑ Holiday, Billie. Lady Sings the Blues, Hal Leonard Corporation, (1985) – ISBN 0-7935-2445-8
↑ Friedwald, Will. Jazz Singing: America's Great Voices from Bessie Smith to Bebop and Beyond, Da Capo, (1996) – ISBN 0-306-80712-2
↑ Liner notes pages 6 and 7 in Billie Holiday's Greatest Hits
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Ted Gioia (2012-09-27). "The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire". Books.google.com. p. 131. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
↑ Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 52 – The Soul Reformation: Phase three, soul music at the summit. [Part 8] : UNT Digital Library" (audio). Pop Chronicles. Digital.library.unt.edu.
↑ Holiday, Billie. God Bless the Child, Harper Collins, (2004) – ISBN 0-06-028797-7
↑ Judy Henske performing God Bless the Child, on The Judy Garland Show, 1963 on YouTube
↑ "Movies News - MTV". Film.com. Retrieved 2016-07-26.

External links

Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

Billie Holiday

Discography Awards and nominations

Albums	Billie Holiday Sings/Solitude An Evening with Billie Holiday Billie Holiday Billie Holiday at JATP Stay with Me Music for Torching Velvet Mood Lady Sings the Blues Body and Soul Songs for Distingué Lovers Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday at Newport All or Nothing at All Lady in Satin Last Recordings The Essential Billie Holiday: Carnegie Hall Concert Recorded Live Lady in Autumn: The Best of the Verve Years Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia 1933–1944 Remixed and Reimagined

Songs	"Ain't Nobody's Business" "As Time Goes By" "Billie's Blues" "Blue Moon" "Body and Soul" "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?" "Don't Explain" "Easy Living" "Embraceable You" "Everything Happens for the Best" "Everything Happens to Me" "Fine and Mellow" "Gloomy Sunday" "God Bless the Child" "Good Morning Heartache" "I Cover the Waterfront" "I Loves You, Porgy" "I Thought About You" "I'll Be Seeing You" "I'll Get By" "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" "Just One of Those Things" "Lady Sings the Blues" "Left Alone" "Love for Sale" "Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)" "Me, Myself, and I" "Miss Brown to You" "My Man" "Moonlight in Vermont" "Night and Day" "No More" "Now or Never" "Our Love Is Different" "P.S. I Love You" "Pennies from Heaven" "Please Don't Do It Here" "Preacher Boy" "Sophisticated Lady" "Stormy Blues" "Strange Fruit" "Summertime" "These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)" "Too Marvelous for Words" "Trav'lin' Light" "What a Little Moonlight Can Do" "What Is This Thing Called Love?" "Who Needs You (Baby)" "Why Was I Born?" "Willow Weep for Me" "You Go to My Head"

Videography	The Emperor Jones Symphony in Black New Orleans Sugar Chile Robinson, Billie Holiday, Count Basie and His Sextet The Sound of Jazz

Related topics	"Angel of Harlem" Lady Sings the Blues (book) Lady Sings the Blues (film) Lady Sings the Blues (soundtrack)

Book Category

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