Left Alone (song)
| "Left Alone" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Mal Waldron | |
| Composer(s) | Mal Waldron |
| Lyricist(s) | Billie Holiday |
| Language | English |
"Left Alone" is a jazz song written by singer Billie Holiday, and pianist/composer Mal Waldron and published by E.B. Marks. This is one of seven songs written by or co-written by Holiday that she never recorded.[1][2]
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."[3] 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.[4]
Waldon frequently performed the song for albums, often with tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin (who also played on the Left Alone album). Version 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).
- Eric Dolphy and Booker Little – Far Cry (1962)
- Kimiko Kasai – One For Lady (with Waldron on piano, 1971)
- Abraham Burton – Closest to the Sun (1994)
- Johnny Griffin and Junko Onishi – Hat Trick (1996)
- Steve Kuhn – Plays Standards (2009)
- Tsuyoshi Yamamoto – Gentle Blues (2013)
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[5] and received a nomination for Best Rock Instrumental Performance at the 1995 Grammy Awards.[6]
Notes
- ↑ Stuart Nicholson. 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.
- ↑ Studio chatter. The Complete Billie Holiday On Verve, 1945-1959. ASIN: B0000046P3, Polygram Records
- ↑ Liner Notes for Mal Waldron LP "Left Alone"
- ↑ "Time Machine - Joe Satriani | Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
- ↑ "37th Grammy Awards - 1995". Rock On The Net. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
References
- 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
