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"Don't Explain" is a song written by jazz singer Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog Jr. It was Holiday's final song. [1]
| "Don't Explain" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Billie Holiday | ||||
| B-side | "What Is This Thing Called Love?" | |||
| Released | 1946 | |||
| Recorded | November 8, 1944 | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 2:53 | |||
| Label | Decca | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Billie Holiday, Arthur Herzog Jr. | |||
| Billie Holiday singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Overview
editIn her 1956 autobiography, Holiday cites the infidelity of her first husband, Jimmy Monroe, as the inspiration for this song; specifically, an instance in which Monroe's woeful attempt to explain away lipstick on his collar elicits Holiday's disgusted response: "Take a bath, man; don't explain."[2]
Recording session
editSession #52: New York City, November 8, 1944, Decca, Toots Camarata and His Orchestra, with Russ Case (trumpet), Hymie Schertzer, Jack Cressey (alto saxophone), Larry Binyon and Dave Harris (tenor saxophone), Dave Bowman (piano), Carl Kress (guitar), Haig Stephens (bass), George Wettling (drums), Billie Holiday (vocals), and six strings.[3]
Notable cover versions
edit- Helen Merrill (1954)
- George Shearing (1956)
- John Coltrane (1957)
- Abbey Lincoln (1957)
- Charlie Byrd (1958)
- Wes Montgomery (1959)
- Anita O'Day – for her album Trav'lin' Light (1961)
- Dinah Washington – I Wanna Be Loved (1962)[4]
- Dexter Gordon (1962)
- Nina Simone – in her album Let It All Out (1966)
- Carmen McRae – included in her album Woman Talk (1966)
- Lou Rawls (1966)
- Diana Ross – for the album Lady Sings the Blues (1972)
- Grover Washington, Jr. (1973)
- Rosemary Clooney – for her album Here's to My Lady (1978)
- Nikki Sudden & Rowland S. Howard (1987)
- Mary Black (1987)
- Dos (1989)
- Robert Palmer – Don't Explain (1990)
- Dušan Prelević (1991)
- Elkie Brooks – Round Midnight (1993)
- Natalie Cole – for her album Take a Look (1993)
- Miki Howard (1993)
- Diana Ross (1993)
- Gabrielle Goodman with Kevin Eubanks (1993)
- Etta James – Mystery Lady: Songs of Billie Holiday (1994)
- Regina Carter (1995)
- Dakota Staton (1996)
- Vanessa Daou (1996)
- Molly Johnson (2000)
- Sarah Vaughan (2001)
- Angela McCluskey (2002)
- Rita Reys (2004)
- Herbie Hancock with Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan (2005)
- Lisa Stansfield (2005)
- Lils Mackintosh (2005)
- David Clayton-Thomas (2006) (In Concert: A Musical Biography).
- Inger Marie Gundersen – included in her album By Myself (2006)
- Nnenna Freelon (2007)
- Cat Power (2008)
- Oleta Adams (2009) - Let's Stay Here album
- DeeDee Bridgewater (2010)
- Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa (2011)
- Malia (2012)[5]
- Xiu Xiu (2013)
- Mariah Carey (2014)[6]
- Mark Steiner & His Problems (2014)
- Nancy Kelly (2014)[7]
- Cassandra Wilson (2015)
- Rebecca Ferguson – Lady Sings the Blues (2015)
- Snoh Aalegra (2016)
Trivia
editLyrics from "Don't Explain" were sung by Carlo Marx (portrayed by actor Tom Sturridge) in the 2012 film adaptation by Walter Salles of the 1957 novel by Jack Kerouac, On the Road, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.[9]
References
edit- ^ Jacobs, Dick & Harriet. Who Wrote That Song?, Writers Digest Books (1994), page 57 – ISBN 0-89879-639-3.
- ^ Holiday. Billie (1956; 2006). "Mother's Son-in-Law". Lady Sings the Blues. New York: Harlem Moon, Broadway Books (Random House). p. 119. ISBN 978-0-7679-2386-6.
- ^ "Billie Holiday Studio Songs". Archived from the original on September 10, 2011. Retrieved January 30, 2008.
- ^ "Discogs.com". discogs. 1962. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
- ^ Christopher Loudon (December 13, 2012). "Malia: Black Orchid". JazzTimes. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- ^ "Mariah Carey Don't Explain live in japan 2014 the elusive chanteuse show". November 7, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2016 – via YouTube.[dead YouTube link]
- ^ C. Michael Baitley (November 8, 2014). "Nancy Kelly: B That Way". All About Jazz. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- ^ "Track Search: Don't Explain | AllMusic". AllMusic. Archived from the original on December 15, 2010. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
- ^ Alagna, Magdalena. Billie Holiday, The Rosen Publishing Group (2003), page 61 – ISBN 0-8239-3640-6