Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill: Original Broadway Cast Recording

~ Release by Audra McDonald (see all versions of this release, 2 available)

Annotation

Experience on disc the performance that won Audra McDonald her unprecedented sixth Tony Award. "One of the greatest performances I ever hope to see" is how New York Magazine described McDonald's portrayal of Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill, Lanie Robertson's award-winning play with music dramatizing one of the final concerts in the beloved singer's extraordinary, tragic life. Recorded live at Broadway's Circle in the Square Theatre, the two-disc set features McDonald's "spellbinding, tour-de-force" (NY Daily News) renditions of signature Holiday songs such as "God Bless the Child," "What a Little Moonlight Can Do," "Strange Fruit" and "Taint Nobody's Biz-ness." The Associated Press proclaimed Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill "one of the supreme honors of the Broadway season," while The New York Times delighted in "the pleasure of hearing Ms. McDonald breathe aching life into some of Holiday's greatest songs... with sensitive musicianship and rich seams of feeling that command rapt admiration." Now, "the best 90 minutes you'll ever witness" (NY1) have been preserved on disc by PS Classics, giving audiences the chance to savor "not just one but two of the most extraordinarily gifted dramatic vocalists America has produced" (Los Angeles Times).

Annotation last modified on 2016-04-19 17:42 UTC.

Tracklist

| |
1▼CD
#TitleRatingLength
1Introduction
vocals:
Audra McDonald
1:57
2I Wonder Where Our Love Has Gone
recording of:
(I Wonder) Where Our Love Has Gone
lyricist and composer:
Buddy Johnson
publisher:
Consolidated Music Publishers (a division of Music Sales Corp.)
1:44
3When a Woman Loves a Man
recording of:
When a Woman Loves a Man
lyricist:
Johnny Mercer (in 1938)
composer:
Bernie Hanighen (in 1938) and Gordon Jenkins (in 1938)
publisher:
Anne-Rachel Music Corp.
2:19
4“I’m even glad to be back in Philly…”
1:47
5“I want to introduce my accompanist…”
0:54
6What a Little Moonlight Can Do
recording of:
What a Little Moonlight Can Do
lyricist and composer:
Harry M. Woods (American 1920/30s songwriter)
publisher:
Connelly Basart, Warner Bros. Music (publisher; do NOT use as release label) and Warner Brothers Music Inc.
2:52
7“We got this contract…”
2:24
8Crazy He Calls Me
recording of:
Crazy He Calls Me
lyricist:
Sidney Keith Russell (US songwriter/lyricist Sidney Keith “Bob” Russell)
composer:
Carl Sigman
publisher:
Harrison Music Corp., Major Songs, Music Sales Corporation (American copyright holder in both popular and classical music) and ミュージック・セールス (Music Sales, Japan, subsidiary of Shinko Music Entertainment)
2:25
9“They used to be hangin’ from the rafters…”
7:07
10Gimme a Pigfoot (and a Bottle of Beer)
recording of:
Gimme a Pigfoot (and a Bottle of Beer)
composer:
Wesley A. Wilson
publisher:
Northern Music (song publisher)
2:02
11“That was in the early thirties…”
1:44
12Baby Doll
recording of:
Baby Doll
writer:
Bessie Smith (Tennessee blues singer) and Harold Webman
publisher:
Frank Music Corp.
2:05
13“I better watch myself here…”
6:50
14God Bless the Child
recording of:
God Bless the Child
lyricist:
Billie Holiday
composer:
Arthur Herzog, Jr.
publisher:
Basart Editions (ended) and Edward B. Marks Music Co. (founded originally as J. Stern & Co. in 1894, renamed in 1919)
4:23
15“That was for my mama…”
0:16
2▼CD
#TitleRatingLength
1“Nobody but me ever liked Sonny…”
6:56
2Foolin’ Myself/Somebody’s on My Mind
medley including a recording of:
Foolin’ Myself
writer:
Jack Lawrence (US songwriter) and Peter Tinturin
publisher:
Chappell Music Co. Inc.
medley including a recording of:
Somebody's on My Mind
writer:
Arthur Herzog, Jr. and Billie Holiday
2:16
3Easy Living
recording of:
Easy Living
lyricist:
Leo Robin (US composer, lyricist & songwriter)
writer:
Ralph Rainger (in 1937) and Leo Robin (US composer, lyricist & songwriter) (in 1937)
composer:
Ralph Rainger and Leo Robin (US composer, lyricist & songwriter)
publisher:
Famous Music Corporation (renamed since 2007‐05 as Sony/ATV Harmony/Melody) (in 1937, in 1964)
2:32
4“I was singin’ with Artie’s band…”
7:24
5Strange Fruit
recording of:
Strange Fruit
lyricist and composer:
Lewis Allan
publisher:
Basart Editions, Carlin Music Corporation, Edward B. Marks Music Co. (founded originally as J. Stern & Co. in 1894, renamed in 1919) and Music Sales Corporation (American copyright holder in both popular and classical music)
version of:
Bitter Fruit
2:57
6“It’s bad again, Jimmy…”
1:18
7Blues Break
recording of:
Blues Break
composer:
Lanie Robertson
2:31
8“Now I’ll take a little break right here…”
0:17
9’Tain’t Nobody’s Biz‐ness If I Do
recording of:
T’ain’t Nobody’s Bizness If I Do
lyricist:
Porter Grainger
composer:
Porter Grainger and Everett Robbins
publisher:
MCA Music (not for release label use! this is a music publisher, ASCAP-affiliated) and MCA Music Publishing (renamed since c. 1996 as Universal Music Publishing Group)
part of:
American Splendor
3:14
10“I want you all to meet Pepi…”
7:10
11“I was doin’ the bad drugs heavy…”
3:59
12Don’t Explain / What a Little Moonlight Can Do (reprise)
medley including a recording of:
Don’t Explain
writer:
Arthur Herzog, Jr. and Billie Holiday
publisher:
Duchess Music Corporation (BMI-affiliated) and Universal Music Publishing (use ONLY if no country‐specific information is available)
medley including a recording of:
What a Little Moonlight Can Do
lyricist and composer:
Harry M. Woods (American 1920/30s songwriter)
publisher:
Connelly Basart, Warner Bros. Music (publisher; do NOT use as release label) and Warner Brothers Music Inc.
2:31
13Deep Song
recording of:
Deep Song
lyricist:
Douglass Cross (US songwriter)
composer:
George Cory
publisher:
Northern Music Company
4:22