16 Most Requested Songs

Billie Holiday

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 13, 1993)
• Original Release Date: July 13, 1993
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00000294D
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #128,156 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording
The emphasis on this single-CD collection of Columbia-era tunes is on both the familiar chestnuts that were frequently requested at Billie Holiday's live performances and those that made up her radio hits output. Several of the tracks are repeats from the Love Songs and Greatest Hits discs, representing a neatly packaged 16-song sampler of Holiday's efforts in the late 1930s (and in one case, the 1950s). Benny Goodman pops up as another of Holiday's accompanist-admirers, contributing to the opening track, "Miss Brown to You." And from 1941 comes the always disquieting "Gloomy Sunday," a chronicle of suicide. Not much touches Holiday at her best, as she is here. --Willard Jenkins

Amazon.com
The title of 16 Most Requested Songs isn't quite right: In fact, these are some chart hits (and some non-hits) that Holiday recorded with Teddy Brown's orchestra and her own early in her career (between 1935 and 1941), plus the awkward, very late number "I'm a Fool to Want You," from 1958. On the earlier tracks, Billie's a gritty but fairly ordinary jazz singer with a few nifty devices, though the bands are ace (they include Benny Goodman, Lester Young, and members of Duke Ellington and Count Basie's groups), and she swings like she rarely would later on. By the end of the disc, though, the classics start coming--"Gloomy Sunday," "God Bless the Child"--and the deep, abiding sadness that made her great emerges. --Douglas Wolk

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars give this gal a spotlight !!!, April 4, 2008

By	Matthew G. Sherwin (last seen screaming at Amazon customer service) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

Sixteen (16) Most Requested Songs is a Billie Holiday sampler CD that allows newcomers and casual fans to hear some of Billie's great recordings and then decide for themselves if they want to delve further and buy more CDs by this immortal artist. The sound quality is excellent; and the artwork is very nicely done.

The CD starts with Billie singing "Miss Brown To You." This number features Billie at her best in the 1930s. Billie sings very well and she never misses a note! Billie's excellent diction and timing enhance her performance; you will know you are truly listening to a master when this CD starts! "If You Were Mine" features a magnificent piano arrangement; "If You Were Mine" is another great highlight of this album.

"The Way You Look Tonight" has a great horn solo; and when Billie sings this it truly takes flight! Billie sings this with panache, heart and soul. "Pennies From Heaven" is a classic pop vocal that again showcases Billie's fine vocal talents---what a pleasure it is to hear these old songs by Billie! Moreover, there's Billie doing her best on "I Can't Give You Anything But Love;" she easily aces this and the piano arrangement is extremely elegant.

"I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm" has Billie wailing this out like the pro she always was! Billie sounds great and the slight surface noise on some of these tracks never distracts you from the words and music--these numbers are all that good. "Why Was I Born?" also features Billie singing the blues like no one else ever could!

"My Man" gets the royal treatment from Billie who sings this with all her heart and soul. I never heard "My Man" sound better than when Billie Holiday was singing it! She truly takes this classic pop vocal and makes it her own through her incredible ability to impart every subtle nuance of the lyrics to her listeners. "Body And Soul" shines equally bright when Billie performs this with panache. "Body And Soul" has a fine musical arrangement to accompany Billie as she sings.

"God Bless The Child" is a true gem when the immortal Billie Holiday sings this classic, timeless number; the horn and the piano have especially fine arrangements. The CD ends with a number recorded very late in Billie's career, "I'm A Fool To Want You." Although Billie's voice may seem worn out to some, I think that her more mature voice truly conveys the sadness of the lyrics and, in an unusual way, actually strengthens her performance to make this ballad all the more poignant.

Billie Holiday was one in a million; and she will never be forgotten. Long after most "celebrities" are dead and gone, Billie Holiday and her artistry will live on in the hearts and minds of her adoring fans well into the future. I highly recommend this fine CD as a sampler CD or a fine starter CD for people just discovering the great Billie Holiday; diehard fans will want CDs and especially box sets by Billie Holiday that are much more substantial.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Billies Best, June 25, 2000

By A Customer

16 Most Requested Songs is one of my favorite album's with such hits as Body & Soul, I'm a Fool to Want You, and God Bless the Child it just doesn't get any better. I discovered Billie Holiday about 6 years ago and have been in love with her music and voice since. I beleive that this album is right up there with "Billie Holiday Sings Standards." I think every Billie Holiday fan should own this album.

5.0 out of 5 stars PERFECTION AT ITS BEST, October 22, 2007

By	Mary Lamiroult - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Bille Holiday is a Fantastic Singer who left us much too soon.
I enjoyed this CD and play it everyday.
Her voice is like no other.