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| "Fine and Mellow" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byBillie Holiday | ||||
| A-side | "Strange Fruit" | |||
| Released | 1939 | |||
| Recorded | April 20, 1939 | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Label | Commodore | |||
| Songwriter | Billie Holiday | |||
| Billie Holiday singles chronology | ||||
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"Fine and Mellow" is ajazz standard written byBillie Holiday,[1] who first recorded it on April 20, 1939 on theCommodore label.[2] It is ablues lamenting the bad treatment of a woman at the hands of "my man".
The song was famously performed by Billie Holiday in 1957 in a television special,The Sound of Jazz.[3] The line-up included severaljazz legends (the first six are listed in the order of their solos):
It has been covered several times, sometimes with a change in lyrics or emphasis. For example,Lou Rawls switched the gender to a girlfriend[4] andEva Cassidy sang it in a defiant tone. Notable cover versions were sung byNina Simone (on the 1959At Town Hall),Dee Dee Bridgewater on herBillie Holiday tribute album, andElla Fitzgerald on hereponymousalbum.
