The Arrest/Lady Sings The Blues/Baltimore Brothel/Billy Sneak's Into Dean & Dean's Swingin' Uptown/T'Ain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do/Big Ben/All Of Me/The Man I Love/Them There Eyes/Gardenias From Louis/Cafe Manhattan/Country Tune/I Cried For You/Billie & Harry/Mean To Me/Fine & Mellow/What A Little Moonlight Can Do/Louis Visits Billie On Tour/Cafe Manhattan Party/T'Ain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do/Agent's Office/Love Is Here To Stay/Fine & Mellow/Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be)/You've Changed/Gimme A Pigfoot & A Bottle Of Beer/Good Morning Heartache/All Of Me/Love Theme/My Man/Don't Explain/I Cried For You/Strange Fruit/God Bless The Child/Closing Theme
Lady Sings The Blues is the double album soundtrack tribute to Billie Holiday, regarded as one of the greatest female jazz singers when at the height of her popularity in the 1930s and 1940s. Critics were divided as to whether Diana Ross, with a very different vocal style, was the best choice to take the leading role. (US:1 UK:50)
“After Diana Ross' supreme showing following her break with the Supremes, this album and film introduced a lot of people to the music of Billie Holiday. It was, I feel, Diana's undoing. She is a fine performer, but no Billie Holiday.”
“This is a travesty, an enormity. Diana Ross's reedy voice is well suited to the soul-lite that Motown was so expert at producing. But the idea of Diana's modest gifts substituting for the glories of the immortal Billie is monstrous.”
“Lady Sings The Blues made Ross an international icon. Although many critics felt that Ross was not a talented jazz/blues singer at all, in my opinion she proved them wrong. Of course, she's not like Billie Holiday, but Ross came up with her own style and that's what makes this soundtrack a jewel in her long discography.”
“Sure, Diana could never match the depth and originality of Billie. But she wisely avoided imitating Billie and instead sang the songs in her own sweet way, thereby recording one of the best albums of her long career, both as far as the music and her voice are concerned. We also shouldn't forget that when this film was made, there was no such thing as a market flooded with remakes of Billie Holiday songs as we have nowadays.”
“When Diana Ross was chosen to star in this portrayal of Billie Holiday, a lot of critics thought that the former lead singer of The Supremes could never find the emotional depth to tackle Holiday's work. But these tracks reveal that Ross was more than up to the task. Rather than mimic the huskier voice of the legendary jazz singer, she used inflections to teach her own voice how to sing the blues.”
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