Left Alone (song)

"Left Alone" is a jazz song written by singer Billie Holiday and pianist/composer Mal Waldron, and published by E.B. Marks.

"Left Alone"
Song by Mal Waldron
Composer(s)Mal Waldron
Lyricist(s)Billie Holiday

Background

This is one of seven songs written by or co-written by Holiday that she never recorded.[1][2]

Mal Waldron began working as pianist for Holiday in mid-1953. Holiday had intended to record the song a number of times but "always forget the damned sheet music."[3] However, Waldron himself recorded the song on his 1959 album Left Alone, and near the end of the LP discusses the origin of the song.[4]

Recordings

Waldon frequently performed the song for albums, often with tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin (who also played on the Left Alone album). Version are included in Mal: Live 4 to 1 (1971), Like Old Times (1976), Left Alone '86 (1986), Into the Light (1989), My Dear Family (1993), and Left Alone Revisited (2002).

Other jazz performers who've recorded the song include:

An instrumental version of the song appeared on Joe Satriani's Time Machine in 1993. The Satriani version, titled "All Alone", was released as a single, reached No. 21 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart[6] and received a nomination for Best Rock Instrumental Performance at the 1995 Grammy Awards.[7]

Notes
  1. Stuart Nicholson (1995). Billie Holiday. Northeastern University Press. ISBN 1-55553-303-5.
  2. Billie Holiday. THE BEST OF BILLIE HOLIDAY: Songs Recorded and Made Famous By Lady Day. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 0-7935-3687-1.
  3. Studio chatter. The Complete Billie Holiday On Verve, 1945–1959. ASIN: B0000046P3, Polygram Records
  4. Liner Notes for Mal Waldron LP "Left Alone"
  5. "Sixteen Sunsets - Jane Ira Bloom | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  6. "Time Machine – Joe Satriani | Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
  7. "37th Grammy Awards – 1995". Rock on the Net. Retrieved May 13, 2016.

References
  • Stuart Nicholson, Billie Holiday, ISBN 1-55553-303-5
  • Billie Holiday, THE BEST OF BILLIE HOLIDAY: Songs Recorded and Made Famous By Lady Day. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 0-7935-3687-1.
  • Donald Clarke, Wishing On the Moon. Viking. ISBN 0-670-83771-7.
  • John Chilton, Billie's Blues. Da Capo Preess. ISBN 0-306-80363-1
  • John White, Billie Holiday: Her Life and Times ISBN 0-87663-668-7
  • Mal Waldron, Left Alone LP Liner Notes ASIN: B00004YR36
  • Amazon.com Editorial Review for Mal Waldron CD Left Alone
  • Ken Vail, Lady Day's Diary. Sanctuary Publishing. ISBN 1-86074-131-2
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