The Ladies Sing The Blues (2001)

Culled from rare black-and-white footage from the early to mid-20th century, this excellent anthology showcases a number of gems from the best and brightest female vocalists in America. There's the radiant "Empress of the Blues" Bessie Smith in her only recorded film appearance singing "St. Louis Blues." The gospel great Sister Rosetta Tharpe delivers a down-home version of "That Lonesome Road," which is contrasted by jazzy and sassy Dinah Washington's "Lean Baby." The immortal Billie Holliday's touching 1957 TV performance of "Fine and Mellow," recorded with saxophonists Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, and Gerry Mulligan two years before her death in 1959, is the finest clip in this collection. From Ethel Waters and Sarah Vaughan to Lena Horne, Ida Cox, and Peggy Lee, this set shows why women have been the standard bearers of the American vocal tradition. –Eugene Holley Jr.

Witness Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, Lena Horne, Peggy Lee, Ethel Waters, Ruth Brown, and many other of the Jazz & Blues innovators who paved the way for today's Soul, R&B, & Pop music.
Timeless vocal performances highlight this extraordinary musical DVD compilation filled with complete, live performances by the great American divas of the Blues and Jazz. These distinguished and ground-breaking women not only sang their way into legend, but were the major force in American musical culture.

Priceless footage of America's and history's greatest Jazz and Blues divas (complete songs, not just tantalizing excerpts) such as Billie Holiday backed by the most extraordinary band ever formed (featuring Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Ben Webster, Roy Eldridge, and Gerry Mulligan), the great Bessie Smith in her only film appearance, Dinah Washington on stage at The Apollo Theatre, Sarah Vaughan, Lena Horne, and many, many others. This marvelous showcase of classic American talent is in many instances the artist's only performance ever recorded on camera, and many of the selections were thought to be lost forever.

Relive a bygone era and see the 'Ladies' who created an art form in these rare, classic performances thought to be lost forever. Recaptured in this filmed salute to the women who started it all, witness these stars like never before in this entertaining DVD masterpiece that is nothing short of a classic.

Tracklist
01. Program Intro - Ladies Sing the Blues [1:14]
02. Bessie Smith - St. Louis Blues [5:05]
03. Ethel Waters - Darkies Never Dream [3:07]
04. Ethel Waters - Quicksand (with Count Basie & His Orchestra) [2:31]
05. Billie Holiday - Fine and Mellow (with Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Ben Webster, Roy Eldridge, Gerry Mulligan) [3:34]
06. Trombone Solo [:37]
07. Saxophone Solo 1 [1:15]
08. Saxophone Solo 2 [:39]
09. Trumpet Solo [2:38]
10. Ida Cox-When You Lose Your Money - Blues (with Jesse Crump) [4:24]
11. Sister Bosetta Tharp - That Lonesome Road [3:11]
12. Connee Boswell - Nobody's Sweetheart Now [:59]
13. Dinah Washington - Lean Baby [1:58]
14. Dinah Washington - Only a Moment Ago [3:09]
15. Ruth Brown - Have a Good Time [2:28]
16. Saxophone Solo [1:16]
17. Lena Horne - The Man I Love [2:14]
18. Lena Horne - Unlucky Woman (with Teddy Wilson & his Orchestra) [4:34]
19. Sarah Vaughn - You're Mine You [4:17]
20. Helen Humes - I Cried for You (with Count Basie & His Orchestra) [3:05]
21. Peggy Lee - Why Don't You Do Right? (with Benny Goodman & His Orchestra) [3:13]
22. Peggy Lee - I Cover the Waterfront (with Dave Barbour) [4:31]
23. V.I.E.W. Collector's Club [1:49]

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