Billie Holiday—”Good Morning Heartache” (1956)

Last week, in my post about songwriter Irene Higginbotham, I mentioned her song "Goodmorning Heartache," co-written with Ervin Drake (1919-2015) and Dan Fisher. It was first recorded by Billie Holiday with Billl Stegmeyer's orchestra in January 1946. Billie was said to have called it one of her favorite songs, and she recorded it again for Norman Grantz with a small jazz group on June 7, 1955.

This recording session for Clef records took place at the Fine Sound Studios in New York City. The musicians accompanying Billie Holiday in a group led by clarinetist Tony Scott -- who also made this arrangement -- are trumpet player Charlie Shavers, tenor saxophonist Paul Quinichette, pianist Wynton Kelly, guitarist Kenny Burrell, bassist Aaron Bell, and drummer Lennie McBrowne.

Some years ago, David Hinckley wrote in the New York Daily News, "The one thing songwriters can do when love walks out of their lives is write a song about it." That is exactly what Ervin Drake did.

During the 1940s Ervin Drake was dating a Broadway chorus girl named Edith. However, when he fell deeper and deeper in love with his Valentine, she left him. To express his feelings, Ervin wrote the lyrics of "Goodmorning Heartache" and Billie Holliday turned it into a jazz standard.

Both Ervin and Edith married other people. When their partners had passed away in the mid-seventies, Edith, after a proper period, got in touch with Ervin again. Eventually they got married to each other for the rest of their lives. When Ervin Drake told Edith about "Goodmorning Heartache" she said she had no idea it had been written for her.