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Sarah Vaughan’s Handwritten Gershwin Lyrics

This personal notebook of the great jazz vocalist Sarah Vaughan includes a collection of lyrics handwritten by Ms. Sassie herself for songs by the Gershwin Brothers. Vaughan’s practice was to memorize lyrics by writing them out, then use them as a crib sheet during the performance. Vaughan’s Gershwin Songbooks, first released in the 1950’s and seldom out of print, are classics in the jazz/vocal cannon.

This notebook includes a Porgy and Bess medley featuring a chorus of “It ain’t necessarily so,” transitioning to “I Loves You, Porgy.” There’s also a medley of “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” and “They Can’t Take That Away From Me.” A third medley of “Swanee” and “Strike Up the Band” was not included in Vaughan’s 1982 Gershwin Live! recording, but was a staple of her touring act.

There are also “To-Do” lists, as well as some very personal and humorous notes about flight information, computer research, and even reminders to “order ham.”

lined page in spiral notebook with handwritten cursive textlined page in spiral notebook with handwritten cursive text

 

 

Pearl Bailey and Louie Bellson Photo Collection

This collection of thirteen original photographs is from Pearl Bailey’s personal collection. Bailey was a rousing singer and actress, known for live performances that mixed humor and music, and for a long stage and movie career. The photos show her alone, with her husband, the great drummer Louie Bellson, and with or other family members, musical, and film figures. A candid photo of Bellson shows him playing traditional drums in an unidentified African tribal setting.

Ritalin Prescription for Billie Holiday

Original handwritten prescription from Billie Holiday’s doctor, Emil G. Conason, prescribing “Tabs Ritalin” for “Billy [sic] Holiday McKay / 133 W. 47 St” and dated March 12, 1956. Today, methylphenidate is the stimulant doctors most often prescribe for children with ADHD. It was first made in 1944 and marketed in 1954 as Ritalin. At first, it was used to treat conditions such as chronic fatigue and depression, the context in which it would have been prescribed to Holiday.

Billie Holiday Signed Bar Tab

In September of 1958, Billie Holiday performed at Detroit’s Flame Show Bar located on John R Street or Paradise Valley’s “street of music”. Known as “Little Las Vegas,” the upscale entertainment venue hosted big acts like Dinah Washington and B.B. King, while also helping to start the careers of local talents like Jackie Wilson and LaVern Baker. This bar tab, likely from 1958, is signed “Lady Day,” Holiday’s nickname from her friend and music partner, Lester Young.

Shown with Ritalin Prescription for Billie Holiday

West End Blues Sheet Music

This rare sheet music find stands out for featuring a photograph of Billie Holiday on the cover. It’s for the song “West End Blues” that is performed by Holiday and Louis Armstrong in the 1947 musical romance film New Orleans, starring Arturo de Córdova and Dorothy Patrick. In her only feature film appearance, Holiday plays a singing maid romantically involved with bandleader Louis Armstrong. The film features extensive playing of New Orleans-style Dixieland jazz: over twenty songs (or versions of songs) are featured in whole or part, including “West End Blues,” which Armstrong first made famous with his seminal recording in 1928.

This sheet music was published by Clarence Williams Music Publishing Co., one of a few Black-owned publishing companies in the United States at the time. Williams had written the lyrics for “West End Blues,” which was composed and first recorded on June 11, 1928 by Joe “King” Oliver.

Named for New Orleans’ West End, the song exploded in popularity when it was recorded on June 28, 1928 by Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five. Considered one of the most famous recordings in the history of jazz, Armstrong’s rendition laid the groundwork for jazz soloists to be considered true artists, the same as musicians in other styles of music.

Billie Holiday cited listening to “West End Blues” as her first experience with scat-singing. In her 1956 autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues, she wrote, “Sometimes the record would make me so sad, I’d cry up a storm. Other times, the same damn record would make me so happy.”

 

Concert Program for Josephine Baker and her International Revue

This concert program from Carnegie Hall is for “Josephine Baker and Her International Revue,” which ran from June 5-8, 1973 and featured special guests Bricktop and the George Faison Universal Dance Experience. The world-renowned singer and dancer, World War II spy, and activist was celebrating her golden jubilee as a performer. The show included some two dozen songs in both English and French.