Lady Sings the Blues is a blues-jazz song co-written by Billie Holiday and Herbie Nichols. It serves as the title track for Holiday’s 1956 album Lady Sings the Blues, released on Clef/Verve, with the New York City recording on June 6, 1956 featuring Tony Scott & His Orchestra. The piece runs about 3 minutes and 46 seconds and is known for its autobiographical lyrics that express Holiday’s inner voice of heartbreak and resilience. The song helped define a new chapter in her artistry and later lent its title to her 1956 autobiography and the 1972 Diana Ross film; it has also been covered by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald.
