Peggy impersonates Billie Holiday

Check out YouTube. Peggy impersonates Billie Holiday in a live performance in 1987. I never heard this before and it's touching. Check it out before it's gone.

Richard, Holland.

Spooky and simply amazing performance! Thanks for the heads up, Richard. Do you know where the 1987 concert was?

Ernie, according to the clip it was recorded at the memorial theater back in 1987. I guess it's New York, but I'm not sure.

Greetings,
Richard, Holland.

Hi Richard and Ernie,

Well, I do declare! So many interesting threads are popping out just when I'm away from home, and therefore I can't check notes for details...

I can corroborate that 1987 is indeed the year. As for the venue, it is the Marines Memorial Theatre in San Francisco, CA.

The Billie Holiday medley that we hear in this concert is probably a later version of the same medley that Peggy was doing back in 1961 at Basin Street East. During that gig, she had two tribute medleys, one in Billie's honor and one in Ray Charles' honor. She would sing one of the medleys during one show, and the other medley during the other show. As we know, Capitol recorded the Ray Charles medley only. Notice that what Peggy does through the Billie medley is sing some of the songs in Billie's voice, some of the songs in her own voice.

If my memory is not deceiving me, at the 1987 concert Peggy also sang a couple of songs that she never recorded: "Little Baby Ducks" and "Keep Holdin' On."

Ivan

Richard, looking through these old posts you say to check out Peggy singing Billie Holiday. I can't find it. Is there any way you can post the you tube link on here?

I suppose this performance is not on YouTube anymore. This happens sometimes.

By the way, check out Peggy's performance of Send in the Clowns. One of my favourite TV performances in her later years. Very touching and perfectly done. I know you will love it.

[www.youtube.com]

Richard

Thanks, Richard. I'm already way ahead of you on hearing this. (Send in the Clowns). That song has always been one of my favs when Judy Collins brought it out. Peggy does it her way, of course... wonderfully.

There are several incarnations of this medley out there. Whether extant or otherwise, nearly all the incarnations are from concerts, starting in the early 1960s and continuing into the early 1990s. The 1987 concert medley is particularly good, if I'm remembering correctly, but it seems to be gone from YouTube. Another can actually be found in YouTube right now; this one is from a mid-1970s NY nightclub performance:

Peggy's Billie Medley

The versions that are not from concerts come from rehearsals. You can find one in the recently released CD/DVD set Live In London.

Ivan