God Bless the Child (Billie Holiday song)

"God Bless the Child" is a song written by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog, Jr. in 1939. It was first recorded on May 9, 1941 under the Okeh label.

Holiday's version of the song was honored with the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1976. It was also included in the list of Songs of the Century, by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Recording session
Session #44: 799 Seventh Avenue, New York City, May 9, 1941, Eddie Heywood and his Orchestra with Roy Eldridge (trumpet) Jimmy Powell, Lester Boone (alto saxophone), Ernie Powell (trumpet), Eddie Heywood (piano), Johan Robins (guitar), Paul Chapman (guitar), Grachan Moncur II (bass), Herbert Cowans (drums), Billie Holiday (vocal) 

Origin and interpretation
In her autobiography Lady Sings the Blues Holiday indicated an argument with her mother over money led to the song. She indicated that during the argument her mother said the line "God bless the child that's got his own." The anger over the incident led her to turn that line into a starting point for a song, which she worked out in conjunction with Herzog. In his 1990 book Jazz Singing, Will Friedwald indicates it as "sacred and profane" as it references the Bible while indicating that religion seems to have no effect in making people treat each other better. The lyrics refer to an unspecified Biblical verse: "Them that's got shall get, them that don't shall lose, so the Bible says, and it still is news. . . . " This likely refers to Matthew 25:29 or Luke 8:18.

Notable cover versions

 * Frankie Laine (1949)
 * Gene Ammons (1958)
 * Stanley Turrentine (1960)
 * Eric Dolphy (1960)
 * Carmen McRae (1961)
 * Anita O'Day (1961)
 * Lou Rawls (recorded: February 5, 1962 for the album Stormy Monday)
 * Aretha Franklin (1962 for her album The Tender, the Moving, the Swinging Aretha Franklin)
 * Judy Henske (1963)
 * Stevie Wonder (1968)
 * Fifty Foot Hose (1968)
 * Jimmie Rodgers (1968)
 * Blood, Sweat & Tears (1969)
 * Billy Eckstine and Linda Ronstadt, duet (1969)
 * Liza Minnelli (1969 live version, 1971 studio version)
 * Richie Havens (1972)
 * Diana Ross (1972)
 * Tom Browne (1981)
 * Dave Van Ronk (1982)
 * Ella Fitzgerald (1982)
 * Keith Jarrett (1983)
 * Billy MacKenzie (Associates (duo))(1984)
 * Crystal Gayle (1985)
 * Steve Miller (1988)
 * David Peaston (1989)
 * The Simpsons (Lisa Simpson/voice actor Yeardley Smith) The Simpsons Sing the Blues (1990)
 * Freddie Hubbard (1991) as heard on Bolivia_(album)
 * Barbra Streisand (1991)
 * Diane Schuur (1992)
 * Eva Cassidy (1992)
 * Tony Bennett (1995)
 * Vanita Harbour (General Hospital soundtrack) (1998)
 * Jamie Cullum (1999)
 * Michael Bolton (2003)
 * Ruthie Foster (2004)
 * Mikalah Gordon (2005)
 * Theresa Sokyrka (2005)
 * Nnenna Freelon (2005)
 * Gladys Knight (2006)
 * Eva Avila (2006)
 * George Benson, Al Jarreau and Jill Scott (2006)
 * LaKisha Jones (2007)
 * Moby (2007)
 * Laura White (2008)
 * Dee Dee Bridgewater (2010)
 * Haley Reinhart (2011)
 * Gregory Porter (sung a cappella on his 2012 album Be Good)
 * and others.

It also inspired a children's picture book. It was included on the album The Simpsons Sing the Blues, performed by Lisa Simpson (Yeardley Smith); this version was released as a single, the third from the album. Tony Bennett recorded the song as an overdubbed "duet" with Holiday for his 1997 album Tony Bennett on Holiday. Tricky released a version of the song on Angels with Dirty Faces (1998), retitled as "Carriage for Two". Referenced in the bible in Matthew 25:29 KJV {For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.} In 1999, House producer Alex Gopher sampled parts of the first verse for his track "the Child".

Film

 * All The Fine Young Cannibals
 * Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
 * Two Weeks Notice
 * Schindler's List
 * August Rush

Television

 * The Judy Garland Show (1963): Sung by Judy Henske. Air date November 10, 1963.
 * Liza with a 'Z' (1972): Sung by Liza Minnelli in this Emmy Award-winning television concert directed by Bob Fosse. Liza continues to sing this song at many of her concerts.
 * Theme song for the first two seasons of Roc (1991–1992), sung by Jerry Lawson
 * Grey's Anatomy (2006): Sung by Chandra Wilson in "Staring at the Sun"
 * American Idol: Sung by Mikalah Gordon for the top 20, Katharine McPhee in her 2006 audition in San Francisco, LaKisha Jones on March 13, 2007, and Jacob Lusk and Haley Reinhart in 2011 in Hollywood.
 * The title of the 11th episode of season 4 of The Wire comes from the lyrics ("That's Got His Own").
 * Once and Again (2002): Sung by Evan Rachel Wood in Season 3, Episode 12, "Gardenia".
 * Laura White sings live on The X Factor 5 on Week 3.
 * Diana Ross performed the song on her 1978 The Boss" tour, later recorded by HBO for a television special, "Diana Ross:In Concert", in 1992 during her Showtime-aired special, Stolen Moments: The Lady Sings... Jazz and Blues" & in 1993 for a televised special, filmed at New York City's famed Apollo Theater.
 * Whitney Houston performed the song during her 1997 HBO Concert special, "Classic Whitney Live from Washington, D.C." at the famed DAR Constitution Hall in Washington D.C. The song was performed as a tribute to Diana Ross who had performed the song portraying Billie Holiday in the acclaimed 1972 film "Lady Sings the Blues (film)."

Music

 * J. Cole alludes to "God Bless the Child" on his track "In the Morning" from his 2010 mixtape, "Friday Night Lights" and his debuh studio album "Cole World: The Sideline Story".
 * 2Pac references Billie Holiday and "God Bless the Child" on the song "Hold On, Be Strong" as well as "Hold Ya Head".

Literature

 * Biyi Bandele references the song in his novel The Street.
 * Kristin Hunter took the title of the song for her first novel God Bless the Child.

Video Games

 * BioShock soundtrack: The three remixed tracks on the CD include "Beyond the Sea", "God Bless the Child" and "Wild Little Sisters"; the original recordings of these songs are in the game.