Don't Explain (song)

"Don't Explain" is a song written by jazz singer Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog Jr.

Overview
It is said Billie wrote "Don't Explain" after her husband, Jimmy Monroe, came home one night with lipstick traces on his collar.

Recording Session
Session #52: New York, November 8, 1944, Decca, Toots Camarata and His Orchestra, with Russ Case (trumpet), Hymie Schertzer, Jack Cressey (alto saxophone), Larry Binyon and Dave Harris (tenor saxophone), Dave Bowman (piano), Carl Kress (guitar), Haig Stephens (bass), George Wettling (drums), Billie Holiday (vocals), and six strings.

Notable cover versions

 * Helen Merrill (1954)
 * George Shearing (1956)
 * John Coltrane (1957)
 * Abbey Lincoln (1957)
 * Charlie Byrd (1958)
 * Wes Montgomery (1959)
 * Anita O'Day (1961)
 * Dinah Washington (1961)
 * Dexter Gordon (1962)
 * Nina Simone (1964)
 * Carmen McRae (1965)
 * Lou Rawls (1966)
 * Diana Ross (1972)
 * Grover Washington, Jr. (1973)
 * Rosemary Clooney (1978)
 * Dos (1989)
 * Robert Palmer (1990)
 * Dušan Prelević (1991)
 * Elkie Brooks  (1993)
 * Natalie Cole (1993)
 * Miki Howard (1993)
 * Diana Ross (1993)
 * Etta James (1994)
 * Regina Carter (1995)
 * Dakota Staton (1996)
 * Vanessa Daou (1996)
 * Sarah Vaughan (2001)
 * Angela McCluskey (2002)
 * Rita Reys (2004)
 * Molly Johnson (2004)
 * Herbie Hancock with Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan(2005)
 * Nnenna Freelon (2007)
 * Cat Power (2008)
 * Oleta Adams (2009)
 * DeeDee Bridgewater (2010)
 * Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa (2011)
 * Others