Billie Holiday – Do Your Duty – 1949 [DES STEREO]

“Do Your Duty” was recorded by Billie Holiday with Sy Oliver and his Orchestra on Sptember 8, 1949 at Decca Studios 50 West 57th St, NYC. It was released on Decca Records as a single 10” 78 RPM shellac. [Cat 48259]. Enjoy my DES [Digitally Extracted STEREO] conversion of this classic jazz recording by Billie at the height of her career.

Written and composed by Wesley Wilson

Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) [aged 42 years] was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Billie had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo. She was known for her unique vocal delivery and improvisational skills.

Billie recorded 2 songs associated with “The Empress of Blues”, Bessie Smith. “Do Your Duty” was an unambiguous request for a man to perform his marital [or extra-marital duties]. A bold and brassy arrangement led by Buck Clayton and orchestrated by Sy Oliver underscored the storyline. This song was written by vaudevillian “Sox” Wilson and was recorded by Bessie Smith at her last recording session in 1933. By 1949, Billie was the ultimate jazz vocalist and still is to this day. Purists state that Billie’s earlier recordings in a jazz setting were the best. But for sheer interpretive skill, nothing can beat her mid-career recordings like this. Her voice would soon shrink and acquire an unbecoming rasp, but was still wonderfully clear and expressive in this 1949 recording.

About the original MONO recording:
This track is from the 1998 compilation CD: “Divas Exotica”. The track was excellently mastered and transferred to digital and did not need any alterations in amplitude, EQ or dynamics.

About my DES STEREO mix:
For Billie’s vocal, I left it centered and made no further changes. For the Orchestra, I gave it a surround-sound effect and alternated brass and reeds in opposing channels. I panned the Drums Right and made them slightly reverb into the Left. I centered the Bass and did not alter it.

Technical Information:
I used DeMIX PRO to isolate Billie’s Lead Vocal, Orchestra, Drums and Bass into 4 separate tracks. Adobe Audition 2020 was used for Dynamic Range recovery, Reverb, Delay, EQ, and final mixdown. Sonic Studio’s Amarra Luxe Sound Processor was used for post EQ and up-sampling. NERO 2019 Platinum used to generate the final video.

For more information on spectral editing and sound source separation, visit https://www.monotostereo.info/

Enjoy my MONO-to-STEREO conversion of this historic jazz recording of Billie when she was in great form.

This video is strictly for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

Видео Billie Holiday – Do Your Duty – 1949 [DES STEREO] канала Bob Zwolinski