85 Years Ago Today: Teddy Wilson and Billie Holiday

Teddy Wilson is a name not mentioned enough these days. But through working with the Benny Goodman band in the late 1930s, he influenced all manner of players, from future greats (such as Nat King Cole and Hank Jones) to legions of cocktail pianists. Having smoothed out the daring brinkmanship of Earl Hines, he recorded with Louis Armstrong, Benny Carter and others before the middle of the decade, gaining only an in-group reputation.  

That all changed, after a trio appearance with soon-to-be pin-ups Goodman and Gene Krupa led to him becoming the first black guest-star in an all-white band. Before actually touring, on July 13, 1935 the Goodman Trio made their debut recordings including ‘After You’ve Gone’ and ‘Body And Soul’, where Wilson’s playing provides the whole foundation for an exciting collaboration. Just 11 days earlier (July 2) he was the official leader on an equally historic session.

The first small-group date with “vocal refrains” by one Billie Holiday found Wilson fronting the horns of Roy Eldridge, Ben Webster and Goodman on four so-so new songs. Most worthy of their attention was ‘I Wished On The Moon’ (soon to be a hit for Bing Crosby), but ‘What A Little Moonlight Can Do’ (taken from a British musical!) also received an indelible Holiday imprint. The latter achieved some jukebox action and radio plays, and led to a four-year series of immortal follow-ups, usually led by Teddy. But, with reissues invariably under Billie’s name, Wilson’s contribution is too easily overlooked.