The "Ladies" who created an art form and sang their way into legend... a bygone era is recaptured in this filmed salute to the women who started it all... whose turn of phrase made history. Priceless footage of the great American divas (complete songs, not just tantalizing excerpts): Billie Holiday backed by the most extraordinary band ever formed--Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Benny Webster, Roy Eldridge, and Gerry Mulligan. The great Bessie Smith in her only film appearance. Dinah Washington from the stage of the Apollo Theatre. Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan, Lena Horne, and others, singing their classics. For many of them, this was their only appearance on camera... certainly some of their greatest performances! Performances thought to be lost to time! V.I.E.W. Video is proud to present The Ladies Sing the Blues, a gallery of those women who were the major force in American musical culture. See these stars like you've never heard them before! An entertaining masterpiece. A classic for your library. 60 minutes. Selections: St. Louis Blues (Bessie Smith), Darkies Never Dream (Ethel Waters), Quicksand (Ethel Waters with Count Basie and His Orchestra), Fine and Mellow (Billie Holiday with Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Benny Webster, Roy Eldridge, and Gerry Mulligan), When You Lose Your Money--Blues (Ida Cox with Jesse Crump), That Lonesome Road (Sister Rosetta Tharp), Nobody's Sweetheart Now (Connee Boswell), Lean Baby (Dinah Washington), Only a Moment Ago (Dinah Washington), Have a Good Time (Ruth Brown), The Man I Love (Lena Horne), Unlucky Woman (Lena Horne with Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra), You're Mine You (Sarah Vaughan), I Cried for You (Helen Humes with Count Basie and His Orchestra), Why Don't You Do Right? (Peggy Lee with Benny Goodman and His Orchestra), I Cover the Waterfront (Peggy Lee with Dave Barbour).
