Billie Poole 'Me and My Gin' (Gin House Blues) Bessie Smith song, 1960

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Billie Poole singing 'Me and My Gin' live for a prohibition-themed programme in April 1960. Bessie Smith first released the song in 1928, it later became known as 'Gin House Blues' that many have covered since - despite Bessie Smith issuing another, different 'Gin House Blues' in 1926. Someone, possibly at Nina Simone's label, got the two songs confused and the wrong songwriters have been credited ever since.

THIS song, 'Me and My Gin' was written by: James C. Johnson
'Gin House Blues', as performed by Bessie Smith, was written by Fletcher Henderson

Billie stays relatively faithful to the Bessie Smith version - except for an explicit lyric change, as discussed in the comments. It's a year before Nina Simone's wrongly titled version Gin House Blues - but Billie appears to have never recorded it for release. Piano on this performance is either Jean-Claude Pellitier or Gérard Raingo.

Billie Poole was an Amercan singer who released two albums in the years following this live performance. From Illinois, then California, she spent many years performing in France and German; this performace is from a French TV programme 'Prohibition Blues'.

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