A piece of the great American songbook, done many times, but never better than by Billie Holiday. The second most famous version of Good Morning Heartache is by Diana Ross, who played Holiday in Lady Sings the Blues. Ross’s voice is, if anything, too beautiful and her delivery to perfect to do the song justice. Her performance is impeccable but short on soul. Ross doesn’t allow her voice to crack with sorrow the way Holiday does. Billie Holiday truly sounds like she’s been drinking coffee and crying all night. She’s in control now, but in a moment she may break down in tears again. Diana Ross is simply the wrong artist to tackle such emotional material; she’s too much of a glitzy star, one who seems to have forgotten her rough beginnings and got used to being Berry Gordy’s overgroomed poodle. This song is for artists like Holiday and Etta James, who never stopped being haunted by their own heartaches and mistakes.
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