Irene Higginbotham was born on June 11, 1918, in Worcester, Massachusetts, and passed away on August 27, 1988, in New York City. She was an American songwriter and concert pianist, renowned for her contributions to the blues and jazz genres. Higginbotham is best known for co-writing the Billie Holiday classic "Good Morning Heartache" in 1946, a song that has become a standard in the jazz repertoire.

Raised in a musically inclined family, Irene's mother, Hart Jones Higginbotham, died shortly after her birth, and she was brought up by her father, Garnett Roy Higginbotham, in Atlanta, Georgia. Her father, who was a tailor, educator, and journalist, taught her piano. Irene began composing music in her teens and studied under notable music educators Kemper Harreld and Frederick Hall.

In her early 20s, Higginbotham moved to New York City to pursue a career in songwriting. She joined the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) in 1944 and composed nearly 50 published songs. Despite the challenges of being an African-American woman in the predominantly white and male Tin Pan Alley, she made significant contributions to jazz and popular music. Irene collaborated with prominent artists and big bands, including Benny Goodman, Stan Kenton, and Duke Ellington.

Throughout her career, which spanned from the 1930s to 1988, Higginbotham also composed chamber music and orchestral works, often using pseudonyms like "Glenn Gibson" to navigate the industry's biases. Her work extended beyond jazz to include country, doo-wop, and pop tunes, establishing her as a versatile and prolific songwriter.