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Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made a significant contribution to jazz music and pop singing.
- Who Was Billie Holiday?
- Early Life
- Songs
- Lady Day
- "Strange Fruit"
- Henry Anslinger and The Federal Bureau of Narcotics
- Personal Problems
- Later Years
- Death and Legacy
Billie Holiday is considered one of the best jazz vocalists of all time, Holiday had a thriving career as a jazz singer for many years before she lost her battle with substance abuse. Also known as Lady Day, her autobiography was made into the 1972 film Lady Sings the Blues. In 2000, Holiday was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Holiday was born Eleanora Fagan on April 7, 1915, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Some sources say her birthplace was Baltimore, Maryland, and her birth certificate reportedly reads "Elinore Harris.") Holiday spent much of her childhood in Baltimore, Maryland. Her mother, Sadie, was only a teenager when she had her. Her father is widely believed to...
At the age of 18, Holiday was discovered by producer John Hammond while she was performing in a Harlem jazz club. Hammond was instrumental in getting Holiday recording work with an up-and-coming clarinetist and bandleader Benny Goodman. With Goodman, she sang vocals for several tracks, including her first commercial release "Your Mother's Son-In-La...
Around this time, Holiday met and befriended saxophonist Lester Young, who was part of Count Basie's orchestra on and off for years. He even lived with Holiday and her mother Sadie for a while. Young gave Holiday the nickname "Lady Day" in 1937 — the same year she joined Basie's band. In return, she called him "Prez," which was her way of saying th...
Striking out on her own, Holiday performed at New York's Café Society. She developed some of her trademark stage persona there — wearing gardenias in her hair and singing with her head tilted back. During this engagement, Holiday also debuted two of her most famous songs, "God Bless the Child" and "Strange Fruit." Columbia, her record company at th...
In 1939, after singing her song “Strange Fruit,” Holiday received a warning from the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, a government agency which lasted from 1930 to 1968, to never sing the song again. Holiday refused and kept singing the song. FBN commissioner Harry Anslinger believed Holiday to be the symbol of everything that America had to be afraid ...
That same year, Holiday had a hit with "God Bless the Child." She later signed with Decca Records in 1944 and scored an R&B hit the next year with "Lover Man." Her boyfriend at the time was trumpeter Joe Guy, and with him she started using heroin. After the death of her mother in October 1945, Holiday began drinking more heavily and escalated her d...
While her hard living was taking a toll on her voice, Holiday continued to tour and record in the 1950s. She began recording for Norman Granz, the owner of several small jazz labels, in 1952. Two years later, Holiday had a hugely successful tour of Europe. Holiday also caught the public's attention by sharing her life story with the world in 1956. ...
Holiday gave her final performance in New York City on May 25, 1959. Not long after this event, Holiday was admitted to the hospital for heart and liver problems. She was so addicted to heroin that she was even arrested for possession while in the hospital. On July 17, 1959, Holiday died from alcohol- and drug-related complications. More than 3,000...
Apr 3, 2024 · Billie Holiday (born April 7, 1915, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.—died July 17, 1959, New York City, New York) was an American jazz singer, one of the greatest from the 1930s to the ’50s.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Why was Billie Holiday significant?Billie Holiday was one of the greatest jazz singers from the 1930s to the ’50s. She had no formal musical training, but, with an instinctive sense...
- What was Billie Holiday best known for?As a singer, Holiday was known for her dramatic intensity, which could render the most banal lyric profound. Among the songs identified with her we...
- How did Billie Holiday get famous?Holiday began her career singing in a Harlem nightclub and made her first recordings in 1933, with Benny Goodman and others. Two years later a seri...
Feb 8, 2021 · Born Eleanora Fagan in Baltimore (or some say Philadelphia) in 1915, Holiday’s childhood was marred by horrific abuse—despite the best efforts of her beloved mother, Sadie, who was only 13...
Aug 25, 2020 · By Eudie Pak Updated: Aug 25, 2020. Photo: William Gotleib Collection. In March 1939, a 23-year-old Billie Holiday walked up to the mic at West 4th's Cafe Society in New York City to sing her...
Feb 26, 2021 · Famous Musicians. Black History. 7 Things You May Not Know About Billie Holiday. From how she got the nickname "Lady Day" to the origins of "Strange Fruit," here are some facts about the famed...
Dec 3, 2020 · Before her death in 1978, Linda Lipnack Kuehl spent eight years trying to write the definitive biography of Billie Holiday.
