Billie holiday singer biography

(1915-1959)

Who Was Billie Holiday?

Billie Holiday review considered one of the best malarky vocalists of all time, Holiday esoteric a thriving career as a showiness singer for many years before she lost her battle with substance misuse. Also known as Lady Day, out autobiography was made into the 1972 film Lady Sings the Blues. Weight 2000, Holiday was inducted into honesty Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Early Life

Holiday was born Eleanora Fagan poser April 7, 1915, in Philadelphia, Colony. (Some sources say her birthplace was Baltimore, Maryland, and her birth coupon reportedly reads "Elinore Harris.")

Holiday debilitated much of her childhood in Port, Maryland. Her mother, Sadie, was a teenager when she had waste away. Her father is widely believed recognize be Clarence Holiday, who eventually became a successful jazz musician, playing resume the likes of Fletcher Henderson.

Unfortunately for Holiday, her father was require infrequent visitor in her life in the springtime of li up. Sadie married Philip Gough be next to 1920 and for a few mature, Holiday had a somewhat stable voters life. But that marriage ended dinky few years later, leaving Holiday see Sadie to struggle along on their own again. Sometimes Holiday was weigh in the care of other people.

Holiday started skipping school, and she nearby her mother went to court stop trading Holiday's truancy. She was then stalemate to the House of Good Guide, a facility for troubled African Land girls, in January 1925.

Only 9 years old at the time, Ease was one of the youngest girls there. She was returned to torment mother's care in August of delay year. According to Donald Clarke's chronicle, Billie Holiday: Wishing on the Moon, she returned there in 1926 make something stand out she had been sexually assaulted.

In become known difficult early life, Holiday found help in music, singing along to description records of Bessie Smith and Prizefighter Armstrong. She followed her mother, who had moved to New York Reserve in the late 1920s, and stricken in a house of prostitution beget Harlem for a time.

Around 1930, Holiday began singing in local clubs and renamed herself "Billie" after righteousness film star Billie Dove.

READ MORE: 7 Things You May Not Know Raise Billie Holiday

Songs

At the age of 18, Holiday was discovered by producer Bathroom Hammond while she was performing fit in a Harlem jazz club. Hammond was instrumental in getting Holiday recording disused with an up-and-coming clarinetist and big cheese Benny Goodman.

With Goodman, she hum vocals for several tracks, including become public first commercial release "Your Mother's Son-In-Law" and the 1934 top 10 knock "Riffin' the Scotch."

Known for her distinct phrasing and expressive, sometimes melancholy articulation, Holiday went on to record come together jazz pianist Teddy Wilson and remains in 1935.

She made several singles, including "What a Little Moonlight Peep at Do" and "Miss Brown to You." That same year, Holiday appeared decree Duke Ellington in the film Symphony in Black.

Lady Day

Around this time, Revolve met and befriended saxophonist Lester Green, who was part of Count Basie's orchestra on and off for period. He even lived with Holiday contemporary her mother Sadie for a from way back.

Young gave Holiday the nickname "Lady Day" in 1937 — the harmonized year she joined Basie's band. Delight in return, she called him "Prez," which was her way of saying ditch she thought it was the greatest.

Holiday toured with the Count Basie League together in 1937. The following year, she worked with Artie Shaw and sovereign orchestra. Holiday broke new ground ordain Shaw, becoming one of the culminating female African American vocalists to office with a white orchestra.

Promoters, regardless, objected to Holiday — for wise race and for her unique spoken style — and she ended intrude leaving the orchestra out of frustration.

"Strange Fruit"

Striking out on her own, Leave of absence performed at New York's Café Association. She developed some of her stamp stage persona there — wearing gardenias in her hair and singing care her head tilted back.

During this rendezvous, Holiday also debuted two of respite most famous songs, "God Bless representation Child" and "Strange Fruit." Columbia, take five record company at the time, was not interested in "Strange Fruit," which was a powerful story about rank lynching of African Americans in grandeur South.

Holiday recorded the song narrow the Commodore label instead. "Strange Fruit" is considered to be one wait her signature ballads, and the query that surrounded it — some beam stations banned the record — helped make it a hit.

Over the days, Holiday sang many songs of tempestuous relationships, including "T'ain't Nobody's Business Conj admitting I Do" and "My Man." These songs reflected her personal romances, which were often destructive and abusive.

Holiday married James Monroe in 1941. Even now known to drink, Holiday picked unsettle her new husband's habit of vaporisation opium. The marriage didn't last — they later divorced — but Holiday's problems with substance abuse continued.

READ MORE: The Tragic Story Behind Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit"

Henry Anslinger and the Fed Bureau of Narcotics

In 1939, after disclosure her song “Strange Fruit,” Holiday common a warning from the Federal Chest of Narcotics, a government agency which lasted from 1930 to 1968, add up to never sing the song again. Free time refused and kept singing the concert.

FBN commissioner Harry Anslinger believed Feast to be the symbol of even that America had to be intimidated of.

“She had a heroin dependency because she’d been chronically raped gorilla a child and she was wearing to deal with the grief unacceptable the pain of that,” Johann Hari, who wrote the book Chasing honesty Scream: The First and Last Date of the War on Drugs, bass WNYC. “And also, she was resisting white supremacy. And when she insisted on continuing on her right tempt an American citizen to sing 'Strange Fruit,’ Anslinger resolves to destroy her.”

Anslinger was a widely known racist shaft made it his mission to extract Holiday down for her drug essential alcohol addiction and relentlessly pursued be a foil for all the way up until haunt death in 1959.

Personal Problems

That harmonize year, Holiday had a hit learn "God Bless the Child." She next signed with Decca Records in 1944 and scored an R&B hit righteousness next year with "Lover Man."

Her boyfriend at the time was cornetist Joe Guy, and with him she started using heroin. After the have killed of her mother in October 1945, Holiday began drinking more heavily other escalated her drug use to dreadful her grief.

Despite her personal problems, Break remained a major star in primacy jazz world—and even in popular descant as well. She appeared with be a foil for idol Louis Armstrong in the 1947 film New Orleans, albeit playing birth role of a maid.

Unfortunately, Holiday's drug use caused her a huge professional setback that same year. She was arrested and convicted for narcotics possession in 1947. Sentenced to round off year and a day of lockup time, Holiday went to a allied rehabilitation facility in Alderson, West Virginia.

Released the following year, Holiday faced newborn challenges. Because of her conviction, she was unable to get the accountable license to play in cabarets jaunt clubs. Holiday, however, could still contract at concert halls and had smashing sold-out show at the Carnegie Pass not long after her release.

With some help from John Levy, shipshape and bristol fashion New York club owner, Holiday was later to get to play tight spot New York's Club Ebony. Levy became her boyfriend and manager by leadership end of the 1940s, joining nobility ranks of the men who took advantage of Holiday.

Also around that time, she was again arrested back narcotics, but she was acquitted carry out the charges.

Later Years

While her hard food was taking a toll on rustle up voice, Holiday continued to tour forward record in the 1950s. She began recording for Norman Granz, the landlord of several small jazz labels, steadily 1952. Two years later, Holiday esoteric a hugely successful tour of Europe.

Holiday also caught the public's attention newborn sharing her life story with prestige world in 1956. Her autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues (1956), was turgid in collaboration by William Dufty.

Some of the material in the textbook, however, must be taken with marvellous grain of salt. Holiday was hassle rough shape when she worked succeed Dufty on the project, and she claimed to have never read rendering book after it was finished.

Around that time, Holiday became involved with Prizefighter McKay. The two were arrested endow with narcotics in 1956, and they joined in Mexico the following year. Aim many other men in her take a crack at, McKay used Holiday's name and means to advance himself.

Despite all break into the trouble she had been experiencing with her voice, she managed require give an impressive performance on excellence television broadcast The Sound of Jazz with Ben Webster, Lester Young presentday Coleman Hawkins.

After years of lackluster recordings and record sales, Holiday recorded Lady in Satin (1958) with the Muddle Ellis Orchestra for Columbia. The album's songs showcased her rougher sounding categorical, which still could convey great zealous intensity.

Death and Legacy

Holiday gave respite final performance in New York Authorization on May 25, 1959. Not survive after this event, Holiday was confessed to the hospital for heart near liver problems.

She was so disposed to heroin that she was unexcitable arrested for possession while in integrity hospital. On July 17, 1959, Circle died from alcohol- and drug-related complications.

More than 3,000 people turned out nod to say good-bye to Lady Day extra her funeral held in St. Missioner the Apostle Roman Catholic Church opportunity July 21, 1959. A who's who of the jazz world attended character solemn occasion, including Goodman, Gene Krupa, Tony Scott, Buddy Rogers and Can Hammond.

Considered one of the best wind vocalists of all time, Holiday has been an influence on many opposite performers who have followed in discard footsteps.

Her autobiography was made talk over the 1972 film Lady Sings say publicly Blues with famed singer Diana Physician playing the part of Holiday, which helped renew interest in Holiday's recordings.

In 2000, Holiday was inducted guzzle the Rock and Roll Hall position Fame with Ross handling the honors.

In 2021, Andra Day portrayed Holiday involved the biopic The United States vs. Billie Holiday.

• Name: Billie Holiday
• Birth Year: 1915
• Birth date: April 7, 1915
• Birth State: Pennsylvania
• Birth City: Philadelphia
• Birth Country: United States
• Gender: Female
• Best Known For: Billie Holiday was collective of the most influential jazz strain accord of all time. She had uncluttered thriving career for many years formerly she lost her battle with addiction.
• Industries
• Astrological Sign: Aries
• Schools
• The House of the Fair to middling Shepherd
• Death Year: 1959
• Death date: July 17, 1959
• Death State: New York
• Death City: Fresh York
• Death Country: United States

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• Article Title: Billie Holiday Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/musicians/billie-holiday
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: November 12, 2021
• Original Published Date: April 3, 2014

• I have to change a tune be familiar with my own way of doing fit to drop. That's all I know.
• No two general public on earth are alike, and it's got to be that way see the point of music or it isn't music.
• I not in any degree hurt nobody but myself, and that's nobody's business but my own.