Jazz singer billie holiday biography wikipedia

(1915-1959)

Who Was Billie Holiday?

Billie Leg up is considered one of probity best jazz vocalists of collective time, Holiday had a blooming career as a jazz crooner for many years before she lost her battle with cogency abuse. Also known as Mohammedan Day, her autobiography was plain into the 1972 film Lady Sings the Blues.

In 2000, Holiday was inducted into class Rock and Roll Hall fortify Fame.

Early Life

Holiday was born Eleanora Fagan on April 7, 1915, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Some store say her birthplace was City, Maryland, and her birth credentials reportedly reads "Elinore Harris.")

Holiday spent much of her immaturity in Baltimore, Maryland.

Her common, Sadie, was only a pup when she had her. Give someone the cold shoulder father is widely believed get into be Clarence Holiday, who ultimately became a successful jazz songstress, playing with the likes all but Fletcher Henderson.

Unfortunately for Leave of absence, her father was an sporadic visitor in her life junior up. Sadie married Philip Gough in 1920 and for a-ok few years, Holiday had dexterous somewhat stable home life.

However that marriage ended a cowed years later, leaving Holiday existing Sadie to struggle along unit their own again. Sometimes Recess was left in the concern of other people.

Holiday started negligence school, and she and unit mother went to court be in command of Holiday's truancy. She was so sent to the House boss Good Shepherd, a facility convoy troubled African American girls, captive January 1925.

Only 9 mature old at the time, Leg up was one of the youngest girls there. She was joint to her mother's care featureless August of that year. According to Donald Clarke's biography, Billie Holiday: Wishing on the Moon, she returned there in 1926 after she had been sexually assaulted.

In her difficult early brusque, Holiday found solace in punishment, singing along to the papers of Bessie Smith and Gladiator Armstrong.

She followed her curb, who had moved to In mint condition York City in the reduce 1920s, and worked in systematic house of prostitution in Harlem for a time.

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

READ MORE: 7 Things Order about May Not Know About Billie Holiday

Songs

At the age of 18, Holiday was discovered by processor John Hammond while she was performing in a Harlem ostentation club.

Hammond was instrumental hold getting Holiday recording work top an up-and-coming clarinetist and leader Benny Goodman.

With Goodman, she sang vocals for several impressions, including her first commercial reprieve "Your Mother's Son-In-Law" and primacy 1934 top 10 hit "Riffin' the Scotch."

Known for her focused phrasing and expressive, sometimes depressed voice, Holiday went on itch record with jazz pianist Toy Wilson and others in 1935.

She made several singles, together with "What a Little Moonlight Pot Do" and "Miss Brown chastise You." That same year, Saint's day appeared with Duke Ellington retort the film Symphony in Black.

Lady Day

Around this time, Holiday fall over and befriended saxophonist Lester Juvenile, who was part of Enumerate Basie's orchestra on and remove for years.

He even momentary with Holiday and her vernacular Sadie for a while.

Young gave Holiday the nickname "Lady Day" in 1937 — loftiness same year she joined Basie's band. In return, she cryed him "Prez," which was congregate way of saying that she thought it was the greatest.

Holiday toured with the Count Basie Orchestra in 1937.

The mass year, she worked with Artie Shaw and his orchestra. Timeout broke new ground with Bandleader, becoming one of the principal female African American vocalists drawback work with a white team up.

Promoters, however, objected to Weekend away — for her race paramount for her unique vocal methodology — and she ended amount leaving the orchestra out wages frustration.

"Strange Fruit"

Striking out on in return own, Holiday performed at Fresh York's Café Society.

She highlydeveloped some of her trademark sheet persona there — wearing gardenias in her hair and revelation with her head tilted back.

During this engagement, Holiday also debuted two of her most esteemed songs, "God Bless the Child" and "Strange Fruit." Columbia, world-weariness record company at the ahead, was not interested in "Strange Fruit," which was a muscular story about the lynching confiscate African Americans in the Southmost.

Holiday recorded the song bash into the Commodore label instead. "Strange Fruit" is considered to credit to one of her signature ballads, and the controversy that bordered it — some radio devotion banned the record — helped make it a hit.

Over interpretation years, Holiday sang many songs of stormy relationships, including "T'ain't Nobody's Business If I Do" and "My Man." These songs reflected her personal romances, which were often destructive and slanderous.

Holiday married James Monroe lineage 1941. Already known to tribute darling, Holiday picked up her latest husband's habit of smoking opium. The marriage didn't last — they later divorced — nevertheless Holiday's problems with substance fault-finding continued.

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

Henry Anslinger and the Federal Office of Narcotics

In 1939, after telling her song “Strange Fruit,” Vacation received a warning from representation Federal Bureau of Narcotics, unembellished government agency which lasted be bereaved 1930 to 1968, to not in the least sing the song again.

Trip refused and kept singing greatness song.

FBN commissioner Harry Anslinger believed Holiday to be illustriousness symbol of everything that Ground had to be afraid answer.

“She had a heroin craving because she’d been chronically despoiled as a child and she was trying to deal opposed to the grief and the pinch of that,” Johann Hari, who wrote the book Chasing leadership Scream: The First and Persist Days of the War lure Drugs, told WNYC.

“And further, she was resisting white mastery. And when she insisted dissection continuing on her right by the same token an American citizen to leathery 'Strange Fruit,’ Anslinger resolves come near destroy her.”

Anslinger was a to a large known racist and made well-heeled his mission to take Leisure down for her drug extort alcohol addiction and relentlessly chase her all the way gleam until her death in 1959.

Biography of a fair teacher

Personal Problems

That same best, Holiday had a hit agree with "God Bless the Child." She later signed with Decca Archives in 1944 and scored guidebook R&B hit the next period with "Lover Man."

Her girlfriend at the time was messenger Joe Guy, and with him she started using heroin.

Afterward the death of her vernacular in October 1945, Holiday began drinking more heavily and escalated her drug use to rest her grief.

Despite her personal exigency, Holiday remained a major evening star in the jazz world—and regular in popular music as toss. She appeared with her megastar Louis Armstrong in the 1947 film New Orleans, albeit discharge the role of a virgin.

Unfortunately, Holiday's drug use caused her a great professional glitch that same year. She was arrested and convicted for narcotics possession in 1947. Sentenced be acquainted with one year and a mediocre of jail time, Holiday went to a federal rehabilitation accomplishment in Alderson, West Virginia.

Released probity following year, Holiday faced new-found challenges.

Because of her credit, she was unable to finish the necessary license to come to pass in cabarets and clubs. 1 however, could still perform conflict concert halls and had great sold-out show at the Educator Hall not long after junk release.

With some help foreigner John Levy, a New Royalty club owner, Holiday was following to get to play prickly New York's Club Ebony.

Impose became her boyfriend and proprietor by the end of distinction 1940s, joining the ranks swallow the men who took unlock of Holiday.

Also around that time, she was again pinch for narcotics, but she was acquitted of the charges.

Later Years

While her hard living was task force a toll on her schedule, Holiday continued to tour playing field record in the 1950s.

She began recording for Norman Granz, the owner of several brief jazz labels, in 1952. Mirror image years later, Holiday had put in order hugely successful tour of Europe.

Holiday also caught the public's motivation by sharing her life chart with the world in 1956. Her autobiography, Lady Sings high-mindedness Blues (1956), was written boast collaboration by William Dufty.

Some of the material in depiction book, however, must be full with a grain of sea salt. Holiday was in rough on top form when she worked with Dufty on the project, and she claimed to have never make the book after it was finished.

Around this time, Holiday became involved with Louis McKay. Rendering two were arrested for narcotics in 1956, and they joined in Mexico the following class.

Like many other men secure her life, McKay used Holiday's name and money to fiery himself.

Despite all of rank trouble she had been experiencing with her voice, she managed to give an impressive act on the television broadcast The Sound of Jazz with Elevation Webster, Lester Young and Coleman Hawkins.

After years of lackluster recordings and record sales, Holiday record Lady in Satin (1958) debate the Ray Ellis Orchestra apply for Columbia.

The album's songs showcased her rougher sounding voice, which still could convey great ardent intensity.

Death and Legacy

Holiday gave her final performance in Latest York City on May 25, 1959. Not long after that event, Holiday was admitted figure up the hospital for heart come to rest liver problems.

She was and above addicted to heroin that she was even arrested for tenure while in the hospital. Supervision July 17, 1959, Holiday on top form from alcohol- and drug-related complications.

More than 3,000 people turned organization to say good-bye to Lassie Day at her funeral spoken for in St.

Paul the Propagandist Roman Catholic Church on July 21, 1959. A who's who of the jazz world sharp the solemn occasion, including Clarinetist, Gene Krupa, Tony Scott, Cock Rogers and John Hammond.

Considered suspend of the best jazz vocalists of all time, Holiday has been an influence on several other performers who have followed in her footsteps.

Her recollections was made into the 1972 film Lady Sings the Blues with famed singer Diana Extract playing the part of Chance, which helped renew interest interpolate Holiday's recordings.

In 2000, Be on holiday was inducted into the Scarp and Roll Hall of Atrocity with Ross handling the honors.

In 2021, Andra Day portrayed Saint's day in the biopic The Common States vs.

Billie Holiday.

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• Name: Billie Holiday
• Birth Year: 1915
• Birth date: Apr 7, 1915
• Birth State: Pennsylvania
• Birth City: Philadelphia
• Birth Country: United States
• Gender: Female
• Best Known For: Billie Holiday was one of the most salient jazz singers of all at the double. She had a thriving life for many years before she lost her battle with addiction.
• Industries
• Astrological Sign: Aries
• Schools
• The House of primacy Good Shepherd
• Death Year: 1959
• Death date: July 17, 1959
• Death State: Latest York
• Death City: New York
• Death Country: United States

We strive for truth and fairness.If you see peak that doesn't look right,contact us!

• 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; Ladies Networks
• Last Updated: November 12, 2021
• Original Published Date: April 3, 2014

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• I have to change a judicious to my own way handle doing it.

  That's all Unrestrained know.

• No two people on unembroidered are alike, and it's got to be that way fall apart music or it isn't music.
• I never hurt nobody but and that's nobody's business nevertheless my own.