Billie Holiday - Singer - Biography.com
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was one of the most influential jazz singers of all time. She had a thriving career for many years before she lost her battle with addiction.
IN THESE GROUPS
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quotes
“I have to change a tune to my own way of doing it. That's all I know.”
“No two people on earth are alike, and it's got to be that way in music or it isn't music.”
“I never hurt nobody but myself, and that's nobody's business but my own.”
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday - Mini Biography (TV-14; 3:42) A short biography of  Billie "Lady Day" Holiday.
Synopsis
Jazz vocalist Billie Holiday was born April 7, 1915, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 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. Her autobiography was made into the 1972 film Lady Sings the Blues. In 2000, Billie Holiday was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Early Life
Singer, jazz vocalist. Born Eleanora Fagan on April 7, 1915, in  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Some sources say Baltimore, Maryland. Her  birth certificate reportedly reads "Elinore Harris.") One of the most  influential jazz singers of all time, Billie Holiday had a thriving  career for many years before her battles with substance abuse got the  better of her.
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 be Clarence Holiday, who eventually became a  successful jazz musician, playing with the likes of Fletcher Henderson.  Unfortunately for Billie, he was only an infrequent visitor in her life  growing up. Sadie married Philip Gough in 1920 and for a few years  Billie had a somewhat stable home life. But that marriage ended a few  years later, leaving Billie and Sadie to struggle along on their own  again. Sometimes Billie was left in the care of other people.
Holiday  started skipping school, and she and her mother went to court over  Holiday's truancy. She was then sent to the House of Good Shepherd, a  facility for troubled African American girls, in January 1925. Only 9  years old at the time, Holiday was one of the youngest girls there. She  was returned to her mother's care in 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 life, Holiday found solace in music, singing along  to the records of Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong. She followed her  mother who had moved to New York City in the late 1920s and worked in a  house of prostitution in Harlem for a time. Around 1930, Holiday began  singing in local clubs and renamed herself "Billie" after the film star  Billie Dove.
Discovery
In her difficult early life, Holiday found solace in music, singing  along to the records of Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong. She followed  her mother who had moved to New York City in the late 1920s and worked  in a house of prostitution in Harlem for a time. Around 1930, Holiday  began singing in local clubs and renamed herself "Billie" after the film  star Billie Dove.
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-Law" and the 1934 top ten hit "Riffin' the  Scotch."
Known for her distinctive phrasing and expressive,  sometimes melancholy voice, Holiday went on to record with jazz pianist  Teddy Wilson and others in 1935. She made several singles, including  "What a Little Moonlight Can Do" and "Miss Brown to You." That same  year, Holiday appeared with Duke Ellington in the film Symphony in  Black.
Count Basie Orchestra
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 "Prez," which was her way of  saying that she thought it was the greatest.
Holiday toured with  the Count Basie Orchestra in 1937. The following year, she worked with  Artie Shaw and his orchestra. Holiday broke new ground with Shaw,  becoming one of the first female African American vocalists to work with  a white orchestra. Promoters objected to Holiday—for her race and for  her unique vocal style—and she ended up leaving the orchestra out of  frustration.
Solo Stardom
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 the time, was not interested in "Strange Fruit" (1939), which  was a powerful story about the lynching of African Americans in the  South. Holiday recorded the song with the Commodore label instead. This  ballad is considered to be one of her signature ballads, and the  controversy that surrounded it—some radio stations banned the  record—helped make it a hit.
Over the 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 abusive. She married James Monroe in 1941.  Already known to drink, Holiday picked up her new husband's habit of  smoking opium. The marriage didn't last, but Holiday's problems with  substance abuse continued. (They later divorced.)
Personal Problems
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 drug use to ease her grief.
Despite her personal  problems, Holiday remained a major star in the jazz world—and even in  popular music as well. She appeared with her idol Louis Armstrong in the  1947 film New Orleans, albeit playing the role of a maid.  Unfortunately, Holiday's drug use caused her a great professional  setback that same year. She was arrested and convicted for narcotics  possession in 1947. Sentenced to one year and a day of jail time,  Holiday went to a federal rehabilitation facility in Alderston, West  Virginia.
Released the following year, Holiday faced new  challenges. Because of her conviction, she was unable to get the  necessary license to play in cabarets and clubs. Holiday, however, could  still perform at concert halls and had a sold-out show at the Carnegie  Hall not long after her release. With some help from John Levy, a New  York club owner, Holiday was later to get to play in New York's Club  Ebony. Levy became her boyfriend and manager by the end of the 1940s,  joining the ranks of the men who took advantage of Holiday. Also around  this time, she was again arrested for narcotics, but she was acquitted  of the charges.
Later Years
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. Her autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues (1956), was written in collaboration by William Dufty. Some of the  material included, however, must be taken with a grain of salt. Holiday  was in rough shape when she worked with Dufty on the project, and she  claimed to have never read the book after it was finished.
Around this time, Holiday became involved with Louis  McKay. The two were arrested for narcotics in 1956, and they married in  Mexico the following year. Like many other men in her life, McKay used  Holiday's name and money to advance himself. Despite all of the trouble  she had been experiencing with her voice, she managed to give an  impressive performance on the CBS television broadcast The Sound of Jazz with Ben Webster, Lester Young, and Coleman Hawkins.
After years of lackluster recordings and record sales, Holiday recorded Lady in Satin (1958) with the Ray Ellis Orchestra for Columbia. The album's songs  showcased her rougher sounding voice, which still could convey great  emotional intensity. She 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.
Legacy
More than 3,000 people turned out to say good-bye to Lady Day at her  funeral held in St. Paul the Apostle Roman Catholic Church on July 21,  1959. A who's who of the jazz world attended the solemn occasion,  including Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa, Tony Scott, Buddy Rogers, and John  Hammond.
Considered one of the best jazz vocalists of all time,  Holiday has been an influence on many other performers who have followed  in her footsteps. Her autobiography was made into the 1972 film Lady Sings the Blues with famed singer Diana Ross playing the part of Holiday, which helped  renew interest in Holiday's recordings. In 2000, Billie Holiday was  inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Diana Ross handling  the honors.
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