Billie Holiday, born Eleanora Fagan, was an American Jazz singer and songwriter during the 1930’s and 1950’s; until her tragic death on July 17th, 1959 at the age of forty-four due to a heroin overdose. Billie Holiday initiated a new way of forming phrases and tempo in Jazz music. Billie’s vocal style also influenced the development of Pop singing. Billie Holiday is a part of the many prominent artist in the Jazz genre. Billie Holiday was born on April 7th, 1915 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, however
Billie Holiday was an African-American and she was born in April, 7, 1915 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She had no formal music education when she was step into the stage of the club platform to sing. She had an amazing voice and several producers appreciated her talents and promoted her to become a recognition jazz singer. Her addiction of drugs and alcohol ultimately damaged her liver and heart. She was pledged to guilty in court when the police found a possession of an illegal substance in her
Legendary jazz songstress Billie Holiday once said in response to the exclusion of African Americans from jazz clubs on the notorious 52nd Street, “You can be up to your boobies in white satin, with gardenias in your hair and no sugar cane for miles, but you can still be working on a plantation.” The comparison between the jazz world, or more specifically 52nd Street, and a plantation show the immense racial tension between blacks and whites in the early to mid part of the twentieth century. In
It was no wonder why Billie Holiday was considered to be the woman of jazz, her sweet velvet voice carried the crowd. With hits like strange fruit that told a darker story it was easy to see where her passion came from. She told stories in her music and people across the nation were more than willing to sit down and listen to what she had to say. Billie Holiday was an icon of her time and there was not a person who listened to jazz that could say they did not know her name. Her voice was smooth with