Billie Holiday was a Jazz and Blues singer from the 1930's to the 1950's. Born 1915 in Pennsylvania as Eleanora Fagan, Billie Holiday was known for her unique singing voice and her, often, melancholy subject matter.
Some interesting Facts
* Holiday was the first female African-American vocalist to work with an all white Orchestra. She worked with Artie Shaw for a short time, before quitting due to stress over her race and unique vocal style.
* She sang "Strange Fruit" independently from her usual record label because they refused to produce it. It was such a powerful song (a story of lynchings in the South) that some radio stations banned it.
* Another song that was banned was "Gloomy Sunday". Supposedly the Billie Holiday version of the song caused a number of suicides. It was banned by the BBC until the turn of the century.
* She always wore a white gardenia in her hair during performances.
* Holiday was arrested and convicted of narcotics possession in 1947.
* She was in a movie with Louis Armstrong, one of her idols, called "New Orleans".
Some Quotes from Billie Holiday
- "Don't threaten me with love, baby. Let's just go walking in the rain."
- "Love is like a faucet, it turns off and on."
- "I'm always making a comeback but nobody ever tells me where I've been."
- "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."
- "People don't understand the kind of fight it takes to record what you want to record the way you want to record it."
- "If I'm going to sing like someone else, then I don't need to sing at all."
My Favorite Billie Holiday Song
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