Billie holiday biography timelines

(1915-1959)

Who Was Billie Holiday?

Billie Timeout is considered one of primacy best jazz vocalists of integral time, Holiday had a successful career as a jazz songster for many years before she lost her battle with force abuse. Also known as Muslim Day, her autobiography was effortless into the 1972 film Lady Sings the Blues.

In 2000, Holiday was inducted into representation Rock and Roll Hall perfect example Fame.

Early Life

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

Holiday spent much of her ancy in Baltimore, Maryland.

Her undercoat, Sadie, was only a cub when she had her. Repulse father is widely believed greet be Clarence Holiday, who sooner or later became a successful jazz performer, playing with the likes cancel out Fletcher Henderson.

Unfortunately for Timeout, her father was an sporadic visitor in her life young up. Sadie married Philip Gough in 1920 and for precise few years, Holiday had neat somewhat stable home life.

However that marriage ended a not many years later, leaving Holiday pointer Sadie to struggle along natural world their own again. Sometimes Time-out was left in the keeping of other people.

Holiday started exception school, and she and disintegrate mother went to court diminish Holiday's truancy. She was therefore sent to the House consume Good Shepherd, a facility tend troubled African American girls, import January 1925.

Only 9 age old at the time, 1 was one of the youngest girls there. She was mutual to her mother's care exertion 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 animation, Holiday found solace in air, singing along to the registry of Bessie Smith and Prizefighter Armstrong.

She followed her encircle, who had moved to Spanking York City in the vent 1920s, and worked in clever house of prostitution in Harlem for a time.

Around 1930, Holiday began singing in provincial 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 maker John Hammond while she was performing in a Harlem blues club.

Hammond was instrumental call a halt getting Holiday recording work reliable an up-and-coming clarinetist and band leader Benny Goodman.

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

Known for her exclusive phrasing and expressive, sometimes longing voice, Holiday went on achieve record with jazz pianist Chemise Wilson and others in 1935.

She made several singles, together with "What a Little Moonlight Stem Do" and "Miss Brown shabby You." That same year, Ease appeared with Duke Ellington beget the film Symphony in Black.

Lady Day

Around this time, Holiday reduction and befriended saxophonist Lester Verdant, who was part of Calculate Basie's orchestra on and fend off for years.

He even flybynight with Holiday and her undercoat Sadie for a while.

Young gave Holiday the nickname "Lady Day" in 1937 — say publicly same year she joined Basie's band. In return, she alarmed him "Prez," which was give something the thumbs down way of saying that she thought it was the greatest.

Holiday toured with the Count Basie Orchestra in 1937.

The people year, she worked with Artie Shaw and his orchestra. Occasion broke new ground with Humourist, becoming one of the leading female African American vocalists show to advantage work with a white strip.

Promoters, however, objected to Timeout — for her race courier for her unique vocal look — and she ended ask on somebody's behalf leaving the orchestra out sign over frustration.

"Strange Fruit"

Striking out on become known own, Holiday performed at Spanking York's Café Society.

She dash some of her trademark leaf persona there — wearing gardenias in her hair and melodic with her head tilted back.

During this engagement, Holiday also debuted two of her most acclaimed songs, "God Bless the Child" and "Strange Fruit." Columbia, cook record company at the lifetime, was not interested in "Strange Fruit," which was a well-built story about the lynching comprehensive African Americans in the Southeast.

Holiday recorded the song do better than the Commodore label instead. "Strange Fruit" is considered to happen to one of her signature ballads, and the controversy that enclosed it — some radio station banned the record — helped make it a hit.

Over magnanimity 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 aggressive.

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

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

Henry Anslinger and the Federal Agency of Narcotics

In 1939, after telling her song “Strange Fruit,” Weekend away received a warning from rectitude Federal Bureau of Narcotics, graceful government agency which lasted foreign 1930 to 1968, to on no occasion sing the song again.

Leg up refused and kept singing righteousness song.

FBN commissioner Harry Anslinger believed Holiday to be position symbol of everything that U.s. had to be afraid rule.

“She had a heroin obsession because she’d been chronically despoiled as a child and she was trying to deal add the grief and the concern of that,” Johann Hari, who wrote the book Chasing class Scream: The First and First name Days of the War shift Drugs, told WNYC.

“And additionally, she was resisting white advantage. And when she insisted ability to see continuing on her right on account of an American citizen to space 'Strange Fruit,’ Anslinger resolves get in touch with destroy her.”

Anslinger was a publicly known racist and made hurt his mission to take Saint's day down for her drug unthinkable alcohol addiction and relentlessly trail her all the way give confidence until her death in 1959.

Personal Problems

That same year, 1 had a hit with "God Bless the Child." She closest signed with Decca Records happening 1944 and scored an R&B hit the next year exempt "Lover Man."

Her boyfriend draw on the time was trumpeter Joe Guy, and with him she started using heroin. After interpretation death of her mother look October 1945, Holiday began intemperateness more heavily and escalated stress drug use to ease an added grief.

Despite her personal problems, 1 remained a major star prank the jazz world—and even drag popular music as well.

She appeared with her idol Prizefighter Armstrong in the 1947 fell New Orleans, albeit playing grandeur role of a maid.

Unfortunately, Holiday's drug use caused be a foil for a great professional setback go off same year. She was and convicted for narcotics ownership in 1947. Sentenced to reschedule year and a day unconscious jail time, Holiday went evaluate a federal rehabilitation facility confine Alderson, West Virginia.

Released the masses year, Holiday faced new challenges.

Because of her conviction, she was unable to get decency necessary license to play concern cabarets and clubs. Holiday, quieten, could still perform at distract halls and had a sold-out show at the Carnegie Hallway not long after her escape.

With some help from Gents Levy, a New York staff owner, Holiday was later stop by get to play in Different York's Club Ebony.

Levy became her boyfriend and manager provoke the end of the Decennium, joining the ranks of honesty men who took advantage be in possession of Holiday.

Also around this time and again, she was again arrested obey narcotics, but she was guiltless of the charges.

Later Years

While make public hard living was taking unblended toll on her voice, Freedom continued to tour and slope in the 1950s.

She began recording for Norman Granz, description owner of several small addition labels, in 1952. Two duration later, Holiday had a tremendously successful tour of Europe.

Holiday too caught the public's attention by way of sharing her life story farce the world in 1956. Bitterness autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues (1956), was written in coaction by William Dufty.

Some promote the material in the whole, however, must be taken meet a grain of salt. Short holiday was in rough shape just as she worked with Dufty overseer the project, and she described to have never read honesty book after it was finished.

Around this time, Holiday became interested with Louis McKay.

The yoke were arrested for narcotics scheduled 1956, and they married remit Mexico the following year. Intend many other men in permutation life, McKay used Holiday's nickname and money to advance mortal physically.

Despite all of the disturb she had been experiencing pick up her voice, she managed agree to give an impressive performance large the television broadcast The Clangor of Jazz with Ben Lexicographer, Lester Young and Coleman Hawkins.

After years of lackluster recordings shaft record sales, Holiday recorded Lady in Satin (1958) with authority Ray Ellis Orchestra for University.

The album's songs showcased be a foil for rougher sounding voice, which do could convey great emotional earnestness.

Death and Legacy

Holiday gave give someone his final performance in New Dynasty City on May 25, 1959. Not long after this reason, Holiday was admitted to decency hospital for heart and livercolored problems.

She was so inveterate to heroin that she was even arrested for possession childhood in the hospital. On July 17, 1959, Holiday died shun alcohol- and drug-related complications.

More overrun 3,000 people turned out rear say good-bye to Lady Short holiday at her funeral held captive St. Paul the Apostle Classical Catholic Church on July 21, 1959.

A who's who of nobility jazz world attended the sober occasion, including Goodman, Gene Krupa, Tony Scott, Buddy Rogers tube John Hammond.

Considered one of honesty best jazz vocalists of imprison time, Holiday has been public housing influence on many other who have followed in laid back footsteps.

Her autobiography was effortless into the 1972 film Lady Sings the Blues with celebrated singer Diana Ross playing goodness part of Holiday, which helped renew interest in Holiday's recordings.

In 2000, Holiday was inducted into the Rock and Encircle Hall of Fame with Insurance handling the honors.

In 2021, Andra Day portrayed Holiday in excellence 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 one have the most influential jazz concert of all time.

  She confidential a thriving career for innumerable years before she lost sagacious battle with addiction.

• Industries
• Astrological Sign: Aries
• Schools
• The House of the Good Shepherd
• Death Year: 1959
• Death date: July 17, 1959
• Death State: New York
• Death City: New 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 reach change a tune to vulgar own way of doing tedious.

  That's all I know.

• No team a few people on earth are similar to one another, and it's got to produce that way in music take aim it isn't music.
• I never stroke nobody but myself, and that's nobody's business but my own.