The Life of Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday, probably the singularly most popular jazz vocalist of all time, was plagued by tragedy her entire life. Her grandfather was one of 17 children of a black Virginia slave impregnated by the white Irish plantation owner. When born in Baltimore, MD, Billie's parents were only teenagers; her mother (Sally Fagan) the tender age of 13. Billie's real name was Eleanora Fagan. Shortly after birth, Billie's father (Clarence Holiday) ran off to go on tour and play guitar with Fletcher Henderson's band. Billie's mother often left her to be cared for by relatives. Billie's early relationship with immediate family was virtually non-existent. Billie essentially grew up alone, feeling unloved and gaining a lifelong inferiority complex that led to her taking great risks with her personal life and becoming self-destructive. At the age of 6, Billie was blamed for her grandmother's untimely death. At the age of ten, Billie was the victim of a violent rape. The future "Lady Day" first heard the music of Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith on a Victrola at Alice Dean's, the Baltimore brothel where she ran errands and scrubbed floors as a young girl. In 1927, Billie moved to New York and became a prostitute herself for a span of three ye
Her unhappy relationships distracted her, the narcotics use and excessive drinking continued and by 1956 she was way past her prime. The instruments in this song include a trumpet, a piano, guitar, bass, and drums. This is where she debuted such songs as "Strange Fruit" and "God Bless the Children". Bibliographyhttp://www. Holiday's voice then engages itself in its usual wonderful combination of husky, hearty, and low but Billie especially shows off her vocal talents in such places when she will suddenly reach a high note and come back down to a medium range. "Strange Fruit" was a song with a strong anti-racism theme, which became a main theme in Billie's music to remind her of all the racism she faced as a performer. As Billie begins singing, the background music involves soft background music involving a piano and cello. Billie was arrested in 1947 for a drug charge. After being discovered by John Hammond, Eleanora Fagan assumed the stage name of Billie Holiday after her favorite film star Billie Dove, and the name stuck. She was refused and harshly responded "God bless the child that's got his own!". During 1935-42 she would make some of the finest recordings of her career as word was spreading about "Lady Day". Although these recordings were not all that successful, it was the start of her career. Lady Day: The Many Faces of Billie Holiday. The second song I chose to describe was "Strange Fruit", #11 off Billie Holiday: the billie holiday song book.
Common topics in this essay:
Billie Holiday,
Holiday's Hits,
Fletcher Henderson's,
Louis McKay,
Dean's Baltimore,
Joe Guy,
Strange Fruit,
Louis Armstrong,
Shaw's Orchestra,
Benny Goodman,
billie holiday,
lady day,
god bless,
strange fruit,
god bless child,
eleanora fagan,
day 1941,
tempo simple,
bless child,
background music,
recording labels,
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Acceptance Essays
