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FEMUSINDO.com - Billie Holiday nicknamed "Lady Day" was born with the name Eleanora Fagan, born on April 7, 1915.
She is an American singer who is often considered one of the most important female singers in the history of the United States and the greatest female jazz singer of all time, along with Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald.
One of her most famous songs is "Strange Fruit" in 1939 which condemns racism that occurred in the US at that time. The song became the Song of The Century or the greatest song in the 20th century throughout the world.
Her Autobiography Made into a Film
Her autobiography has become a very interesting thing to be made into a film, such as in 1972 with the title Lady Sings the Blues starring Legendary Diva Diana Ross and the film The United States vs Billie Holiday starring Andra Day in 2021.
During her career from 1937-1959, Billie Holiday has also received a posthumous Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Jazz Hall Of Fame and Hollywood Walk Of Fame.
At the age of 18, Billie's talent was discovered by producer John Hammond when she performed at the Harlem Jazz Club. Hammond played a role in Holiday's recording with Benny Goodman.
One of Billie Holiday's songs with Benny Goodman is "Riffin the Scotch" which was a top 10 hit in 1934.
Active Solo Career
Finally, Billie Holiday actively started her solo career since 1937 and gave birth to successful singles that became a standard in Jazz music, such as God Bless The Child, Don't Explain, Solitude, her mysterious song Gloomy Sunday, Lover Man, Body And Soul and Strange Fruit.
Billie is also known to have a unique and expressive vocal characteristic. Sometimes her voice sounds melancholic and full of perfect improvisation. So that it made pianist Teddy Wilson amazed and invited her to record.
They made several quite successful singles by displaying her unique vocals in the song What a Little Moonlight Can Do and Miss Brown to You also joined the great musician Duke Ellington in the film Symphony in Black.
Lady Day
In 1937 Holliday finally joined the Count Basie Orchestra and toured America together. At that time, the nickname "Lady Day" was given by Lester Young, a saxophonist who lived with Billie and her mother for some time.
The following year she worked with Artie Shaw and his orchestra. Holliday became the first African American female vocalist to collaborate with Shaw's mostly white orchestra.
Billie Holiday's fame became even more successful when she joined the film New Orleans with Louis Armstrong in 1947 where she also filled several successful soundtracks and established herself as the most influential Jazz singer at that time.
Personal Life and Death
Because of Holiday's influence with drug abuse and her great interest in alcohol, she had big problems with the United States Police.
That made it difficult for her to appear on stage accompanied by declining health which resulted in a decrease in the quality of her voice. Holiday actively used illegal drugs from 1947 until her death.
Billie Holiday breathed her last in 1959 due to drug addiction and acute kidney complications in prison. (*)
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