Billie Holiday

American jazz singer

Photo by: William P. Gottlieb · Public Domain · Wikimedia Commons

Born:April 7, 1915

Died:July 17, 1959

Age at death:44

Manner of death:Natural Causes

Cause of death:Liver Cirrhosis

Zodiac Sign:Aries

Born in:Philadelphia, United States

Residence:New York City, United States

Buried in:United States

Languages:English

Author Actor Jazz Musician Jazz Singer Musician Singer Songwriter Autobiographer Singer-songwriter Composer Bandleader

Signature

Links

Wikipedia Official Website IMDb Facebook X (Twitter)YouTube

Famous For

Notable Work

God Bless the Child

Bands

Teddy Wilson and his OrchestraBillie Holiday and her Orchestra

Movies & TV

The Emperor JonesNew OrleansBrother, Can You Spare a Dime?The Sound of JazzIo sono Tony Scott, ovvero come l'Italia fece fuori il più grande clarinettista del jazz

Books

Lady Sings the BluesGod Bless the Child

Songs & Albums

Gloomy SundayBeer Barrel PolkaLady in SatinLover ManGod Bless the Child

Awards

National Women's Hall of Fame (2011)Grammy Hall of Fame (2009)Maryland Women's Hall of Fame (2008)Grammy Hall of Fame (2004)Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2000)

Billie Holiday

American jazz singer

Biography

Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly influenced by jazz instrumentalists, inspired a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo. Holiday was known for her vocal delivery and improvisational skills. After a turbulent childhood, Holiday began singing in nightclubs in Harlem where she was heard by producer John Hammond, who liked her voice. Holiday signed a recording contract with Brunswick in 1935. Her collaboration with Teddy Wilson produced the hit "What a Little Moonlight Can Do", which became a jazz standard. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Holiday had mainstream success on labels such as Columbia and Decca. However, by the late 1940s, she was beset with legal troubles and drug abuse. After a short prison sentence, Holiday performed a sold-out concert at Carnegie Hall. She was a successful concert performer throughout the 1950s, with two further sold-out shows at Carnegie Hall. Because of personal struggles and an altered voice, Holiday's final recordings were met with mixed reaction, but were mild commercial successes. Her final album, "Billie Holiday" was released shortly before her death, in July 1959 and changed to "Last Recording" after her death. Holiday died of cirrhosis and heart failure on July 17, 1959, at age 44. Holiday won four Grammy Awards, all of them posthumously, for Best Historical Album. She was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. In 2000, Holiday was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an early influence; their website states that "Billie Holiday changed jazz forever". She was named one of the 50 Great Voices by NPR and was ranked fourth on the Rolling Stone list of "200 Greatest Singers of All Time" (2023). Several films about Holiday's life have been released, including Lady Sings the Blues (1972) and The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021).

This biography uses content from the Wikipedia article “Billie Holiday”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.

Quotes

“[I]t takes a bad woman to be a good godmother.”

— Remark made to Rosemary Clooney, c. summer 1956, regarding Holiday's qualifications to serve as godmother to Clooney's second child, as quoted by Clooney in Whitney Balliett "Profiles: The Heart, The Head, and The Pipes", The New Yorker (August 3, 1992). "Just before she left, I asked her if she would like to be the godmother of my second child, Maria, who was about to be born, and she said yes, that it takes a bad woman to be a good godmother. It was the last time I saw her."

“Who love my man, I'm a liar if I say I don't But I'll quit my man, I'm a liar if I say I wont.”

“I've been your slave Ever since I've been your babe But before I be your dog I'll see you in your grave.”

Quotes sourced from the Wikiquote article "Billie Holiday", available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.

Photos

Gottlieb, William P., 1917-, photographer. [Portrait of Billie Holiday and Mister, Downbeat, New York, N.Y., ca. Feb. 1947] 1 negative : b&w ; 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 in. Notes: Gottlieb Collection Assignment No. 268 Reference print available in Music Division, Library of Congress. Purchase William P. Gottlieb Forms part of: William P. Gottlieb Collection (Library of Congress). Subjects: Holiday, Billie, 1915-1959 Mister Women jazz musicians--1940-1950. Jazz singers--1940-1950. Boxers (Dogs)--1940-1950. Fifty-second Street (New York, N.Y.)--1940-1950. Downbeat Format: Portrait photographs--1940-1950. Cityscape photographs--1940-1950. Film negatives--1940-1950. Rights Info: Mr. Gottlieb has dedicated these works to the public domain, but rights of privacy and publicity may apply. lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/html/gottlieb/gottlieb-copyrig... Repository: (negative) Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Washington D.C. 20540 USA, hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print (contact print) Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Washington D.C. 20540 USA, hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print (reference print) Library of Congress, Music Division, Washington D.C. 20540 USA, loc.gov/rr/perform/ Part Of: William P. Gottlieb Collection (DLC) 99-401005 General information about the Gottlieb Collection is available at lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/html/gottlieb/gottlieb-home.html Persistent URL: hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/gottlieb.04281 Call Number: LC-GLB23- 0428

Gottlieb, William P., 1917-, photographer. [Portrait of Billie Holiday, Downbeat, New York, N.Y., ca. Feb. 1947] 1 negative : b&w ; 4 x 5 in. Notes: Gottlieb Collection Assignment No. 268 Reference print available in Music Division, Library of Congress. Purchase William P. Gottlieb Forms part of: William P. Gottlieb Collection (Library of Congress). In: The Record Changer, v. 5, no. 12 (Feb. 47, 1947), p. 7. Subjects: Holiday, Billie, 1915-1959 Women jazz musicians--1940-1950. Jazz singers--1940-1950. Fifty-second Street (New York, N.Y.)--1940-1950. Downbeat Format: Portrait photographs--1940-1950. Film negatives--1940-1950. Rights Info: Mr. Gottlieb has dedicated these works to the public domain, but rights of privacy and publicity may apply. lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/html/gottlieb/gottlieb-copyrig... Repository: (negative) Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Washington D.C. 20540 USA, hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print (reference print) Library of Congress, Music Division, Washington D.C. 20540 USA, loc.gov/rr/perform/ Part Of: William P. Gottlieb Collection (DLC) 99-401005 General information about the Gottlieb Collection is available at lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/html/gottlieb/gottlieb-home.html Persistent URL: hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/gottlieb.04211 Call Number: LC-GLB13- 0421 Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse This work is from the William P. Gottlieb collection at the Library of Congress. Rights and restrictions. In accordance with the wishes of William Gottlieb, the photographs in this collection entered into the public domain on February 16, 2010.

Title: Portrait of Billie Holiday Abstract/medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver ; sheet 33.2 x 23 cm.

Billie Holiday at the Downbeat club, a jazz club in New York City. [1]

Gottlieb, William P., 1917-, photographer. [Portrait of Billie Holiday, Downbeat(?), New York, N.Y., ca. June 1946] 1 negative : b&w ; 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 in. Caption from Down Beat: [from article] The gal singers, Billie Holiday and Mildred Bailey, have been singing about a quarter of a mile from each other: Billie at the Club Downbeat on 52nd St. and Mildred at the Blue Angel on the East 50's. Notes: Gottlieb Collection Assignment No. 269 Reference print available in Music Division, Library of Congress. Purchase William P. Gottlieb Forms part of: William P. Gottlieb Collection (Library of Congress). In: The Record Changer, v. 6, no. 2 (Apr. 47, 1947), p. 7. Subjects: Holiday, Billie, 1915-1959 Women jazz musicians--1940-1950. Jazz singers--1940-1950. Boxers (Dogs)--1940-1950. Format: Portrait photographs--1940-1950. Group portraits--1940-1950. Film negatives--1940-1950. Rights Info: Mr. Gottlieb has dedicated these works to the public domain, but rights of privacy and publicity may apply. lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/html/gottlieb/gottlieb-copyrig... Repository: (negative) Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Washington D.C. 20540 USA, hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print (contact print) Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Washington D.C. 20540 USA, hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print (reference print) Library of Congress, Music Division, Washington D.C. 20540 USA, loc.gov/rr/perform/ Part Of: William P. Gottlieb Collection (DLC) 99-401005 General information about the Gottlieb Collection is available at lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/html/gottlieb/gottlieb-home.html Persistent URL: hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/gottlieb.04221 Call Number: LC-GLB13- 0422 Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse This work is from the William P. Gottlieb collection at the Library of Congress. Rights and restrictions. In accordance with the wishes of William Gottlieb, the photographs in this collection entered into the public domain on February 16, 2010.

Billie Holiday (1915-1959) - Known as "Lady Day," she was called the greatest jazz vocalist of her time. Starting in 1933, she recorded with Benny Goodman, Teddy Wilson, and others. Notable songs include "Lover Man," "Strange Fruit." In this city, she often lived here. (Historical marker located at 1409 Lombard St. Philadelphia PA - Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission 1992)