Billie Holiday (2024)

FAQs

What was the cause of Billie Holiday's death? ›

After years of substance abuse, Holiday's body had grown weary of the abuse and she died from heart failure on July 17, 1959, at age 44.

Born Eleanora fa*gan in Baltimore (or some say Philadelphia) in 1915, Holiday's childhood was marred by horrific abuse—despite the best efforts of her beloved mother, Sadie, who was only 13 when she had Holiday. Always a self-starter, Holiday began singing as a child, while cleaning neighbors' homes for money.

In just a short lifetime, Ms. Billie Holiday overcame the challenges of a poverty-stricken childhood to become one of the nation's most famous female African American jazz musicians.

"Strange Fruit" is a song written and composed by Abel Meeropol (under his pseudonym Lewis Allan) and recorded by Billie Holiday in 1939. The lyrics were drawn from a poem by Meeropol published in 1937. The song protests the lynching of Black Americans with lyrics that compare the victims to the fruit of trees.

Billie Holiday - Lady Day had a lot of ups and downs before she died at the age of 44 in 1959, but no children. Instead, her legacy lives on through her timeless music.

“Don't be in such a hurry.” —Billie Holiday, musical artist, on July 17, 1959.

She was married twice to violent men and quickly separated within a year or two of marriage. Despite her turbulent personal life, she gained many fans and, just a few years after starting out in Harlem nightclubs, she was working with the biggest names in jazz: Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Artie Shaw, and Lester Young.

Thus, from seemingly nowhere, a new star was born out of Eleanora fa*gan who had long since changed her name to Billie Holiday – Billie in honor of her favorite actress and Baltimorean Billie Dove and Holiday due to her infatuation with her erratic father and the recognition the name could earn her in Harlem's nightlife ...

No two people on earth are alike, and it's got to be that way in music or it isn't music. If I'm going to sing like someone else, then I don't need to sing at all.

By the time she appeared at Harlem's famous Apollo Theatre, aged 19, she was billing herself as Billie Holiday. The young singer was profane, promiscuous, alcoholic, unpredictable and fearless.

Did Billie Holiday live with her mother? ›

Living in extreme poverty, Holiday dropped out of school in the fifth grade and found a job running errands in a brothel. When she was twelve, Holiday moved with her mother to Harlem, where she was eventually arrested for prostitution.

Detailed map of New Saint Raymond's Cemetery in Bronx NY. Holiday's burial site is in the St. Paul section, Row 56, Grave #29. Grave marker of Billie Holiday.

Photos by Argenis Apolinario Billie Holiday was more than a famous jazz vocalist—she was also a Catholic singer whose religious upbringing had a profound impact on American music, said a religious studies expert at a recent Fordham event.

Considered by many to be one of the greatest jazz vocalists of all time, Billie Holiday triumphed over adversity to forever change the genres of jazz and pop music with her unique styling and interpretation. Holiday left employment as a maid to pursue work as a dancer in Harlem nightclubs.

Why was Billie Holiday significant? Billie Holiday was one of the greatest jazz singers from the 1930s to the '50s. She had no formal musical training, but, with an instinctive sense of musical structure and a deep knowledge of jazz and blues, she developed a singing style that was deeply moving and individual.