Ultimate Collection Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday(1917-59) wore gardenias, was a teenaged prostitute,  did drugs, and died with a cop posted outside her hospital bed.  But with  her gravel-like vocals, and behind-the-beat phrasing, she was one of  the greatest singers of the twentieth century. This multimedia collection  commemorates her ninetieth birthday. Two CDs contain forty two of her  greatest hits, from her 1935 stint with Benny Goodman, to her chilling 1958  strings album,Lady in  Satin. It features her signature songs like "Good Morning  Heartache," "God Bless the Child," and her unforgettable anti-lynching  number "Strange Fruit." The DVD includes film cameos with  Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong, photographs, posters, rehearsals and  interviews with friends and musicians, including a rediscovered 1956 radio  broadcast with a young Mike Wallace.  Her achy artistry is timeless, and as  Ashley Kahn wrote in his superb liner notes, "Billie will be there tonight,  tomorrow night and a long time to come."--Eugene Holley, Jr.