Billie Holiday Is Born | World History Project Billie Holiday Is Born Jazz singer Billie Holiday was born on April 7, 1915, in Baltimore, Maryland. She made her professional singing debut in Harlem nightclubs in 1931, and her first recordings in 1933. Although she had no formal musical training, she became one of the greatest jazz singers of all time; her recordings are now regarded as masterpieces. Holiday's autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues,1 opens with the line: "Mom and Pop were just a couple of kids when they got married; he was 18, she was 16 and I was three." Holiday's given name was Eleanora Fagan, but when she started to perform she chose the stage name Billie after Billie Dove, a star in silent, and later sound, movies. Source: Library of Congress Added by: Aimee Lucido Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz singer and songwriter.

Nicknamed Lady Day by her loyal friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday was a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo. Above all, she was admired for her deeply personal and intimate approach to singing. Critic John Bush wrote that she "changed the art of American pop vocals forever." She co-wrote only a few songs, but several of them have become jazz standards, notably "God Bless the Child", "Don't Explain", and "Lady Sings the Blues". She also became famous for singing jazz standards written by others, including "Easy Living" and "Strange Fruit." Source: Wikipedia Added by: Aimee Lucido “ Best Singers and Bands from Pennsylvania - TheTopTens® Best Singers and Bands from Pennsylvania GHOSTbirdnatureLOVER Good ol' P.A. has quite a few spectacular native singers & Bands! And it's my Home State!

The Top Ten 1 Jackie Evancho Jacqueline Marie "Jackie" Evancho is an American classical crossover singer who gained wide recognition at an early age and, since 2009, has issued an EP and five albums, including a platinum and gold album and three Billboard 200 top 10 debuts . Jackie continues to live and go to school in Pennsylvania. She loves it here! - BobG Jackie is about 30 miles from where I was born! V 1 Comment 3 Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holt-Edwards better known under the stage name Patti LaBelle, is an American singer, author, actress, and entrepreneur. This was my father's guilty pleasure when growing up. Unfortunately, he may have passed on that potentially faulty gene. - PositronWildhawk 4 Hall & Oates Daryl Hall and John Oates, known more commonly as Hall & Oates, are an American musical duo from Philadelphia. 5 Poison 6 Bill Haley & the Comets 7 Pink Alecia Beth Moore known professionally as P!NK, is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actress.

8 Joan Jett Joan Marie Larkin known professionally by her stage name Joan Jett, is an American rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer and occasional actress, best known for her work with Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, preceded by success with The Runaways, including their hit song "Cherry Bomb". Man, I love Joan Jett. But the reason she couldn't be higher is because she didn't have a lot of hits. - GHOSTbirdnatureLOVER 9 Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (Taylor Swift) is an American singer-songwriter. She was born on December 13, 1989 in Reading, Pennsylvania. She is best known for writing break up songs and for having more than 5 Grammys . She became interested in country music when she was around 9 years old and after watching ... read more . Taylor Swift really isn't my thing, but she does have an enormous amount of hits, and is the only artist to have all of the songs on an album hit the top 100. And she must be talented, because Ozzy Osbourne said so.

- GHOSTbirdnatureLOVER 10 Chubby Checker 11 Sister Sledge 12 Billie Holiday Eleanora Fagan, professionally known as Billie Holiday, was an American jazz musician and singer-songwriter with a career spanning nearly thirty years. 13 Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer, best known for songs such as "Beautiful", "Genie In A Bottle", "Fighter", "Hurt", "Dirrty", "Your Body", "Lady Marmalade", "Reflection", "I Turn To You", "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)" "What A Girl Wants" and ... read more . Born in New York, but raised in Rochester and Wexford, PA. She belongs here.

- Trancas 14 Anti-Flag Eleanora Fagan, Billie Holiday, MSA SC 3520-14917 Eleanora Fagan, "Billie Holiday" (1915-1959) MSA SC 3520-14917 Biography: Billie Holiday was a woman who lived life with vigor, creativity, audacity and passion. She painted masterpieces with her voiceï¿½a voice so colorful and expressive that, many times, it brought people to tears. To this day her art it lives on in her invaluable recordings and is rich with palpable, dramatic, lived experience. 1 She was an honest singer, known for putting her very essence into any song she even said once, ï¿½ï¿½Anything I sing, itï¿½s a part of my life.ï¿½ 2 She emoted so much into, not only her legendary music, but into every aspect of her life. Born in the slums of early 20th century Baltimore, she found beauty beyond her unvarying poverty in the form of jazz which spoke to her soul at a young age.

It inspired in her a passion that allowed her creativity to blossom and fostered her rise from a mischievous street kid to one of the greatest jazz singers who ever lived. Not without flaws, Ms. Holiday is an inspiration to young women who have vices, but still believe in pursuing their dream. Born Eleanora Fagan on April 7, 1915 to two very young parents, Ms. Holiday encountered struggle her entire life . 3 Her mother, Sadie Fagan, was only teenager when she was expelled from her family home after they learned she was pregnant. 4 Her father, Clarence Holiday, was a jazz guitarist in Fletcher Hendersonï¿½s band, a very popular Black band of his day, who shirked the responsibilities of fatherhood in favor of traveling with his band and being a visitor. 5 She spent her first 12 years in Baltimore living in various places with her mother in extreme poverty. 6 To say she had a hard youth would be an understatement. Young Eleanora suffered from a lack of guidance from her constantly working mother and intense feelings of abandonment from her father who showed temporary love to her only when he was in town.

7 To cope with these feelings, she found refuge in the music of the day. Her favorite artist was Bessie Smith, a great blues singer in her right, and as a kid Eleanora would try to mimic her singing style. A family friend, William Hill, recalls that she would sing, ï¿½Whatever songs were around that time. She had a nice voice. Maybe sheï¿½d be upstairs cleaning or in the bathroomï¿½. 8 Living in the slums of Baltimore did not diminish her creativity, but rather added to her experience, which allowed her to become known as one of the great poignant singers of her time. In 1928 her mother moved the two of them to Harlem in New York City and although she had never had any formal training, by the time she left Baltimore she had already received an important part of her self-taught musical education through the mimicking the voices on the radio and infusing her own passion into a piece. 9 In Harlem, Eleanora Fagan was exposed to a life of jazz in a much more magnified way than in Baltimore.

At first, the flashing lights of fame and stardom sidetracked the teenager and she fell into some bad habits, but with a new goal in mind, of becoming a singer, she refocused herself. 10 In NYC she reunited with her father, Clarence Holiday, who lived in New York and was a big man around the nightlife scene she was eager to bust into. He would shuttle the teenager around to different venues to let her see performances and introduce her to his musician friends. 11 Hanging out around the jazz scene of Harlem encouraged her to try for her dreams and she got a number of gigs before landing her first regular spot singing blues at the popular Pod and Jerryï¿½s Log Cabin. 12 She was only 15 at the time. Thus, from seemingly nowhere, a new star was born out of Eleanora Fagan who had long since changed her name to Billie Holiday ï¿½ 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 Harlemï¿½s nightlife.

13 Her jobs began multiplying in Harlemï¿½s jazz and blues scene and, despite formal training, the young girl managed to snag coveted spots that older, better trained artists desired. By sheer passion and will Billie Holiday threw herself out on stages around the city, taking chances and dreaming big of becoming as beloved as her idol Ms. Bessie Smith. This paid off well when she got her big break one night in 1933 when a young Yale dropout and millionaire, John Hammond entered Monetteï¿½s in Harlem looking to start-up a new act and heard Billie Holiday singing ï¿½Wouldï¿½ja for a Big Red Appleï¿½. 14 According to a friend of his there was something very striking about her, something besides her voice that set her apart from others, ï¿½She was a tall, self-assured girl with rich golden-brown skin, exquisitely shown offï¿½ and according to others she had something of her idol, Bessie Smithï¿½s ï¿½downright bodaciousnessï¿½. 15 An exquisite voice, self-assured demeanor, and striking appearance all helped Ms.

Holiday get noticed, but in the end it was her palpable passion for sharing her voice that led to John Hammondï¿½s signing a contract with her. Under Hammondï¿½s guidance, the 18 year old Billie Holiday recorded her first studio record, ï¿½Your Motherï¿½s Son-In-Lawï¿½, with Benny Goodmanï¿½s group later on that same year. In order to fully understand Ms. Holiday, her very unique voice needs to be highlightedï¿½a voice that embodies the creative manipulation of human sound and untrained audacity in its eccentricity. The 30s and 40s are considered the peak years of her singing career. Young and full of vigor, not jaded yet by fame and fortune, Billie Holiday put her all into the simplest of songs through her magnificently quirky voice. According to record producer, Milt Gabler, ï¿½ ï¿½She got inside of a songï¿½ï¿½. 16 Indeed he was not the only one who thought this, her voice alone was so strangely unique that it is often compared to a horn.

17 She was known to listen closely to the horn players and try to make her voice as instrumental as possible, once saying, ï¿½I donï¿½t think Iï¿½m singing. I feel like I am playing a horn.ï¿½ 18 Many acknowledge that she sounded like a female version Louis Armstrong, who was one of her inspirations and collaborators. 19 Not only was her timbre unique, but her sense of rhythm was unmatched by any; it allowed her to be one of the only singers around at her time who could sing a popular staple and make it sound like something that was written specifically for her. By being creative and taking liberties with different aspects of music, the untrained songstress has one of the most copied styles of rhythmic phrasing of music history. For an untrained singer, many of the musicians she worked with attested to her unfailing rhythmic sense, how she could slow down her words, or make them bitingly staccato pouring her own emotion into them. 20 She brought to each performance her own interpretation, based on her cultural heritage, background and experiences and her unique personality.

21 At the height of her popularity a New York Times critic stated, ï¿½Miss Holiday hadï¿½a rich and flexible voice that gave the pieces recordedï¿½an emotional intensity that are paralleled in jazz only in the very best of Bessie Smithï¿½s workï¿½. 22 This was a praise which was, likely, of the highest degree to Ms. Holiday who mentioned her adoration of Smith at every turn. Her nerve in staying true to her unique style and ignore the initial complaints of critics have cemented her as a musical genius despite lack of proper training. The gifted, young woman with the painfully expressive voice was introduced to the world at large in the 30s under the guidance of John Hammond. Due to the systematic racism of the day she did not have an easy break, but she always made the best of a bad situation. Her recorded singles and popularity on the New York night scene grew gradually and she was already fairly well known before she was out of her teens. This was a feat considering she got second-rate material since white artists were given priority.

Yet, she made the simple songs she sung the best possible versions she could possible make and they succeeded in making her fame grow, not just within the confines of New York City, but the rest of the country as well. 23 Another issue was that many clubs and bars around town would not let her even occupy a table or chair in the vicinity because she was Black. For instance, in 1935 once, when she was singing at the Famous Door, she was forced to sit outside of the restroom area in between songsï¿½she wasnï¿½t allowed near the bar or any club tablesï¿½a humiliating experience for any person. 24 Despite blatant racism, Ms. Holiday continued to perform and succeed. In 1936 she recorded with Count Basieï¿½s Orchestra, where she met her best friend, jazz saxophonist, Lester Young. Together with the legendary Basie, she recorded some of her greatest hits. This was her first instance of working with a big band and she couldnï¿½t have chosen a better band at the time than his. They toured together from 1937-1938 and had a number of memorable hits together.

25 Keeping busy, in 1938 the songstress joined Artie Shawï¿½s band marking a historical milestone; this was the first time that an African American female vocalist had ever performed with a white band. 26 Everyone did not appreciate this integration, though. In the South, especially, she encountered intense hatred in the form of racial epithets and threats of violence, yet Artie Shaw and other friends famous such as Bob Hope and Clark Gable stood up for her every chance they could. 27 However, the stress of traveling, fighting for venues and relentless discrimination caused her to quit Artie Shawï¿½s band in 1939 after only a year of touring. 28 Inner turmoil plagued Billie Holiday during the next period of her life, but she was never before more popular and her singing was never better. By 1939 she was getting the kind of acclaim after only six years, which many only receive in twenty years into the business.

She was friends with some of the biggest names of the day: Frank Sinatra, Harry Belafonte and Tallulah Bankhead just to name a few and was the toast of the New York jazz scene, having earned the nicknames ï¿½Ladyï¿½ and ï¿½Lady Dayï¿½ by best buddy, Lester Young. 29 However, the taunts and images of injustice, violence and bigotry she encountered while touring the South, led her to courageously to create her signature masterpiece, ï¿½Strange Fruitï¿½ from a poem written by a New York schoolteacher, Lewis Allen. 30 ï¿½Strange Fruitï¿½ was a song about the Southern lynching of Blacks and was revelatory in nature to the whites of New York. She premiered the song at the upscale Café Society in 1939 and oftentimes she would be in tears and stay in an emotional state for some time afterward because of the remembrances the song brings up. 31 In 1942 she sang ï¿½God Bless the Childï¿½, a song she wrote on her own which speaks of her poverty-stricken youth and independent nature, it became her first self-written hit.

32 The rest of the 40s were marked with hits and misses, ups and downs for the still vibrant young singer. She remained in New York, singing and getting booked frequently, but her motherï¿½s death and turbulent personal relationships caused her to slip back deeper into the troubles of her youth. The 1950s continued in this way. In New York, she was greatly limited in performance establishments. Yet, in 1954 she went on a highly successful tour of Europe where she was amazingly popular there. 33 In 1956 she was back in New York and had a number of sold out concerts at Carnegie Hall. Sadly the Carnegie Hall performances were her last few with the final being in the first months of 1959. 34 The stresses of life finally took their toll on her and she died in New Yorkï¿½s Metropolitan Hospital on July 17, 1959 at the young age of 44. 35 Her funeral over-crowed the streets of New York with over 2500 people showing up and some 500+ who waited outside just to get a glimpse of her casket.

36 In death, her courageous life seems amazing given the large number of setbacks she faced from childhood to womanhood. Lady Day was a woman who lived life passionately and vibrantly. She did not allow less than ideal beginnings to discourage her and opened the door for so many young girls who believe they can not escape their humble beginnings. Her creativity and uniqueness live on in the music which, though at first regarded skeptically, is now considered American standards for up and coming jazz artists. Her wit and courage, although not learned in a school, speak of a wise soul, unhampered by the arrogance of academia. Accumulating experiences and reflecting those things sometimes tragically sad or sometimes inspiringly uplifting made Ladyï¿½s music so accessible to everyone; her experiences resonate universally within the lives of people who dream big. Ms. Holiday was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2011. Footnotes 1. Oï¿½Meally, Robert. Lady Day: The Many Faces of Billie Holiday. New York: Arcade Publishing, 1991. p. 11. Return to text 2. Ibid. Return to text 3. Mattingly, Carolyn.

2008 Maryland Womenï¿½s Hall of Fame Nomination Form. Maryland Commission for Women. Return to text 4.Oï¿½Meally, Robert. Lady Day: The Many Faces of Billie Holiday. New York: Arcade Publishing, 1991. p. 64. Return to text 5. ï¿½Billie Holidayï¿½ . American Masters. Public Broadcasting Company. 12 August 2008. < Return to text 8. Ibid, 67. Return to text 9. Kaufman, Bruce. ï¿½Billie Holiday lived a hard lifeï¿½ Tribune-Star. 15 July 2008. Return to text 10. Oï¿½Meally, Robert. Lady Day: The Many Faces of Billie Holiday. New York: Arcade Publishing, 1991. p.72. Return to text 11. Ibid, 103. Return to text 12. ï¿½Billie Holidayï¿½ . American Masters. Public Broadcasting Company. 12 August 2008. < Return to text 13. Ibid, 73.

Return to text 14. Oï¿½Meally, Robert. Lady Day: The Many Faces of Billie Holiday. New York: Arcade Publishing, 1991. p. 55. Return to text 16. Ibid, 43. Return to text 17. Whalen, D.L. PhD Thesis, ï¿½A Sociological and Ethnomusicological Study of Billie Holiday and her Musicï¿½. University of Pittsburgh, December 1999. p. 251. Return to text 18. Ibid, 240. Return to text 19. Oï¿½Meally, Robert. Lady Day: The Many Faces of Billie Holiday. New York: Arcade Publishing, 1991. p. 42. Return to text 21. Ibid, 239. Return to text 22. Wilson, John S. ï¿½Billie Holidayï¿½Jazz Singer, Pure and Simpleï¿½ New York Times. 6 July 1958. Return to text 23. Mattingly, Carolyn.

2008 Maryland Womenï¿½s Hall of Fame Nomination Form. Maryland Commission for Women. Return to text 24. Whalen, D.L. PhD Thesis, ï¿½A Sociological and Ethnomusicological Study of Billie Holiday and her Musicï¿½. University of Pittsburgh, December 1999. p. 243. Return to text 25. Mattingly, Carolyn. 2008 Maryland Womenï¿½s Hall of Fame Nomination Form. Maryland Commission for Women. Return to text 28. Ibid. Return to text 29. AP. ï¿½Charity Ward Death Ends Trials of Billie Holiday, Blues Singerï¿½ July 17, 1959. The Washington Post and Times Herald. Return to text 30. ï¿½Billie Holidayï¿½ . American Masters. Public Broadcasting Company. 12 August 2008. < Return to text 31. Oï¿½Meally, Robert. Lady Day: The Many Faces of Billie Holiday. New York: Arcade Publishing, 1991. p. 139.

Return to text 32. Mattingly, Carolyn. 2008 Maryland Womenï¿½s Hall of Fame Nomination Form. Maryland Commission for Women. Return to text 33. Kaufman, Bruce. ï¿½Billie Holiday lived a hard lifeï¿½ Tribune-Star. 15 July 2008. Return to text 34. Ibid. Return to text 35. AP. ï¿½Charity Ward Death Ends Trials of Billie Holiday, Blues Singerï¿½ July 17, 1959. The Washington Post and Times Herald. Return to text 36. AP. ï¿½2500 Attend Rites for Billie Holidayï¿½ July 21 1959. The Washington Post and Times Herald.

Return to text BILLIE HOLIDAY: APRIL 7, 1915 – JULY 17, 1959 | BEAUTIFUL, ALSO, ARE THE SOULS OF MY BLACK SISTERS BEAUTIFUL, ALSO, ARE THE SOULS OF MY BLACK SISTERS BILLIE HOLIDAY: APRIL 7, 1915 – JULY 17, 1959 April 7, 2015, was the 100TH Anniversary of the birthday of American jazz singer and songwriter Eleanora Fagan, née Eleanora Harris, well-known as Billie Holiday. Nicknamed “Lady Day” by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Ms. Holiday had a profound influence on jazz and pop singing. She went on to become a legend in the world of jazz. The following are seven fascinating facts about the woman so many of us have come to love and admire. Billie Holiday Centennial: 7 Fascinating Facts about Lady Day Jazz legend Billie Holiday poured her heart into each song, making each one her own with her distinct style.

Born on April 7, 1915, Holiday once said that “If I’m going to sing like someone else, then I don’t need to sing at all.” She saw her voice as a musical instrument, as she explained in Hear Me Talkin’ To Ya by Nat Shapiro and Nat Hentoff. “I feel like I am playing a horn. I try to improvise . . . What comes out is what I feel.” Not only did she mesmerize us with her voice, Holiday also lived a fascinating life filled with tremendous ups and downs. She managed to survive a difficult childhood—often left in the care of cold-hearted relatives and even spent time in a Catholic reform school before joining her mother in New York City. Before she found fame as a singer, Holiday did whatever it took to survive, including working a prostitute for a while. She became one of jazz’s great stars, performing with likes of Count Basie and Artie Shaw . Holiday even appeared in a film with Duke Ellington . Her great talent, however, was later diminished by bad relationships and alcohol and drug abuse. Billie Holiday – Mini Biography (TV-14; 03:42) A short biography of Billie “Lady Day” Holiday.

It’s been 100 years since this amazing performer made her debut in the world. To celebrate her centennial, let’s take a few minutes to explore the life and music of the great Lady Day. The woman you know as Billie Holiday started out life as Eleanora Harris, according to her birth certificate. Some sources say she was also known as Eleanora Fagan. Her parents, Sadie Fagan and Clarence Holiday, were both teenagers when she was born, and her musician father took off when she was still a baby. That strained relationship didn’t stop her from borrowing his last name when she became a performer. During her childhood, she also used her stepfather’s last name, Gough, after her mother married longshoreman Phil Gough for a time. Billie Holiday in 1917. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons) The name “Billie” came from silent movie star Billie Dove, whom Holiday adored. In her autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues, she wrote “I don’t think I missed a single picture Billie Dove ever made. I was crazy for her.” Oddly enough, Billie Dove was actually the stage name of Lillian Bohny.

Holiday took the name Billie from Billie Dove, a silent film star she adored. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons) Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith were among Holiday’s biggest early influences. As a child, she even took a job doing chores and running errands for a local madam in exchange for a chance to play records on the madam’s Victrola. Holiday later got a chance to work with Armstrong with the two of them starring in the 1947 musical New Orleans. 9 of 11In 1957, Holiday performed at the Sugar Hill nightclub in Newark, New Jersey. That same year, she performed at the Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island. 10 of 11Billie Holiday said of her singing: “I always wanted Bessie’s big sound and Pops’ feeling”, referring to jazz singer Bessie Smith and trumpeter Louis Armstrong. 11 of 11Orchestra leader Ray Ellis poses with Holiday in 1958. Holiday made her final studio recording with Ellis’ orchestra the following year.

1 of 11Jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong performed with Holiday in the 1947 film ‘New Orleans’ 2 of 11Billie Holiday began her singing career at Harlem’s jazz club Pod’s and Jerry’s in 1931. 3 of 11Holiday sings “Fine & Mellow” during a jam session in photographer Gjon Mili’s studio in 1942. 4 of 11Jazz composer Duke Ellington sits with Billie Holiday and pianist and music critic Leonard Feather in this 1945 photo. Holiday starred in a short film with Ellington in 1935 and toured Europe with Feather in 1954. “Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)” proved to be Holiday’s only major chart success. Released in 1944, the song had been written for her by Jimmy Davis, Roger Ramirez and James Sherman. It climbed to the number 5 spot on the R&B charts the following year and made it into the top 20 of the pop charts as well. Billie Holiday and her beloved dog Mister at Club Downbeat in New York City, circa 1947.

(Photo: William Gottlieb, Gottlieb Collection ) Saxophonist Lester Young gave Holiday her famous nickname “Lady Day.” Holiday returned the favor, choosing to rename him “Pres” (or “Prez” depending on the source). The nickname was short for president of the saxophone, according to Donald Clarke’s Billie Holiday: Wishing on the Moon. The pair became friends in the mid-1930s and later toured together with Count Basie . They also recorded together on a number of different projects, including her 1957 television special The Sound of Jazz. Biographer Farah Jasmine Griffin described Young as Holiday’s “creative soulmate.” In 1939, Billie Holiday released “Strange Fruit,” the controversial hit which bravely protested racism in America. “Strange Fruit” was one of her biggest and most controversial hits. The song’s lyrics came from a poem written by Abel Meeropol, a teacher and social activist. He was inspired to write it after seeing a photograph of a lynching. The image so deeply disturbed him that he penned the poem in protest of racial violence. Meeropol later set the poem to music, and the resulting song found its way to Billie Holiday.

She started performing it at Café Society, an integrated nightclub in New York. Columbia, her record label at the time, didn’t want her to record the song at first because of its controversial subject matter. Holiday ended up releasing the song on the Commodore label in 1939, and it went on to sell a million copies. Holiday’s life sometimes inspired her art. She wrote the lyrics for her much beloved work, “God Bless the Child,” after a fight with her mother about money, according to Holiday’s autobiography. Holiday worked with Arthur Herzog Jr. on this tune and several others, including “Don’t Explain.” The phrase “Don’t Explain” is what Billie uttered to her first husband, Jimmy Monroe, came home with lipstick on his collar. Billie Holiday and her husband, trombonist Jimmy Monroe. Holiday wrestled with her addictions until the very end. According to several reports, she started using heroin in the early 1940s during her marriage to Jimmy Monroe. She was arrested on drug charges in 1947 and ended up spending months in jail for possession. Two years later, Holiday was once again caught with drugs by the police.

Billie Holiday was arrested in New York City on May 16, 1947 for possession of narcotics. Of the trial she later said, ‘It was called ‘The United States of America versus Billie Holiday’. And that’s just the way it felt.’ By the 1950s, Holiday’s battle with drugs and alcohol was taking its toll on her voice and career. She managed to make a few more albums and even undertook a European tour in 1954 before her demons got the best of her. Feeling ill, she went into a New York hospital in May 1959 where she was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver. Holiday still couldn’t manage to part ways with her heroin habit, despite her poor physical condition. She was busted by the police in her hospital room for drug possession that June. Holiday never stood trial for the charges, however. She died on July 17, 1959, at the age of 44. SOURCE From the Wikipedia website: By early 1959 Holiday had cirrhosis of the liver . She stopped drinking on doctor’s orders, but soon relapsed.

[88] By May she had lost 20 pounds (9 kg). Friends Leonard Feather , Joe Glaser, and Allan Morrison unsuccessfully tried to get her to a hospital. [89] On May 31, 1959, Holiday was taken to Metropolitan Hospital in New York with liver and heart disease . The Federal Bureau of Narcotics, under the order of Harry J. Anslinger , had been targeting Holiday since at least 1939. [90] She was arrested and handcuffed for drug possession as she lay dying, and her hospital room was raided. [90] Police guarded her room. Holiday continued staying under police guard. On July 15, she received the last rites of the Roman Catholic Church, [91] before dying two days later from pulmonary edema and heart failure caused by cirrhosis of the liver on July 17, 1959, at 3:10 am. [92] [93] In her final years, she had been progressively swindled out of her earnings, and she died with $0.70 in the bank and $750 (a tabloid fee) on her person.

Her funeral mass was at Church of St. Paul the Apostle in New York City on July 21, 1959. She was buried at Saint Raymond’s Cemetery . SOURCE Billie Holiday left an impressive discography, which included many famous songs: “Strange Fruit”, “Our Love is Here to Stay”, “My Man”, “Crazy He Calls Me”, and “God Bless the Child”, written by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog, Jr. in 1939, first recorded on May 9, 1941 under the Okeh label. Rest in peace, Ms. Billie Holiday. Rest in peace. Billie Holiday - Wikidata Billie Holiday American jazz singer and songwriter Eleanora Fagan Cite this page This page was last modified on 10 January 2017, at 15:53. All structured data from the main and property namespace is available under the Creative Commons CC0 License ; text in the other namespaces is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Music Gates: Billie Holiday - God Bless the Child Monday, January 31, 2011 Billie Holiday - God Bless the Child Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Holiday was a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo. She co-wrote only a few songs, but several of them have become jazz standards, notably "God Bless the Child", "Don't Explain", "Fine and Mellow", and "Lady Sings the Blues." She also became famous for singing "Easy Living," "Good Morning Heartache," and "Strange Fruit". Billie Holiday began her recording career on a high note with her first major release "Riffin' the Scotch" selling 5,000 copies. The song was released under the band name "Benny Goodman & his Orchestra." Most of Holiday's early successes were released under another band name "Teddy Wilson & his Orchestra." In July 1936, Holiday began releasing sides under her own name.

Most noteworthy, the popular jazz standard "Summertime," sold well and was listed on the available pop charts at the time at number 12, the first time the jazz standard charted under any artist. "God Bless the Child" was written by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog, Jr. in 1939, first recorded on May 9, 1941 . It became Holiday's most popular and covered record. It reached number 25 on the record charts in 1941 and ranked third in Billboard's top songs of the year, selling over a million records. In 1976, the song was added to the Grammy Hall of Fame. It was also included in the list of Songs of the Century, by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts. The song was inspired by a fight Billie had with her mother.Holiday's mother Sadie Fagan, nicknamed "The Duchess," started her own restaurant called Mom Holiday's. Fagan used the money her daughter earned .Soon, Fagan began borrowing large amounts of money from Holiday because the restaurant wasn't turning a profit. Holiday obliged, but soon fell upon hard times herself.

"I needed some money one night and I knew Mom was sure to have some," Holiday said. "So I walked in the restaurant like a stockholder and asked. Mom turned me down flat. She wouldn't give me a cent." The two argued and then, Holiday, in a rage, hollered "God bless the child that's got his own," and stormed out of the restaurant. With help from Herzog wrote the song based on the line "God Bless the Child" and added music. Posted by

Question: What was the stage name of American jazz singer and songwriter Eleanora Fagan?
Answer: Billie Holiday