Untrained, untamed, yet unbelievably developed. Those are words to describe the voice of one of the most talented female voices to emerge out of the jazz influenced era of the 1930's.
Born Eleanora Fagen Gough on April 7, 1915 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the great jazz and blues vocalist eventually changed her name to Billie Holiday, borrowing the name from her favorite screen star, Billie Dove. Later in her career, she was given the nickname 'Lady Day' by saxophonist, Lester Young. Holiday moved to the Harlem district of New York to live with her mother in her late teens and started singing in nightclubs for tips.
The sometimes gut-wrenching lyrics sung from the depths of her soul, Lady Day told the story of her much troubled life through her songs. Never having one hour of formal training, Holiday had a poignant vocal style that was mesmerizing to her audience. Billie Holiday sang from the heart and hers was a uniquely distinct sound that emotionally drew her listeners in and immediately captivated them.
In the early 1930's a young Holiday was discovered performing in a nightclub by talent scout, John Hammond. He arranged for her to record with well-known bandleader, Benny Goodman in 1933. That session lead to more recordings with the top swing bands of that time and by 1935 Billie Holiday was recording under her own name. She was being recognized as a major vocalist and was setting a standard in jazz music that is still practiced today. Holiday's ability to improvise melodies was phenomenal. Other jazz/blue artists were quickly imitating her style.
Tormented by her past, the demons she battled seemed to consume her throughout her life. Despite imprisonment on more than one occasion for possession of narcotics, Miss Day still managed to grow her fan-base. Her enormous talent seemed to supersede her volatile personal life and she continued to sell records and pack clubs and concert halls.
After working with renowned bandleaders, Count Basie in 1937 and Arte Shaw in 1938, Holiday set an unprecedented record. She was the first black woman to work with a white orchestra. Miss Holiday was very instrumental in helping bridge the gap between blacks and whites in the music arena but she herself was still subject to much prejudice.
Holiday struggled with the injustice of prejudice, which was evident in the lyrics of the songs she sang. This is probably most obvious with her hit Strange Fruit taken from a poem about the lynching of a black man. Prevented by Columbia records to record the song, due to subject matter, Miss Holiday recorded the tune under a different label, 'Commodore', and it became one of her signature hits.
Lady Day's popularity remained stable during the forties and early fifties, although her destructive lifestyle of drug and alcohol use began to take its toll on the talented singer's voice. When her voice began to give out, the sheer depth of her emotion would breathe life into her emotionally wrought songs.
Billie Holiday had stellar hits that are still considered some of the best blues and jazz songs of all time. Spanning over three decades, Lady Day is best known for favorites such as: Them There Eyes, My Man, Don't Explain, Lover Man, God Bless the Child, T'Aint Nobody's Bizness if I Do, and Porgy & Bess.
Performing for the last time on May 25, 1959 in New York City, Billie Holiday gave all she had left to give to an audience who revered and loved her. Lady Day's exceptional contributions to music won her the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987. A ghostwritten autobiography entitled Lady Sings the Blues gives personal accounts of her preeminent rise to stardom as well as real life testimonies about her tormented early childhood. A 1972 movie is loosely based on the autobiography. Diana Ross starred in the movie version of Lady Sings the Blues as Billie Holiday and was nominated for an academy award for her role.
Billie 'Lady Day' Holiday died July 17, 1959 in New York at the age of 44 from cirrhosis of the liver. She was, at the time, separated from her third husband and had no surviving children. As in life, her death was tragic, yet Billie Holiday had an enormous talent and used it to bring beauty out of the ashes and is still considered today to be one of the great musical talents of all time.
Darrell Berg-Smith, CEO of The Asian Regional Impact Initiative, is a professional speaker, author, consultant and entrepreneur who specializes in advising on Corporate Social Responsibility programs and cause marketing resources to NGO's and companies worldwide.
Darrell is also the founder of the Doctors For Cambodia Initiative and The Asian Regional Cancer Initiative... Non Profit Organisation working throughout South East Asia. He is always looking for new talented artists to help advance their career through cause marketing arrangements with these Initiatives.
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