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Music & Videos

Billie Holiday

Billie-Holiday-VideosBillie Holiday (born April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz singer and songwriter.

Nicknamed Lady Day by Lester Young, her loyal friend and musical partner.  She 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 was admired for her deeply personal and intimate approach to singing.  She co-wrote only a few songs, "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."

She was arrested for drug possession as she lay dying and her hospital room was raided by authorities. Holiday remained under police guard at the hospital until she died from cirrhosis of the liver on July 17, 1959. In the final years of her life, 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.




Strange Fruit



I Love You Porgy






 

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