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Quick Facts
- NAME: Billie Holiday
- OCCUPATION: Singer
- BIRTH DATE: April 07, 1915
- DEATH DATE: July 17, 1959
- EDUCATION: The House of the Good Shepherd
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- PLACE OF DEATH: New York, New York
- Originally: Elinore Harris
- Nickname: Lady Day
- Full Name: Billie Holiday
Best Known For
Billie Holiday was one of the most influential jazz singers of all time. She had a thriving career for many years before she lost her battle with addiction.
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Billie Holiday - Big Break (3:08)
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Billie Holiday - Struggle with Drugs
Even with a successful budding career, Billie Holiday still struggled to maintain her status as a groundbreaking jazz singer because of her addiction to drugs.
Billie Holiday - Romantic Relationships
Billie Holiday was romantically involved with several different people during her rise to fame, both men and women, including Jimmy Monroe, Orson Welles and Tallulah Bankhead.
Billie Holiday - Big Break
After enduring a difficult childhood, Billie Holiday got her big break after being discovered in a jazz club by John Hammond for her skill at improvising when she sang.
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Play NowBillie Holiday. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 12:20, May 20, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/billie-holiday-9341902.
Billie Holiday. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/billie-holiday-9341902 [Accessed 20 May 2013].
"Billie Holiday." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 20 2013, 12:20 http://www.biography.com/people/billie-holiday-9341902.
"Billie Holiday," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/billie-holiday-9341902 [accessed May 20, 2013].
"Billie Holiday," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/billie-holiday-9341902 (accessed May 20, 2013).
Billie Holiday [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 20] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/billie-holiday-9341902.
Billie Holiday, http://www.biography.com/people/billie-holiday-9341902 (last visited May 20, 2013).
Billie Holiday. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/billie-holiday-9341902. Accessed May 20, 2013.
She was arrested and convicted for narcotics possession in 1947. Sentenced to one year and a day of jail time, Holiday went to a federal rehabilitation facility in Alderston, West Virginia.
Released the following year, Holiday faced new challenges. Because of her conviction, she was unable to get the necessary license to play in cabarets and clubs. Holiday, however,
Contents
could still perform at concert halls and had a sold-out show at the Carnegie Hall not long after her release. With some help from John Levy, a New York club owner, Holiday was later to get to play in New York's Club Ebony. Levy became her boyfriend and manager by the end of the 1940s, joining the ranks of the men who took advantage of Holiday. Also around this time, she was again arrested for narcotics, but she was acquitted of the charges.
Later Years
While her hard living was taking a toll on her voice, Holiday continued to tour and record in the 1950s. She began recording for Norman Granz, the owner of several small jazz labels, in 1952. Two years later, Holiday had a hugely successful tour of Europe.
Holiday also caught the public's attention by sharing her life story with the world in 1956. Her autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues (1956), was written in collaboration by William Dufty. Some of the material included, however, must be taken with a grain of salt. Holiday was in rough shape when she worked with Dufty on the project, and she claimed to have never read the book after it was finished.
Around this time, Holiday became involved with Louis McKay. The two were arrested for narcotics in 1956, and they married in Mexico the following year. Like many other men in her life, McKay used Holiday's name and money to advance himself. Despite all of the trouble she had been experiencing with her voice, she managed to give an impressive performance on the CBS television broadcast The Sound of Jazz with Ben Webster, Lester Young, and Coleman Hawkins.
After years of lackluster recordings and record sales, Holiday recorded Lady in Satin (1958) with the Ray Ellis Orchestra for Columbia. The album's songs showcased her rougher sounding voice, which still could convey great emotional intensity. She gave her final performance in New York City on May 25, 1959. Not long after this event, Holiday was admitted to the hospital for heart and liver problems. She was so addicted to heroin that she was even arrested for possession while in the hospital. On July 17, 1959, Holiday died from alcohol- and drug-related complications.
Legacy
More than 3,000 people turned out to say good-bye to Lady Day at her funeral held in St. Paul the Apostle Roman Catholic Church on July 21, 1959. A who's who of the jazz world attended the solemn occasion, including Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa, Tony Scott, Buddy Rogers, and John Hammond.
Considered one of the best jazz vocalists of all time, Holiday has been an influence on many other performers who have followed in her footsteps. Her autobiography was made into the 1972 film Lady Sings the Blues with famed singer Diana Ross playing the part of Holiday, which helped renew interest in Holiday's recordings. In 2000, Billie Holiday was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Diana Ross handling the honors.
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