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Billie Holiday was born on April 7, 1915, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Holiday died July 17, 1959, at the age of 44 due to heart failure caused by cirrhosis of the liver. (Some sources say her birthplace was Baltimore, Maryland)

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Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan) grew up in Baltimore which at the time, was "Jazz Soaked”. In her early teens, the beginning part of her “apprenticeship” was spent singing along with the records Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong. In 1929, Billie’s mother, Sadie Fagan, moved to New York in search of better jobs. Young Eleanora joined her and began showing up at jazz clubs to audition and sing with pianists. She made debuts in obscure Harlem nightclubs, sharing tips with other dancers and comedians on the bill. Around this time she borrowed her professional name Billie Holiday from screen actress Billie Dove.
(Audra Mcdonald playing Billie Holiday)

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When and why did Holiday start doing music

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When and why did Holiday start doing music

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Holiday began her career singing in a Harlem nightclub and made her first recordings in 1933, with Benny Goodman and others. Two years later a series of recordings with Teddy Wilson and members of Count Basie's band brought her wider recognition and launched her career as the leading jazz singer of her time. Holiday decided to do music because she was always around musical people.

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Did Billie Holiday have any musical training?

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Did Billie Holiday have any musical training?

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She had no formal musical training, but, had a sense of musical structure and with experience gathered at the root level of jazz and blues. She developed a singing style that was deeply moving and individual. Though she did not have any formal music training, she sang in church, at the Catholic chapel of a convent reformatory, and at the Baltimore House of the Good Shepherd for Colored Girls.

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Who influenced the famous Billie Holiday?

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Who influenced the famous Billie Holiday?

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Holiday's vocal influence is Louis "Pops" Armstrong. She heard his Hot Five vocal numbers and is clearly an Armstrong-inspired singer. Holiday herself was inspired by great musicians she heard growing up, and it's those influences that helped her become one of the most beloved singers ever.

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Holiday, who began her career singing in a nightclub, made her first recordings in 1933, with Benny Goodman. Her first song was "Your Mother's Son-In-Law" which she sang over Benny Goodman and his Orchestra. Holiday sang with other Jazz musicians such as Teddy Wilson, Duke Ellington, Ben Webster, and Lester Young.

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Your Mother's Son-In-Law - Benny Goodman & His Orchestra (Billie Holiday's first record)

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Though Holiday did face many struggles with her music, she had many other struggles such as health problems, bad relationships, and addiction. These problems had influenced her music. By the late 1940s, after the death of her mother, Holiday's heroin addiction became so bad that she was repeatedly arrested. Eventually, Holiday had checked herself into an institution in hopes she could break her habits. Some of Holiday’s songs such as "T'ain't Nobody's Business If I Do" and "My Man” reflects on her personal relationships, which were often abusive and destructive. Holiday married James Monroe in 1941. Already known to drink, Holiday picked up her new husband's habit of smoking. The marriage didn't last, they later divorced but Holiday's problems with substance abuse continued.

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What type of music did Billie Holiday sing?

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What type of music did Billie Holiday sing?

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Billie Holiday sang jazz, swing, and blues. With the burst of jazz's popularity in the 1930s, Billie Holiday revolutionized singing with small ensemble vocal jazz called Swing Song.

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Considered by many to be one of the greatest jazz vocalists of all time, Billie Holiday triumphed over adversity to forever change the genres of jazz and pop music with her unique styling and interpretation. Holiday became famous after she recorded "Strange Fruit," a 1939 protest song about lynchings of African-Americans. "Strange Fruit" quickly became an anthem for the fledgling Civil Rights Movement. The song forced listeners to confront the brutality of killing. Though this song had made some impact, she was targeted and chased down by the government for continuing to sing this song in public.

Holiday had also influenced many artists such as Frank Sinatra, Andra Day, Nina Simone, Joni Mitchell, Janis Joplin, and Etta James.