Billie Holiday

“Lady Day”
One of the most
influential jazz singers
of the 20th century
 Career Overview
 Billie Holiday was a successful and talented jazz singer
 Used her music to express her many life experiences
 Had a tragic early and personal life
 She married three times and each marriage led to a divorce
 She was often abused and taken advantage of by her spouses
 Her first husband, John Hammond, initially got her addicted to drugs (mainly
heroin)
 Ever since she was a hardcore drinker and heavy drug-addict
 She was arrested multiple times for narcotics possession and was sent to
many institutes to overcome her drug obsession
 Career was cut short because of her long-term drug and alcohol
 She was an inspiration to all the women who lived hard and abusive lives just
like she did

Biography
 Music
 She recorded with only four label
companies
 Columbia Records
 Brunswick Records
 Vocalion Records
 OKeh Records
 Holiday recorded 45 albums and
composed over 40 singles
 Some of her extremely popular songs
included “Carelessly” and “Strange Fruit”
 Billie Holiday was inducted into the
Grammy Hall of Fame for her music in
1973
• Was first written by Jewish schoolteacher Abel
Meeropool
• Written after picture of a lynching
• First called “Bitter Fruit”
• Many black groups would sing this song
• Robert Gordon suggested it to Billie
Holiday
• Holiday immediately fell in love with this song
• Portrayed the lynching of African Americans
• She was a tacit supporter of African
American rights
• Holiday’s portrayal of the song became the most
popular
• She lied in her bibliography saying that she