- Born
- 7 April 1915, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
- First work
- 1933: Your Mother's Son-in-Law
- Peak
- 1935 to 1945 (estimated)
- Last work
- 1959: Last Recording
- Died
- 17 July 1959, New York City, United States; aged 44; illness
Billie Holiday
Music: singer, songwriter, United States
Billie Holiday was an American jazz and swing singer renowned for her profoundly expressive voice and pioneering improvisational technique. Born Eleanora Fagan in Philadelphia in 1915, she began singing in Harlem nightclubs during the early 1930s before recording with Benny Goodman and Teddy Wilson. Her instinctive rhythmic sense modelled vocal phrases on instrumental solos, creating unprecedented intimacy on records. In 1939, Holiday released Strange Fruit, a harrowing protest against racist lynchings that became a seminal cultural milestone. Her deeply personal style endured through years of harsh hardship. Holiday died of cirrhosis and heart failure in New York City in July 1959 at forty-four.
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Signature works
- Strange Fruit song1939
- God Bless the Child song1941
- Lover Man song1944
- Don't Explain song1946
- Good Morning Heartache song1946
- Music for Torching album1955
- Lady in Satin album1958
Honours
- Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, 1987
- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, 2000
- Hollywood Walk of Fame, 1986
Groups: Billie Holiday and her Orchestra, Teddy Wilson and his Orchestra.