Billie Holiday was considered the “voice of jazz” of her generation and her style has remained poignant as she developed her own unique way of controlling phrasing and tempo. Her voice technique was never considered anywhere near perfect, but it was rather the way she conveyed emotions in her songs that truly moved people, as she made songs her own. As Holiday said, “I hate straight singing. I have to change a tune to my own way of doing it. That’s all I know.” She came from a background of intense
have created beautiful works of arts that have contributed to society by delivering messages or by simply entertaining masses. Billie Holiday Billie Holiday, a famous jazz singer, was born in Baltimore on April 7, 1915 (Margolick). In 1933, John Hammond, a producer, was fascinated by Holiday’s singing style after hearing her perform at a New York club. He managed to get Holiday to record a demo at Columbia Studios, which later led to her debut on November 1933 singing “Your Mother’s Son-In-Law.” (Margolick)
death on July 17, 1959, at age 44, Billie Holiday was one of the most important jazz vocalists and jazz musicians of all time (Clarke). Below her successes, there lied many tragedies. Holiday’s life was spent battling racism and sexism, as well as addictions to heroin and alcohol; in fact, during her peak popularity, Holiday was unable to travel away from New York due to racism (“Billie Holiday: About the Singer”). In her autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues, Holiday claims to have been mistreated by
stage name Billie Holiday, was born in this difficult time period. Known not only for her revolutionizing jazz style of music, Holiday spoke out about sensitive subjects through her lyrics. Few people understood her message at first, but that was her goal. Her innovative phrasing and emotional intensity made her one of the most influential jazz lyricists of the 20th century, and helped change not only music but history as well. Born on April 7, 1915, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Holiday grew up
Billie Holiday, a world sensational singer, has become a highlight to publicity and the ideal American star in our society. This artist is well known for her Jazz songs such as Strange Fruit, God Bless the Child, The Man I love, and Lover Man. She is extremely known for her voice of sensational feeling and her appearances in many other songs of other well-known artists such as; Duke Ellington, Teddy Wilson, Lester Young, and Joe Guy. Holiday is truly the artist of the Harlem Renaissance, yet this