Billie Holiday is a popular jazz and blues singer. A talented beauty appeared on stage with a hairpin of white flowers.
This appearance has become a personal feature of the singer. From the first seconds of the performance, she captivated the audience with her magical voice.
Childhood and youth of Eleanor Fagan
Billie Holiday was born April 7, 1915 in Baltimore. The real name of the celebrity is Eleanor Fagan. The girl grew up without a father. The fact is that her parents met at a very young age.
Almost immediately after the birth of their daughter, the couple broke up. The girl's parents were Sadie Fagan and Clarence Holiday.
13-year-old Sadie worked in the house of rich people as a maid. When they found out that the girl was pregnant, they put her out the door. To give birth in normal conditions, Sadie got a job at the hospital, where she washed the floors and cleaned.
After the birth of Eleanor, Sadie made the decision to leave Baltimore and move to New York. The reason for the move is the pressure of Sadie's parents, they taught her, considered her a loser and foreshadowed her the hard life of a single mother.
Clarence Holiday, after the birth of Eleanor, did not even deign to look at the newborn daughter. Moreover, he gave her his last name.
Eleanor did not know maternal warmth. Sadie, who herself was still a child, left her in the care of relatives who treated the little girl badly. And only her great-grandmother did not have a soul in her.
The girl loved her great-grandmother. They slept in the same bed because of the terrible conditions. This did not worry Eleanor very much, because in the arms of her grandmother she was very calm.
One night my grandmother passed away. For little Nora, this was a huge shock. She landed in a psychiatric hospital.
The childhood of the future star cannot be called happy - she was often punished for no reason, she was not understood at home, which led to the fact that Eleanor began to run away from home. She was raised by the street.
For skipping school and vagrancy, the girl ended up in a penal colony. The judges pronounced their verdict. The girl was to be released at the age of 21.
There, the girl was not beaten, but she repeatedly recalled that she was morally destroyed.
Psychological trauma of singer Billie Holiday
Once, in a correctional institution, Eleanor was locked up for the night in the same room with a dead person. The next day, Nora's mother came to visit. The girl said that she could not stand another such night, and threatened that she would commit suicide.
Mom hired a lawyer who helped get Eleanor out of the penal colony. As a token of gratitude, she helped her mother earn money. The girl washed floors and stairs for a few cents.
Among her employers was the owner of a local adult establishment. It was in this place that Nora first heard beautiful music and fell in love with it. The magical sound of blues songs performed by Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith.
Interestingly, this music impressed the girl so much that she asked the owner to turn on the songs as often as possible. In return, Nora was willing to mop the floors for free.
During the same period of time, Eleanor learned to quietly sneak into the cinema, where films were shown with the participation of Billy Dove. The actress fascinated little Nora to such an extent that she decided to take on the pseudonym Billy.
The quiet life of Eleanor did not last long. She was attacked by a 40-year-old man who tried to rape the girl. The police responded in time.
The rapist was sent to prison for 5 years. Nora was also not left without punishment - she again ended up in a colony for 2 years. The judge considered that it was the girl who provoked the rapist to attack.
Billie Holiday moving to New York
After Nora left the walls of the colony, she made a difficult but correct decision for herself. The girl moved to New York.
Eleanor's mother worked as a nanny in the city. The girl had to rent a separate apartment.
There was nothing to live on. Nora couldn't find a job. She asked the landlord for help. However, among the proposals, there was only a place in one of the oldest service industries.
Eleanor didn't have much of a choice. A few months later, Nora was arrested again. The girl went to jail for four months.
Four months later, Eleanor was released from prison and found her mother seriously ill. All the accumulated money went to the treatment. Nora did not have money not only for rent, but even for a piece of bread.
The girl was actively looking for work. One day she went to one of the local bars and asked the owner of the establishment if he had a job for her.
He said he needed a dancer. Nora lied that she had been dancing for a long time. When the director asked to demonstrate a dance number, he immediately realized that Nora was lying to him.
Then he asked the girl if she could sing? Eleanor sang so that the owner immediately took her to work, and also handed over a few dollars as a modest fee. Actually, the story of the famous Billie Holiday began with this.
Nora was only 14 when she was hired. Age did not bother either the owner of the establishment or the grateful listeners. The first performances of the young talent took place at nightclubs, bars, cafes and restaurants.
Billie Holiday meets producer John Hammond
In 1933, Billie Hodiley met John Hammond, an aspiring young producer. The young man was so impressed by the performance of the girl that he wrote a note about her in a local magazine.
Soon music lovers found out about the talented singer, which led to a genuine interest in the rising star Billie Holiday.
John offered the singer cooperation, and she agreed. Soon he brought her together with the "king of swing" - Benny Goodmanov. Already in 1933, the artists released several full-fledged tracks.
One of the songs instantly became popular. In the same period of time, Billie Holiday recorded interesting compositions with other beginning musicians.
In 1935, John continued to "promote" the ward. He arranged for the singer to record in a studio with Teddy Wilson and Lester Young.
Soon, thanks to these records, which were originally planned for sale in jukeboxes, the singer gained her first "portion" of popularity.
Billy's rating went up significantly. What is there to say! Duke Ellington himself drew attention to the rising star, inviting her to star in the short film Symphony in Black.
Billie Holiday First Tour
Billie Holiday went on her first tour. At first, the singer traveled with the bands of D. Lunsford and F. Henderson, and then with the big band of Count Basie himself, involuntarily becoming a competitor to her future friend Ella Fitzgerald.
Billy briefly collaborated with Basie. Disagreements began from the first performances. The reason is simple - Holiday had different views on music and performance in general. Soon the singer became the soloist of the orchestra, which was directed by Artie Shaw.
Billie Holiday was initially treated with considerable awe and respect in the orchestra. Later, the singer faced the first ridicule and humiliation.
Conflicts began to occur on the basis of racial discrimination. Once the team performed in the United States of America. Artie Shaw banned Billy from the stage. When her colleagues performed, she had to hide in the bus.
Soon the singer had a chance to meet Barney Josephson. Barney went on a frankly risky act - he was one of the first to open a cafe in which any audience gathered.
Billie Holiday began performing on the stage of the institution. She tried to spread her music, and she succeeded.
Interestingly, not only ordinary music lovers, but also artists, famous singers and actors gathered in this institution. Soon Billie Holiday became known in decent circles of society.
The singer continued to work on her repertoire. The most popular composition of that time was the song "Strange Fruits". Today, many call this track the hallmark of Billie Holiday.
The Peak of Billie Holiday's Musical Career
The peak of Billie Holiday's popularity came in the 1940s. The tracks performed by the singer sounded in cafes, restaurants, bars, on radio stations and from musical devices.
The performer collaborated with such popular recording studios as Columbia, Brunswick, Decca.
The first solo concert of the singer took place in 1944 on the territory of the Metropolitan Opera, and in 1947 - in the concert hall "Town Hall", in 1948 Billie Holiday was honored to perform on the stage of the prestigious concert hall "Carnegie Hall".
Despite the popularity and respect of millions of fans, Billie Holiday was unhappy. Over and over again, she failed in marriage. Personal dramas encouraged her to use alcohol and illegal drugs.
Billie Holiday: Losing Mom...
Soon the closest person to Billie Holiday died - her mother. The singer was very upset by the loss. She could not accept that her mother would no longer be with her.
Grief undermined the mental health of the singer. She healed her nerves by taking strong dope. Billy started using drugs. And no matter how she tried to “jump off”, it didn’t work out for her.
Billy soon turned to a private clinic for help. While in the hospital, another trouble happened - Holiday came under the gun of the police, who watched the singer for a long time.
During a search, illegal drugs were found at Billy's. She was in jail for several months.
After her release, another surprise awaited her - from now on she did not have the right to perform in places where alcohol was sold. Under the ban were all the establishments through which she received a steady income.
Creativity Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday has made a huge contribution to the development of jazz vocals. The singer managed to create real masterpieces from simple and unremarkable musical compositions.
During the performance of the compositions, Billy shared an incredibly powerful energy with the audience. She never remained an "empty singer". She shared her emotions with fans.
The melodic line of Billie Holiday songs remained light and did not obey the strong beats of the beat. This freedom allowed the singer to create and "not be pinched." On stage, she is nothing more than "soaring".
Interestingly, Billie Holiday never had strong vocal skills and a significant vocal range.
The whole point was that the singer conveyed her personal, sometimes dramatic experiences in her tracks. This allowed her to become one of the most popular and iconic jazz singers of the last century.
During her creative career, Billie Holiday has collaborated with a dozen prestigious recording studios. The jazz singer managed to leave behind 187 songs. Many of the songs became real hits.
Top songs Billy
- Lover Man is a lyrical yet dramatic song. The composition was recorded in 1944. In 1989, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
- Billy wrote the composition God Bless the Child in 1941. In this song, she shared her personal experiences and emotions with the audience. The singer wrote the song after a quarrel with her mother.
- Riffin' the Scotch was released in 1933 with a band led by Benny Goodman. The track instantly became a hit, thanks to which the singer gained her first fame.
- Holiday recorded Crazy He Calls Me in 1949. Today the song is among the jazz standards.
The musical composition "Strange Fruits" deserves considerable attention. Billie Holiday suffered racial injustice. Even as a popular singer, she felt the pressure society put on her.
Billie made the most of her popularity to show that the topic of racism is relevant and not just people's inventions.
Billie Holiday was greatly impressed by the poetry of Abel Miropol. After reading the poetic narrative "Strange Fruits", the singer released a musical composition.
In the song "Strange Fruits", the singer tried to convey to the audience about the fate of the unfortunate African Americans. For any offense they were severely punished.
When Billy turned to the record companies where she had previously recorded songs for help, they, having become acquainted with the material “Strange Fruits”, refused to record the song.
In the end, Billy still recorded the song, but at an "underground" recording studio.
Billie Holiday's personal life
Billie Holiday's personal life has developed in the worst possible way. An attractive woman has always been interested in very unworthy gentlemen.
Billy's first husband was the director of the Harlem nightclub, Jimmy Monroe. The man "kept on a short leash" Holiday. They soon divorced, but the marriage became fatal in Billy's life. The husband "hooked" the woman on drugs.
Billie Holiday's second husband was Joe Guy. And if the previous husband pushed the singer to light drugs, then Joe Guy crossed this line. The couple soon divorced.
John Levy is the third serious lover of Billie Holiday. Having met him, the woman thought that she had found her happiness. Levy was the owner of the prestigious Ebony Club.
He was there when the singer was released from prison for possession of drugs. Moreover, he managed to resume her concert activity.
Levi gave his beloved expensive gifts. They spent a lot of time together. These relationships could be called ideal. But soon the nasty essence of Levi began to appear. He raised his hand to his wife and destroyed her morally.
As a result, it turned out that Levi was a pimp. But the peak came when he gave the police a tip on Billie Holiday. This was the last straw. The woman ran away from home and filed for divorce.
The fourth and last husband of the famous singer was Louis McKay. This marriage was also not successful. And there was no great love. Louis beat Holiday and drugged her.
After Billie Holiday's tour of Europe turned out to be a "failure", the man simply ran away from his wife. After her death, he came to collect a percentage of the records sold.
Interesting facts about Billie Holiday
- The singer's favorite flowers were gardenias. Many called Billie Holiday “Lady Gardenia”.
- At the beginning of her creative career, the singer received very modest fees. For example, for a concert in a nightclub, Billy received $ 35.
- Record companies on albums with compositions of Billie Holiday earned millions. A woman with sales of a double-sided disc received a modest $ 75.
- The singer's best friend was Lester Young, a talented saxophonist.
- Billie Holiday loved dogs. This was her weakness. The singer at different times lived with dogs of different breeds: a poodle, a chihuahua, a Great Dane, a beagle, a terrier, even a mongrel.
Problems with drugs and alcohol. Death of Billie Holiday
In the 1950s, music lovers and fans of Billie Holiday began to notice that her voice was no longer so beautiful.
Problems with drug and alcohol addiction led to the fact that the famous singer began to have serious health problems that worsened her vocal abilities.
Despite this, she continued to perform on stage and record new compositions. Soon she signed a contract with Norman Grantz - the owner of several well-known record labels.
During this period of time, Billie Holiday was at the top of the musical Olympus. This was preceded by a successful tour of Europe and the release of his own book.
In 1958, Billie Holiday expanded her discography with her last album, Lady in Satin. Then she re-took a tour of Europe. The tour turned out to be a "failure", the singer returned home.
In May 1959, the singer held her last concert. At the end of May of that year, Billie Holiday was taken away in an ambulance. The singer died on July 17, 1959. Doctors pronounced him dead from a drug overdose. The singer was only 44 years old.
Her work is still revered to this day. Billie Holiday is called the "Queen of Jazz and Blues". The songs of the singer are relevant to this day.
