Billie Holiday was born in Philadelphia Pennsylvania in 1915 and is a very successful and famous Jazz singer. Billie Holiday influenced tons of musicians and people throughout her career, even though it came to a bad end. Her songs and the way she sang them really inspired many people and made many fall in love with her and her work.People still listen to her music till this day and she is still considered one of the greatest jazz musicians. Billie Holiday had a very tough childhood. Her real name is Eleanora Gough. Billie grew up mostly in Baltimore, she always had a passion for jazz. Billies parents were very young when they had her.Her mother was thirteen and her father fifteen. Her father was also into Jazz and made living from it.He
…show more content…
Billies voice was very unique and could be both strong and quite at the same time. Billie had many famous songs such as God Bless the Child, My Man, Summertime, The Very Thought of You, Gloomy Sunday, Don't Explain, Loverman, and many more. Her most famous song was Strange Fruit. This is a very powerful song because it symbolizes and discusses the lynching of African Americans. Some radio stations banned the song. The songs gives an emotional aroma and expresses her talent, but also pain. This song inspired many by conveying the horrors of racism and brought many emotions to the listener. Billie also struggled with racism, despite her fame, “Due to constant racial attacks, Holiday had a difficult time touring and spent much of the 1940s working in New York. While her popularity was growing, Holiday’s personal life remained troubled”(Thirteen/psb.org). Billie also struggled with conflicts with drugs and men, which impacted her life and career tremendously. Many of her romances were reflected in her songs. Most of these relationships were abusive and destructive. After the death of her mother in 1945 she went downhill. She began drinking heavily and abusing drugs such as heroine to help cope with the grief. Most of her money was going towards her drug addiction. Holiday was arrested repeatedly for her drug abuse. Billie signed herself into a institution to help her drug abuse, but she only got worst. She still pursued her career and still inspired many, but was dealing with severe personal issues. When dealing with these hardships she had a very successful tour in Europe and caught peoples attention by sharing her story. Her autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues was written in 1956. Billie gave her final performance in 1959, not long after she was admitted to the hospital for health issues. Her addiction was so bad that she was arrested for possession of drugs in the hospital. Finally on July 17, 1959 she died from
Billies voice was very unique and could be both strong and quite at the same time. Billie had many famous songs such as God Bless the Child, My Man, Summertime, The Very Thought of You, Gloomy Sunday, Don't Explain, Loverman, and many more. Her most famous song was Strange Fruit. This is a very powerful song because it symbolizes and discusses the lynching of African Americans. Some radio stations banned the song. The songs gives an emotional aroma and expresses her talent, but also pain. This song inspired many by conveying the horrors of racism and brought many emotions to the listener. Billie also struggled with racism, despite her fame, “Due to constant racial attacks, Holiday had a difficult time touring and spent much of the 1940s working in New York. While her popularity was growing, Holiday’s personal life remained troubled”(Thirteen/psb.org). Billie also struggled with conflicts with drugs and men, which impacted her life and career tremendously. Many of her romances were reflected in her songs. Most of these relationships were abusive and destructive. After the death of her mother in 1945 she went downhill. She began drinking heavily and abusing drugs such as heroine to help cope with the grief. Most of her money was going towards her drug addiction. Holiday was arrested repeatedly for her drug abuse. Billie signed herself into a institution to help her drug abuse, but she only got worst. She still pursued her career and still inspired many, but was dealing with severe personal issues. When dealing with these hardships she had a very successful tour in Europe and caught peoples attention by sharing her story. Her autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues was written in 1956. Billie gave her final performance in 1959, not long after she was admitted to the hospital for health issues. Her addiction was so bad that she was arrested for possession of drugs in the hospital. Finally on July 17, 1959 she died from