Billie Jean King

The song Strange Fruit was first sang by Billie Holiday, who was a new performer on stage at Cafe Society, a new and popular cabaret club. The song was written in 1937 by a man named Abel Meeropol to criticize the racial discrimination in American South. Abel Meeropol, who was a Jewish-American school teacher from New York City, wrote Strange Fruit after seeing a shocking photograph of a lynching in a magazine. This song became very popular in 1939, the year where racial tension was at its…

Frank O 'Hara 's "The Day Lady Died" is an elegy centering around the day of O 'Hara, leading up to his discovery of the death of singer Billie Holiday. This poem is unlike most in that it lacks figurative language throughout. O’Hara’s poem uses what seems almost like a bulletin, with every one of his actions being listed. He includes every detail of his day from the time he completed an action up to the people he interacted with along the way. On the surface, all of these things seem to be…

the root.” this is an excerpt from the poem “Strange Fruit”. In this poem, the main point that the authors, Billie Holiday and Abel Meeropol, wrote about is the “strange fruit” which is actually a metaphor. The metaphor is comparing the fruit and slaves, and how they were hung from trees during the pre-Civil Rights times. Along with the metaphors, the literary devices that the author Billie Holiday uses in the poem “Strange Fruit” are imagery and emotional appeal. These literary devices are seen…

1939, singer Billie Holiday sang and recorded the song “Strange Fruit.” The song centered on racism towards the African-American Community, and the lynching of American-American men. Years later, Kanye West released a song in 2013 called “Blood on the Leaves”. West’s song sampled singer Nina Simone’s version of “Strange Fruit”. Even though both of these songs are decades apart, they both have similarities and differences and each has their own story. In the song “Strange Fruit” by Billie…

rope attached to a branch hangs a rotting corpse covered in grime and gore. This is the image Billie Holiday puts into the mind of the listener during her song Strange Fruit. Strange fruit was written as a poem by a school teacher, Abel Meeropol, and was recorded by Billie Holiday in 1939. During the song strong imagery effectively appealing to the listener’s emotions and their ethics as a person. Billie Holiday effectively paints a vivid picture of a lynched African American surrounded by a…

"haunted" him "for days." So he wrote a poem about it, which was then printed in a teacher’s union publication". Even though an amateur composer, Meeropol also set his words to music. He played it for a New York club owner who had later given it to Billie Holiday. When Holiday decided to sing "Strange Fruit," the song reached out and touched the hearts of millions through even…

ways of phrasing while playing. Instead of driving it forward and playing on the beat, similar to the influential tenor saxophonist, Coleman Hawkins, Young held it back bringing a more relaxed feeling to it. American jazz vocalist and songwriter, Billie Holiday, recognized Young’s great talent and therefore nicknamed him “The Prez”, the president of the tenor saxophone. Lester Young released his first recording “Oh, Lady Be Good” with Count Basie on October 9, 1936. However, in December 1940,…

Social movements can be defined as a grouping of individuals or organizations which focus on political and social issues. Abraham Lincoln, in 1863, drafted and passed the Emancipation Proclamation which changed the federal legal status of more than 3 million slaves in the south from “slave” to “free, which was monumental for the African-American people. Fast forward about a century later racism was alive and well and prosed an issue for the social justice of African-Americans. The 1960’s were a…

imagery will be acknowledged and discussed based on the lyrical rhythm this song has. Billie Holiday (April 7, 1915- July 17, 1959) was a professional jazz singer. Holiday had a huge influence on jazz music. She was mainly known and recognized for her amazing voice and ability to improvise her lyrics while on stage during performances. Holiday began…

On April 25, 1917 a star was born Ella Fitzgerald , She was born in Newport News, VA and raised in New York . Ella and Her Mother Temperance Fitzgerald where homeless for some years before she got her big break, In 1934 . She appeared the Apollo theater in Harlem winning a contest and got discovered by a big artist . http://www.allmusic.com/artist/ella-fitzgerald Years later she was called “The First Lady of Song,”. But growing up in New York, She was inspired by “ Shake hips” Tucker…