Black ARTistory

Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday (1915-1959), is a well known singer and jazz vocalist. Growing up it was difficult for Holiday, but she found her sanction in singing. Holiday would sing at local clubs in New York City, which is when she renamed herself "Billie" after a film star Billie Dove. 

At the age of 18, Holiday was discovered by a producer named John Hammond while performing at a Harlem Jazz Club. From that moment on, Holiday's journey began:

- She was one of the first African American females to work with a white orchestra.

- She appeared in a New Orleans film with her idol Louis Armstrong.

-  She signed to the record label Columbia in the late 1930s.

- Holiday struggled with narcotics and drugs.

- She performed at a sold out concert at Carnegie Hall in 1948 and 1956. A major accomplishment for a black artist, especially during a time of segregation.

- Performed on CBS's program called The Sound of Jazz.

- Had her first tour in Europe in 1954.

- Some of her well-known songs are "God Bless the Child", "Lady Sings the Blues", & "Strange Fruit", to name a few. 

Billie Holiday was a woman who struggled in finding herself in a world that was segregated, even though it was a difficult task she overcame through her passion- Singing. Today, she has left a legacy for all the Black, female singers of today.

WOA thanks Mrs. Billie Holiday aka Lady Day for her voice. 

"I can't stand to sing the same song the same way two nights in succession, let alone two years or ten years. If you can, then it ain't music, it's close-order drill or exercise or yodeling or something, not music"