Born: 7 April 1915, United States
Died: 17 July 1959
Country most active: International
Also known as: Eleanora Fagan, Lady Day
The following is republished from the Library of Congress. This piece falls under under public domain, as copyright does not apply to “any work of the U.S. Government” where “a work prepared by an officer or employee of the U.S. Government as part of that person’s official duties” (See, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101, 105).
Billie Holiday, one of the great jazz singers, was born April 7, 1915. She recounted her hard life in the autobiography Lady sings the blues, but despite her suffering at the hands of family, a racist society, and her own addictions, despite the smoky, world-weary voice of her later years, the joy her music brought to others is immeasurable.
Holiday was nicknamed “Lady Day” by tenor saxophonist Lester Young, who she in turn nicknamed “Prez.” From their first recording together in 1937, they remained friends for the rest of their too brief lives, collaborating again for the 1957 television program “The Sound of Jazz” before dying within months of each other in 1959.
Holiday has recently been subject to a “remix and reimagination,” as if 21st century ears needed training wheels to hear beauty. Perhaps her memory is better served by those who pay more direct homage to her, like singer Madeleine Peyroux and even humorist David Sedaris, who does a spot-on impression of Holiday singing “Away in a manger.”