Despite saying I’ve never heard the blues before, I actually have! Billie Holiday is a famous blues, jazz, soul singer. She has many other talents but she is most well-known for her voice. I heard blues for the first time when I listened to Billie Holiday singing “Strange Fruit” in a Civil Rights Movement Through Photography workshop at the Museum of the City of New York. This song if you listen carefully to the words (or google them) is about the hanging of slaves in the South. This song perfectly combines the slow, heavy rhythm of the accompanying music with the lyrics that contain a powerful message.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4ZyuULy9zs