Overview

Born as Eleanora Fagan, Billie Holiday was one of America’s most iconic and beloved female jazz musicians and singers of the early 20th century. Nicknamed “Lady Day” by a friend and partner in the music business, Lester Young, Holiday possessed an influence on jazz and pop music that would earn her the status of a legendary music influencer in a long line of American black artists. Her vocal tone and voice stood out as unique from other jazz musicians of her time, and pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo in jazz music. This “Billie Holiday” style of raw, vulnerable, and rich-sounding vocals is one that we still see influences of today in modern day pop, R&B, and of course jazz music. In the 30s, Holiday’s singles showed what vocalists could bring to jazz improvisation. In fact, Holiday was renowned for her vocal delivery, which made up for her limited range and lack of formal music education. Her voice could achieve sustained notes with ease while simultaneously containing tightly controlled vibrato. These techniques brought a drama and a teasing intrigue to her music, and elevated her style to an iconic level above other female jazz artists. There may have been other jazz singers with comparable talent, but no voice could capture the attention of a room quite like Holidays.  No matter the styling, her singing was always elegant, effortless, and original.

Early Career

Portrait of Billie Holiday performing at Downbeat in New York, Feb. 1947 by William P. Gottlieb.

Holiday began her singing career in nightclubs in Harlem, where she was discovered by producer John Hammond. Prior to her catapult into fame however, the young singer teamed up with tenor saxophone player Kenneth Hollan, and performed as an amateur duo at clubs such as the Grey Dawn, Pod’s and Jerry’s and the Brooklyn Elk’s Club. It was at Coven’s, a club on West 132nd Street, that Holiday got her first major gig replacing singer Monette Moore. It was then that producer John Hammond first heard her voice, and fell in love her.  From their connection, Holiday signed a recording contract with Brunswick Records in the year 1935. Some of her most famous early hits form this contract included “Rifflin the Scotch”, and “What a Little Moonlight Can Do”, which became a jazz standard.

Holiday’s famous improvisation style came to life through her collaborations with jazz musician Teddy Wilson, an artist her recording contract had set her up with. Both artists were given free reign to improvise their material, and it was from there that Holiday’s improvisation style became revolutionary. The most popular exposition of her unique singing technique is her song “What a little Moonlight Can Do”, and is considered her “claim to fame”. Brunswick records were skeptical of Holiday’s style at first, and wanted her to sound more mainstream such as current artist at the time Cleo Brown. However, once the single “What a Little Moonlight Can Do” garnered success, the company was convinced of Holidays unique brand and voice. The following year, Holiday began recording in her own name, rather than under Brunswick , and officially became an artist or her own right.  

Socio-economic Context

Billie Holiday began her career in the 1920s, during the Harlem Renaissance. Her work and success exemplifies the rapid advancement of African American culture that occurred during that time. Her singing style, coupled with the booming popularity of Jazz music in both African American and White communities skyrocketed her to fame. Yet she still faced a great many disadvantages, mostly because of her race and gender. Holiday was frequently unable to record music or perform with white bandleaders. She was one of the first black women to sing with a white orchestra and the first black woman to tour the Southern U.S. with a white band as a full-time member. Despite this success, Holiday was frequently victim of discriminatory practices and many hurdles were placed in the way of her career. She never shied away from challenging racist ideas. Repeatedly belittled because of her race while the band toured, she took issue with the double standard she faced and quit Artie Shaw’s band. Following this she encountered one of her greatest career opportunities, performing at Café Society in Greenwich Village. It was at this café that she was exposed to the words of Strange Fruit, a song that brought political issues into mainstream entertainment. Strange Fruit became associated with Holiday, though as her career progressed she began to resent it. Holiday believed there was too much truth, too much sadness of the black experience and her experience as a black woman carried in that song. This sentiment was deepened by Holiday’s addiction, which ultimately brought her untimely death. Her life was far from happy and given her childhood and lack of a solid upbringing, her addiction was not unexpected, but tragic nonetheless.

Greatest Successes

Holidays most mainstream successes were rooted in her singles “Strange Fruit” and “God Bless the Child”.

Strange Fruit was based off of a poem about lynching by Abel Meeropol. The song was considered too sensitive, and Columbia Records, the label Holiday was recording under in the 1930s, refused to produce it for the singer. Thankfully however, it was Commodore Records, another popular recording agency at the time, that agreed to helping Billie produce the famous single, creating a song that would remain in Holiday’s repertoire for the rest of her lifetime, as well as make a small mark in American History. Holiday says her father, Clarence Holiday, was denied medical treatment for a fatal lung disorder due to racial prejudice, and that singing Strange Fruit reminded people of the injustice that black people have faced throughout history.

Her song “God Bless the Child” was Holiday’s most popular and covered record. It peaked at 25 in the charts in 1941 and was third in Billboard’s song of the year, having sold over a million records. The song now sits in the Grammy Hall of Fame since 1976. The song was inspired by a fight she had had with her mother over money, and a line she had come up with in the fight that was “God bless the child that’s got his own”. Together with pianist Arthur Hersog Jr., the famous single was born.

 

Seminar Theme

One theme best exemplified in Holiday’s work is social justice. Though Holiday was never known for being an activist, simply living her life the way she did, that is with unwavering and uncompromising honesty, she fought against injustices she faced daily. As a black woman who was able to achieve a rather high level of success, she often addressed issue of racism using the large platform she had. While many of her songs were very personal, she did not shy away from the political, as we have seen with song’s such as Strange Fruit. She would perform this song drawing complete attention to her singing and the words. Holiday did not conform to the ideals of white societal norms and ensured that all her performances had a part of her personality and culture in them. She was frequently herself a victim of slurs and cheap attacks, and her race often hindered her access to opportunities. While not what one would traditionally think of as an activist, Holiday did much to bring to popular culture the harsh realities of life that African American’s faced living under Jim Crow laws in the United States.