Billie Holiday, was born Eleanora Fagan Gough, on April 7, 1915 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, however spent most of her childhood in Baltimore, Maryland. Holiday had a difficult time in her early years, as her mother was very young, her biological father was absent from her life, and her mother’s marriage to her step-father failed, leaving them in a somewhat struggling situation. During these difficult times, Holiday found comfort in music, and would sing along to songs by Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong. In 1929, she moved with her mother to New York and shortly after began singing at local jazz clubs and Harlem nightclubs, at which time she became known as “Billie”. Holiday never received technical training in music or singing, nevertheless her exposure during a pinnacle era of jazz and swing quickly became the foundation of her talent. At the age of 18, Holiday was discovered by producer John Hammond who she made her first record with, as a part of a group led by clarinetist Benny Goodman, whose career and notability was at a peak. This opportunity was the start of her career taking off.

Throughout the 1930s, Holiday made hit after hit with pianist and arranger Teddy Wilson, and tenor saxophonist Lestor Young, who also crowned her with the nickname “Lady Day” in 1937. In that same year, Holiday joined the well known United States top billing Kansas City Count Basie Orchestra for tours, and then in 1938 Holiday became the first black woman to work with a white band when Artie Shaw, one of the jazz’s finest clarinetists, asked her to front his orchestra as their lead singer. One of Holiday’s most famous songs, “Strange Fruit”, was first performed by her at Barney Josephson’s Cafe Society in Manhattan. “Strange Fruit” is a story about the lynching of African Americans down in the Southern United States and was written just for her. The song is considered to be a staple at her concerts and is said to be the first protest song of the civil rights era. There was so much controversy around it that some radio stations banned it, ultimately making it a massive hit. Holiday also changed record labels as a result of the song, as her initial record company would not record it. Another well known Billie Holiday original was “God Bless the Child”, which was first recorded by her in 1942, but transcended time being re-recorded by many others to include Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, and Shania Twain.

Billie Holiday went on to make 100s of recordings before her death at the age of 44 in 1959, with one of her most famous being “Lady Sings the Blues” recorded in 1956. “Lady Sings the Blues” was a self-reflecting composition of her life, it was also the title of her autobiography and the film of her life, which starred Diana Ross as Billie Holiday. Billie Holiday was one of the greatest jazz singers of her time. Besides the movie there were many tributes made in her honor to acknowledge her contributions to music, including a US Postage Stamp, a spread in Time Magazine awarding her with the “Song of the Century” award, written biographies, as well as many Grammy Awards.