Holiday, Billie, 1915-1959

Variant names
Dates:
Birth 1915-04-07
Death 1959-07-17
Americans
English

Biographical notes:

Billie Holiday (1915-1959), an African American blues and jazz singer, was born Eleanora Holiday in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on April 7, 1915. The daughter of Clarence Holiday and Sadie Fagan, Holiday began singing in the early 1930s and was discovered by John Hammond in 1933 at a Harlem jazz club. Her career included performances with Benny Goodman, Count Basie, and Artie Shaw. Holiday recorded on the Commodore, Columbia, and Decca record labels; her most famous recordings include "Strange Fruit," "Gloomy Sunday," and "Lover Man." She also appeared in the film New Orleans in 1946 and toured extensively. Billie Holiday had a series of husbands, marrying James Monroe in 1941, Joe Guy in 1945, and Louis McKay in 1956. She died July 17, 1959 in New York.

From the description of Billie Holiday collection, 1953-1981. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 79428337

Jazz singer.

From the description of Autograph card signed : [Milwaukee?] Hi-Hat, [195-?]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270904709

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Subjects:

  • African American businesspeople
  • African Americans
  • African American women entertainers
  • African American women musicians
  • Blues (Music)
  • Choruses, Secular (Mixed voices (4 parts)), Unaccompanied
  • Jazz
  • Jazz vocals
  • Women jazz musicians

Occupations:

  • Musicians
  • Singers
  • Performer

Places:

  • United States (as recorded)

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