Billie Holiday ( April 7, 1915 - July 17, 1959), also called Lady Day is generally considered one of the greatest jazz singers of all time. Born Eleanora Fagan, she had a difficult childhood which affected her life and career.

1 Early life

Much of Billie Holiday's childhood is clouded by conjecture and legend, some of it propagated by herself in her autobiography published in 1950. She was born in Philadelphia but grew up in the Fells Point section of Baltimore. Her mother, Sadie Fagan, was just 13 at the time of her birth; her father Clarence Holiday, a jazz guitarist who would play for Fletcher Henderson, was 15. It's uncertain if they ever married. Clarence abandoned Sadie when Billie was an infant. Billie was largely raised by her mother and other relatives. A hardened and angry child, she dropped out of school at an early age and, allegedly, began working as a prostitute with her mother. This preceded her move to New YorkNew York is a state in the northeastern United States whose U. postal abbreviation is NY . It is sometimes called New York State when there is need to distinguish it from New York City. History See: History of New York New York was one of the thirteen col with her mother sometime in the early 1930sCenturies: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s Years: 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 Events and trends Technology Jet engine invented Link Trainer invented Sc.

There is controversy regarding her paternity. This stems from a copy of her birth certificate in Baltimore archives that lists the father as a "Frank DeViese." Some historians consider this an anomaly, probably inserted by a hospital or government worker (See Donald Clarke, Billie Holiday: Wishing on the Moon [1]). Clarence Holiday accepted paternity, but was hardly a responsible father. In the rare times Billie did see him, she would shake him down for money by threatening to tell his girlfriend of the moment that she was his daughter.

2 First success

Settling in HarlemThe most common referent of Harlem is Harlem, Manhattan, New York City. Other places of the same name include: Harlem, Florida Harlem, Georgia Harlem, Montana It can also refer to Harlem Yu, Taiwanese singer. Note that the original in The Netherlands from, Holiday began singing informally in numerous clubs. Around 19321932 is the leap year starting on Friday. see link for calendar) Events January-February January 3 British arrest and intern Mohandas Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel January 8 In Britain the Archbishop of Canterbury forbids church remarriage of divorcees Jan she was "discovered" by record producerIn the music industry, record producer designates a person responsible for completing a master recording so that it is fit for release. In earlier days, record producers bore the title of A&R men for Artists and Repertory which gives a clearer picture of John HammondThere are two John Hammonds of note. They are father and son: John Hammond ( December 15, 1910 July 10, 1987) was a record producer, musician and music critic from the 1930s to the 1970s. He was responsible for discovering and developing artists such as B at a club called Pod's and Jerry's (there is still some dispute among historians about who was the first to hear and publicise her, although it is generally agreed that Hammond was the first). Hammond arranged several sessions for her with Benny GoodmanBenny Goodman born Benjamin David Goodman ( May 30, 1909 June 13, 1986) was a famous Jazz musician, known as "King of Swing," "Patriarch of the Clarinet," and "Swing's Senior Statesman". Goodman was born in Chicago, the son of poor Jewish immigrants who l; her first-ever recording was "Your Mother's Son-In-Law" (1933).

It was around this time that Holiday had her first successes as a live performer. On November 23November 23 is the 327th day of the year (328th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 38 days remaining. Events 1499 Pretender to the throne Perkin Warbeck is hanged for reportedly attempting to escape from the Tower of London. In 1497 he invaded, 1934, she performed at the Apollo Theater to glowing reviews. The performance, with pianist (and then-lover) Bobby Henderson , did much to solidify her standing as a jazz and blues singer. Shortly thereafter, Holiday began performing regularly at numerous clubs on 52nd Street in Manhattan.

She later worked with such legends as Lester Young, Count Basie, and Artie Shaw, breaking the color barrier along the way by becoming one of the black jazz singers of that era to perform with white musicians. Nevertheless, she was still forced to use the back entrance and forced to wait in a dark room away from the audience before appearing on stage. Once before an audience, she was transformed into Lady Day with the white gardenia in her hair. She explained the sense of overpowering drama that featured in her songs, saying, "I've lived songs like that". Even when she was young and singing trivial pop songs, her unique tone and emotional commitment made her performances special.