Hello my name is Sabrina lee!

Billie Holiday was born in the area of Eleanora Fagan Gough; April 7, 1915 through July 17, 1959 she was an American jazz singer and a wonderful songwriter!

Billie Holiday nickname was Lady Day by her sometime collaborator Lester Young, Holiday was a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing. Billie Holiday vocal style was strongly inspired by instrumentalists and a pioneered  new ways of manipulating wording and tempo. There were also popularized a more personal and intimate approach to singing. Critic John Bush wrote that she "changed the art of American pop vocals forever." Billie Holiday co-wrote only a few songs, but several of them have become jazz standars, notably "God Bless The Child", "Don't Explain" and the other one was "Lady Sings The Blues". She also became famous for singing jazz standards written by others, including "Easy Living" and "Stranger"

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Her distinct delivery made Billie Holiday's performances instantly recognizable throughout her career. Her voice lacked range and was somewhat thin, plus years of abuse eventually altered the texture of her voice and gave it a prepossessing fragility. Nonetheless, the emotion with which she imbued each song remained not only intact but also profound.^[13]. Her last major recording, was in the year of 1958 album entitled Lady in Satin, features the backing of a 40-piece orchestra conducted ,and arranged by Ray Ellis, who said of the album in 1997:

I would say that the most emotional moment was her listening to the playback of "I'm a Fool to Want You." There were tears in her eyes ... After we finished the album I went into the control room and listened to all the takes. I must admit I was unhappy with her performance, but I was just listening musically instead of emotionally. It wasn't until I heard the final mix a few weeks later that I realized how great her performance really was.

On May 31, 1959,Billy Holliday was taken to Metropolitan Hospital in New York suffering from liver and heart disease. On July 12, she was placed under house arrest at the hospital for possession, despite evidence suggesting the drugs may have been planted on her. Holiday remained under police guard at the hospital until she died from cirrhosis of the liver on July 17 1959 at the age of 44. In the final years of her life, she had been progressively swindled out of her earnings, and she died with only $0.70 in the bank and $750 (a tabloid fee) on her person.

The First Lady of Jazz died from complications related to drug & alcohol abuse.

Long may her music continue to inspire the true jazz lovers.

B.

Timeline

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