#Eleanora Fagan

[singonavine71]

Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo. She was known for her vocal delivery and improvisational skills. Holiday won four Grammy Awards, all of them posthumously, for Best Historical Album. She was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. After a turbulent childhood, Holiday began singing in nightclubs in Harlem, where she was heard by producer John Hammond, who liked her voice. She signed a recording contract with Brunswick in 1935. Collaborations with Teddy Wilson produced the hit "What a Little Moonlight Can Do", which became a jazz standard. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Holiday had mainstream success on labels such as Columbia and Decca. By the late 1940s, however, she was beset with legal troubles and drug abuse. After a short prison sentence, she performed at a sold-out concert at Carnegie Hall. She was a successful concert performer throughout the 1950s with two further sold-out shows at Carnegie Hall. Because of personal struggles and an altered voice, her final recordings were met with mixed reaction but were mild commercial successes. Her final album, Lady in Satin, was released in 1958. Holiday died of cirrhosis on July 17, 1959, at age 44. In 2000, she was also inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as an early influence; their website states that "Billie Holiday changed jazz forever". She was named one of the 50 Great Voices by NPR; and was ranked fourth on the Rolling Stone list of "200 Greatest Singers of All Time" (2023). Several films about her life have been released, most recently The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021).

[jazzdailyblog]

Billie Holiday: The Voice of Jazz

Introduction: Billie Holiday, born Eleanora Fagan, remains one of the most iconic and influential jazz vocalists of all time. With her unique voice, emotive delivery, and deeply personal approach to singing, Holiday’s music transcended genres and touched the hearts of listeners around the world. In this blog post, we will explore the life, music, and legacy of Billie Holiday, highlighting her…

[intriguingpeoplebyangelafloyd]

BILLIE HOLIDAY

BILLIE HOLIDAY

1915-1959

            Billie Holiday (Eleanora Fagan) was an American jazz and swing music artist who started singing in nightclubs in Harlem and signed a record contract in 1935. She had a hit with ‘What a Little Moonlight Can Do” and continued to have a successful career during the 1930s and 1940s.

            Holiday was born in Philadelphia and was the daughter of an unwed teenage couple; her mother was thrown out of her home due to becoming pregnant and her father left her mother to pursue a career in jazz. In 1926, her mother came home to discover the neighbour attempting to rape Holiday, Holiday successfully fought back and the man was arrested.

             Holiday gained a drug problem during the early 1940s. She married trombonist Jimmy Monroe in 1941, she had an affair with trumpeter Joe Guy her drug dealer. Holiday divorced Monroe in 1947 and broke up with Guy. She had a short prison sentence in 1947 for possession of narcotics and was sent to prison. She was released and returned to Newark where her pianist Bobby Tucker and her dog Mister was waiting, Mister leaped at Holiday with excitement, it knocked off her hat and “loved me like crazy”.

            In 1959, Holiday was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver. She started losing weight and her friends persuaded her to go to the hospital which she did on 31 May, for treatment of liver and heart disease.

            The Feds went to the hospital claiming they found heroin in her bedroom and she was arrested and handcuffed to her bed and placed under police guard. Whilst she lay dying the police raided her hospital room looking for drugs. She died on 17 July 1959, aged 44 of pulmonary edema and heart failure caused by cirrhosis.

#billieholiday

[readyforevolution]

Remembering Billie Holiday 💙

(born Eleanora Fagan April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz singer and songwriter.

Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo.

Photo cover from the album: Lady in Satin, 1958

[olafsings]

Music History Today: April 7, 2023

April 7, 1915: Billie Holiday was born Eleanora Fagan in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

[strictlyfavorites]

Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo. She was known for her vocal delivery and improvisational skills. Holiday won four Grammy Awards, all of them posthumously, for Best Historical Album. She was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. After a turbulent childhood, Holiday began singing in nightclubs in Harlem, where she was heard by producer John Hammond, who liked her voice. She signed a recording contract with Brunswick in 1935. Collaborations with Teddy Wilson produced the hit "What a Little Moonlight Can Do", which became a jazz standard. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Holiday had mainstream success on labels such as Columbia and Decca. By the late 1940s, however, she was beset with legal troubles and drug abuse. After a short prison sentence, she performed at a sold-out concert at Carnegie Hall. She was a successful concert performer throughout the 1950s with two further sold-out shows at Carnegie Hall. Because of personal struggles and an altered voice, her final recordings were met with mixed reaction but were mild commercial successes. Her final album, Lady in Satin, was released in 1958. Holiday died of cirrhosis on July 17, 1959, at age 44. In 2000, she was also inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as an early influence; their website states that "Billie Holiday changed jazz forever". She was named one of the 50 Great Voices by NPR; and was ranked fourth on the Rolling Stone list of "200 Greatest Singers of All Time" (2023). Several films about her life have been released, most recently The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021).

[mia-seth-adventures]

🤎 Billie Holiday née Eleanora Fagan c1934 (19 years old) and one of the first official photographs.

Billie at Wikipedia

[madamlaydebug]

In honor of Black History Month...

Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan, April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo.

Considered by many to be the greatest jazz vocalist of all time, Billie Holiday lived a tempestuous and difficult life. Her singing expressed an incredible depth of emotion that spoke of hard times and injustice as well as triumph. Though her career was relatively short and often erratic, she left behind a body of work as great as any vocalist before or since.

A Queen salute to Billie Holiday!

Sources Consulted: Wikipedia

#thequeencode #therealqueencode #blackhistory #blackhistorymonth

[ultra-francesca-mercury]

april 7,

1915

Billie Holiday is born Eleanora Fagan in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

[bitter69uk]

“… Holiday stood on the bandstand, hardly moving – an elegantly gowned beauty with a gardenia in her pulled-back hair. Holiday’s small, wailing voice revealed a woman who lived for love and would possibly die for it. She both luxuriated in her suffering and gave it dignity, even in “My Man” in which she sang: “He isn’t true / He beats me too / What can I do?” Holiday’s singing was pure autobiography, tied to stylistic quirks that are copied to this day: seductively bent notes that sounded like sighs; a thin, brassy edge that evoked a muted trumpet; a languid delivery that could drag perilously behind the beat yet never fell out of time. Her life was cloaked in tabloid scandal, much of it involving her addictions to heroin and abusive men. She lived her saddest songs to such a reckless degree that she died at forty-four.”

/ From Is That All There Is? The Strange Life of Peggy Lee (2014) by James Gavin /

“I saw the whole world in that face. All of the beauty and all of the misery.”

/ From the documentary Billie (2020) /

Died 65 years ago today: regal, soulful and ravaged jazz chanteuse Billie Holiday (née Eleanora Fagan, 7 April 1915 – 17 July 1959). Lady Day’s bruised but defiant (and sexy as hell) spirit lives every time you listen to her music. My favourite songs of hers will always be “I’m a Fool to Want You”, “Don’t Explain”, “You’ve Changed” and “Good Morning Heartache.” The greatest living interpreter of the Holiday songbook is Joey Arias.

Billie Holiday performing at the Mars Club in Paris on November 20, 1958.

Photos by Jean Pierre Leloir

[abwwia]

Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald.

Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made a significant contribution to jazz music and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly influenced by jazz instrumentalists, inspired a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo. She was known for her vocal delivery and improvisational skills.

Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917 – June 15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, intonation, and a "horn-like" improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing. via W

[archivist-crow]

On this day, July 17, eight years apart, the world lost Billie Holiday and John Coltrane

Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan)—April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959

John William Coltrane—September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967

[mannytoodope]

Eleanora Fagan (April7,1915-July17,1959), Billie Holiday, was a jazz musician and singer-songwriter nicknamed “ Lady Day.” Even though she had no formal vocal training, her delivery and improvisational skills made up for it. After a rough childhood, she began singing in nightclubs in Harlem, where she was heard by producers John and Teddy Wilson and signed a contract with Brunswick Records. She released several songs which are now jazz standards. She found mainstream success when she signed with Columbia and Decca Records—despite her success, Holiday had drug, health, and legal problems. She was under scrutiny from federal drug agents because of her use of drugs. Her song “ Strange Fruit” raised some eyebrows because of its lyrical content at the time Holiday stayed active in the Civil Rights movement, wanting to integrate her shows. She received posthumous Grammy Awards. There is now a film covering the tumultuous part of her career. Holiday’s voice is still impressive, influencing vocalists today.

[lboogie1906]

Eleanora Fagan (April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959), professionally known as Billie Holiday, was a jazz singer with a career spanning nearly thirty years. Nicknamed “Lady Day” by her friend and music partner Lester Young, she had a seminal influence on jazz music and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo. She was known for her vocal delivery and improvisational skills.

After a turbulent childhood, she began singing in nightclubs in Harlem, where she was heard by the producer John Hammond, who commended her voice. She signed a recording contract with Brunswick in 1935. Collaborations with Teddy Wilson yielded the hit “What a Little Moonlight Can Do”, which became a jazz standard. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, she had mainstream success on labels such as Columbia and Decca.

She was a successful concert performer throughout the 1950s with two further sold-out shows at Carnegie Hall. Due to personal struggles and an altered voice, her final recordings were met with mixed reactions but were mild commercial successes. Her final album, Lady in Satin, was released in 1958.

“Strange Fruit” is a euphemism for the lynched bodies of African Americans hanging and swaying from trees. Strange Fruit is the name of one of the most powerful protest songs ever written. Her 1939 version of the song was included in the National Recording Registry on January 27, 2003.

She won four Grammy Awards, all of them posthumously, for Best Historical Album. She was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1973. Lady Sings the Blues, was released in 1972. She is the primary character in the play Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill; the role was originated by Reenie Upchurch in 1986 and was played by Audra McDonald on Broadway and in the film. She was inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[outandaboutnycmag]

7/27/23 O&A NYC THROWBACK THURSDAY: Billie Holiday - God Bless The Child (film)- Presented by Chicago Blues Museum

Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan [April 7, 1915 — July 17, 1959) an American jazz singer and songwriter Nicknamed “Lady Day” by her friend and musical partner Lester Young. Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo. Continue reading Untitled