Billie Holiday was a powerful vocalist, a jazz singer, and an African American woman with a short tragic life for a voice that transcended time. She became a cultural icon known for her soulful voice and for her iconic 1939 protest song ‘Strange Fruit’, a controversial performance that shook all of America as she made a political stance against the violent lynching against black Americans. Protest songs are written to criticize society, and ‘Strange Fruit’ points out the pseudo-integration and...
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Billie Holiday was an African American jazz singer that was born on April 7, 1915, in Philadelphia as Eleanora Fagen. She emerged as a popular jazz musician in the 1930’s and is seen as a jazz artist of the swing era. Her most popular records are ‘Strange Fruit’, ‘Fine and Mellow’, ‘The Man I Love’, ‘Billie’s Blues’, ‘God Bless the Child’, and ‘I Wished on the Moon’. Holiday was the daughter of unwed teenage couple Sarah Fagan and Clarence Holiday,...
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Art works as a vehicle as a means of bringing awareness, change, and self-expression. Billie Holiday’s ‘Strange Fruit’ shed light on the maltreatment of the African American community which revolutionized the way the public perceived the issue. From cruel backlash to public appraisal, ‘Strange Fruit’ made a lasting impression. Jewish communist, Abel Meeropol, wrote ‘Strange Fruit’ under the pseudonym Lewis Allan. Meeropol was a high school teacher in the Bronx and often wrote songs, poems, and plays. He first published...
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Music has influenced people for centuries and keeps on doing so today. Musicians have an excellent way of expressing their feelings, thoughts and opinions in their music. Because of this wonderful talent, musicians can impact their listener’s feelings, thoughts, and opinions. A great example of opinions being expressed through music is the song ‘Strange Fruit’ (1939) by Billie Holiday. The song was produced at a time that was dangerous for black people in America and sheds light on a significant...
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Considered by many to be the greatest jazz vocalist of all time, Billie Holiday lived a difficult and hard life. Her singing expressed an incredible depth of emotion that spoke of hard times and injustice. Although her career was short, she left behind a body of work that is still touching people today. Holiday rose to fame in the 1930’s with her unique style that would change modern singing and performance. More than 80 years after her first recording her...
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Eleanora Fagan, also commonly known as Billie Holiday and Lady Day, was an African American jazz singer. Born April 7, 1915, she was a major singer and influencer in the jazz community from 1933 to 1959, when she met an unfortunate early death. Holiday grew to be a rather big blues singer in the 1930s, despite having a rather rough childhood that included rape, truancy, and even a court case at the age of nine. Holiday began performing in small...
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