The unprecedented rise and tragic life of Billie Holiday

This woman has gone down in music history as innovatorHe has influenced the development of jazz vocals with his original style of performance. Legendary voice Billie Holiday is the gold standard of the jazz age, and her heart-wrenching lyrics are a reflection of her own life, filled with love and endless pain. She was born in far from the best of circumstances, grew up poor, nearly went mad and saw things that modern people are used to seeing only on television. It's no wonder that when she came of age. Eleanor Feighan (the singer's real name) plunged into the world of psychoactive substances... It seemed that she was born under a cursed star. However, if this curse was indeed a curse, it was the curse that made Billie Holiday jazz icon. A woman of incredible strength, resilience and talent - much of her biography remains a mystery to music lovers.

Her parents were teenagers

Billie Holiday belongs to those children who were not wanted... The future star was born in a 1915 year in a family of... teenagers. At the time of her birth, her father was only 16, while her mother was 18. The young musician Clarence Holiday abandoned his family. The girl's mother, Seydi FaganShe was not rich, so she had a very difficult time with a baby in her arms. Nevertheless, she did not abandon her daughter, who would later become a jazz vocal icon....

Apparently Eleanor held no grudge against her father: her pseudonym Billie Holiday was inspired by the name of her favourite actress Billy Dove and his father's last name.

From an early age, she walked through humiliation and pain

В 9 years old little Eleanor was sent to a reform school for African-American girls. There she was treated badly, to put it mildly. Even if she was not physically touched, the psychological pressure was much stronger and more painful for the child. The institution was famous for its harsh punishments even for the slightest mistakes or misdemeanours. The experience Holiday was traumatic and left a lasting impression on the rest of my life.....

Luckily, in the 10 years The mother managed to take her daughter home, but the joy of the reunion was short-lived: a neighbour attacked the girl in order to take advantage of her... The mother called the police and the trial began. But in the end, charges were brought against Billie Holiday - she allegedly seduced the man herself. As a result, the girl found herself behind bars, where she spent several years.

В 1928 year Eleanor moved with my mother to New YorkBut soon the sad experience was repeated: this time all charges were brought against the criminal, but he spent only 3 months behind bars. In the meantime, Billie followed in her mother's footsteps: she had no education, so the most accessible and well-paid profession turned out to be the most ancient one... B 16 years old she was sent to prison again, this time for extortion.

She wanted to dance, not sing

After getting out of prison, Holiday needed a job. She went to a club called "Log Cabin"to apply for a job as a dancer, but ended up being hired as a singer:

"Told him I was a dancer. He said to dance. I tried it. He said it was terrible. Then I told him I could sing..."

So Billy hired as a singer for $18 a weekbut gradually she began performing in other, higher-paying clubs in Harlem. In the middle of 1930-х Holiday became one of the first black singers to work with a white orchestra. This was not a widely accepted practice at the time. Nevertheless, despite her popularity, she fought for her rights for a long time... A curious fact: once, playing with a black orchestra, the manager of the venue insisted that the girl darken her colouring. "light" skin so that "people wouldn't get upset" - many people thought a white woman was singing with a coloured orchestra. Holiday once confessed that it was sometimes difficult to find a restaurant where her whole band could eat together - quietly and without too many stares.

The hit song "Strange Fruit" is forever etched in American music history

The story of the iconic "Strange Fruit." began as a poem Abel Miropolis. A man wrote this in protest after seeing pictures of a lynching Thomas Shipp и Abram Smith in Indiana in 1930. Abel put the poem to music and began performing it publicly at protests! Holiday first performed the piece at the 1939 year.

Remarkably, at sunset. 30-х the singer's label, Columbia, wasn't interested in recording the song. But Billie didn't hesitate, and she recorded it "Strange Fruit." on Commodore Records. As a result, the composition became a huge hit and an integral part of culture and history U.S.A.. However, at the time, a small percentage of people understood its true meaning: Holiday says that by implying "Strange Fruit" people were asking her to perform "this sexy song about swinging people."

She appeared on the big screen with her idol

Since childhood, Holiday has admired the actress Billy Dove. But she was no less excited by the music of legendary jazz trumpeter and vocalist Louis Armstrong! And before she was arrested in 1947 in the year before, she had the chance to star with her idol in a film "New Orleans."! The film is a romantic musical in which the characters Louis and Billy fell in love with each other. It's hard to imagine what a colossal, fiery success it was for the singer ...

And it's unlikely Billie thought a film would be made about her after her death. But they did. В 1972 premiered the year "Lady Sings the Blues" - a film based on Holiday's autobiography of the same name with the Diana Ross in the title role. The film received five Academy Award nominations and grossed millions of dollars at the box office.

Dangerous love affairs

Billy's first husband, Jimmy MonroeHe was a musician as well as a heavy addict. It was he who got Holiday hooked on psychoactive substances, from which the singer was never able to give up until her death... Their marriage lasted less than three years, after which Billie met Billie. Joe Gaiathe American jazz trumpeter. The couple's union lasted almost 7 years, but was also marred by illegal drugs. The relationship was broken after the couple was arrested. Guy later passed away at the age of 41.

В 1957 in the year Holiday married Louis McKaySome biographers believe that Luis simply took advantage of the singer's status to open his own recording studio. Others argue that he was a Mexican mafioso, and Holiday's marriage to him was a hell...

Utopia, in which an iconic story has come to an end

In the middle of 1940-х mother's gone Holiday. This event was a huge tragedy for Billie, who without thinking about the consequences plunged into the world of alcohol and psychoactive substances... At some point her life turned into an abyss, out of which the singer never managed to get out. Dependence turned into heavy, and eventually marred the singer's career for the rest of her life. It reached its climax in 1947 year: Holiday was then arrested for possession, and soon after was sent to a federal rehabilitation centre in Virginia. She subsequently returned to the stage, but she no longer had a licence that allowed her to play in venues that sold alcohol. Billie still performed at such grand venues as Carnegie Halland toured Europe, but her heart yearned for the nightclubs she grew up in.....

The last time the legendary singer was arrested was on her deathbed. It was in 1959 the year that Billie Holiday was admitted to hospital with liver and heart problems resulting from years of use. She was also arrested there and was held under a "bed arrest." for a month before she passed away. There was a guard outside her room who did not allow even a bouquet of flowers to be brought to the singer. 17 July 1959. the jazz vocal icon is gone: she was only 44 years old…