Lightboxes
Cart
alb3802582

Billie Holiday, American Jazz Singer

Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan April 7, 1915 - July 17, 1959( was an African-America jazz singer, songwriter, and actress. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, she 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. Her delivery made her performances recognizable throughout her career. Her improvisation compensated for lack of musical education. Her voice lacked range and was thin, and years of drug use altered its texture and gave it a fragile, raspy sound. Holiday said that she always wanted her voice to sound like an instrument and some of her influences were Louis Armstrong and singer Bessie Smith. By the 1950s, her drug abuse, drinking, and relationships with abusive men caused her health to deteriorate. By early 1959 she had cirrhosis of the liver. She was taken to Metropolitan Hospital in New York with liver and heart disease. She was arrested for drug possession as she lay dying, and her hospital room was raided. She died from pulmonary edema and heart failure caused by cirrhosis of the liver on July 17, 1959, at the age of 44. She died with $0.70 in the bank and $750 (a tabloid fee) on her person. Photographed by Carl Van Vechten March 23, 1949.
Share
pinterestPinterest
twitterTwitter
facebookFacebook
emailEmail

Add to another lightbox

Add to another lightbox
add to lightbox print share
Do you already have an account? Sign in
You do not have an account? Register
Buy this image
Loading...
Title:
Billie Holiday, American Jazz Singer
Caption:
Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan April 7, 1915 - July 17, 1959( was an African-America jazz singer, songwriter, and actress. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, she 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. Her delivery made her performances recognizable throughout her career. Her improvisation compensated for lack of musical education. Her voice lacked range and was thin, and years of drug use altered its texture and gave it a fragile, raspy sound. Holiday said that she always wanted her voice to sound like an instrument and some of her influences were Louis Armstrong and singer Bessie Smith. By the 1950s, her drug abuse, drinking, and relationships with abusive men caused her health to deteriorate. By early 1959 she had cirrhosis of the liver. She was taken to Metropolitan Hospital in New York with liver and heart disease. She was arrested for drug possession as she lay dying, and her hospital room was raided. She died from pulmonary edema and heart failure caused by cirrhosis of the liver on July 17, 1959, at the age of 44. She died with $0.70 in the bank and $750 (a tabloid fee) on her person. Photographed by Carl Van Vechten March 23, 1949.
Credit:
Album / Science Source / LOC/Carl Van Vechten Collection
Releases:
Model: No - Property: No
Rights questions?
Image size:
3286 x 4800 px | 45.1 MB
Print size:
27.8 x 40.6 cm | 11.0 x 16.0 in (300 dpi)
Keywords: