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Billie Holiday : A biography (2006)

Posted By: p6s
Billie Holiday : A biography (2006)

Billie Holiday : A biography (2006)
Publisher: Greenwood Press (30 Nov 2006) | ISBN: 0313336296 | English | PDF | 144 pages | 1 MB

Review
"Referring to Billie Holiday (1915-1959) as the iconic female jazz singer, an independent scholar/biographer examines her contributions to the genre as well as the legendary aspects of her short, troubled life. In a series for high school and public library readers, the book includes photos of "Lady Day," an index, and references including a selected discography and the official and unofficial Billie Holiday Web sites."-Reference & Research Book News

Product Description
Billie Holiday (1915-1959), the legendary jazz singer whose vocal stylings were deeply affecting, continues to enthrall. This biography conveys her hard-luck youth, career triumphs, and then decline and early death. At age 14, despite growing up with an absentee musician father, little schooling, a rape at 10, and jail time for prostitution, this extraordinary girl moved to New York City to find work as a dancer or singer. She soon became the toast of Harlem and went on to tour and record with the biggest names in jazz. Holiday's career took off in the 1930s, during the Depression, and this biography evokes the era and atmosphere of the jazz club scene. The state of race relations in the country is discussed as Holiday tours with white bandleaders such as Artie Shaw and even as she sings about lynching in the controversial "Strange Fruit." The narrative further chronicles Holiday's relationships, descent into drug addiction, the subsequent diminishing of her talent, and her tragic early death. This work will help readers to appreciate more fully her interpretations of the songs of that classic era.