The Life of Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday, probably the singularly most popular jazz vocalist of all time, was plagued by tragedy her entire life. Her grandfather was one of 17 children of a black Virginia slave impregnated by the white Irish plantation owner. When born in Baltimore, MD, Billie's parents were only teenagers; her mother (Sally Fagan) the tender age of 13. Billie's real name was Eleanora Fagan. Shortly after birth, Billie's father (Clarence Holiday) ran off to go on tour and play guitar with Fletcher Henderson's band. Billie's mother often left her to be cared for by relatives. Billie's early relationship with immediate family was virtually non-existent. Billie essentially grew up alone, feeling unloved and gaining a lifelong inferiority complex that led to her taking great risks with her personal life and becoming self-destructive. At the age of 6, Billie was blamed for her grandmother's untimely death. At the age of ten, Billie was the victim of a violent rape. The future "Lady Day" first heard the music of Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith on a Victrola at Alice Dean's, the Baltimore brothel where she ran errands and scrubbed floors as a young girl. In 1927, Billie moved to New York and became a prostitute herself for a span of three ye
The first song I will describe is "God Bless the Child", #8 off of Billie Holiday's Greatest Hits. It begins and ends with soft chorus by a choir followed by a poignant flute melody. As Billie begins singing, the background music involves soft background music involving a piano and cello. At certain points throughout the song, the choir softly hums behind Holiday. The harmony, rhythm, and tempo is very simple, but effective in conveying a melancholy, depressed mood. Although the instrumental part of the song isn't very dynamic, Billie's voice shows its subtle erratic shifts in range. The story behind the song is that Holiday had been giving her mother money for a restaurant she wanted to open. One day in 1941 Holiday showed up at the restaurant and requested some cash from her mother. She was refused and harshly responded "God bless the child that's got his own!". She stormed out and ran into Greenwich Village to piano player Arthur Herzog. In 1939, Billie became a star attraction at the Cafe Society. This is where she debuted such songs as "Strange Fruit" and "God Bless the Children". "Strange Fruit" was a song with a strong anti-racism theme, which became a main theme in Billie's music to remind her of all the racism she faced as a performer. White gardenias began to show up in her hair on stage. This became the trademark of "Lady Day". In 1941, Billie married Johnnie Monroe and began using opium consistently. This marriage did not last long as she soon got a divorce and married Joe Guy, a trumpeter. Billie then became a heroin addict, but despite the addiction she kept performing and making up to
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1092
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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