Holiday was born Eleanora Fagan in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1915. Not long after she was born, her father, a guitar player, left the family. As a child, she was in and out of reform schools. People called her "Bill" because they thought she was as rough as a boy. Later, when she became a singer, she took the name of "Billie Holiday."
Holiday and her mother moved to New York when she was 13. About that time, she heard the records of Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong. Both performers were to have a strong influence on Billie’s singing style.
During the depression years, Holiday went to a Harlem night club and asked the owner for a job. As she recalled, "I told him I could sing. He said, ‘Sing.’" When she did, "The customers stopped drinking. They turned around and watched." The owner hired her.
Benny Goodman, the famous band leader and clarinet player, hired Holiday to sing with his band. Then she began to sing with Artie Shaw’s jazz band. They called her "Lady Day" because of her dignified manners. Shaw and most of his band were white. In one city, a restaurant refused to serve Holiday. One of the band members said, "This is Lady Day. Now you feed her."
Billie still faced prejudice. Shaw’s band was given a radio show. The producers cut back on Billie’s appearances. They felt listeners in the South would object to a Black singer performing with a white band.
Holiday’s later years were difficult, and she died at the age of 44. She is remembered as one of the great singers of popular music. Each year thousands of copies of her records are bought.
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