Billie Holiday

Lady Day.

Founded

April 7, 1915 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Full Name

Eleanora Fagan

Date of Birth

April 7, 1915 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Still Alive

Date of Death

July 17, 1959 in New York, New York

Influenced By

Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith

Later Influenced

Frank Sinatra, Etta James, Ray Charles, Nina Simone, Joni Mitchell, Erykah Badu

Billie Holiday

About The artist

"The first popular jazz singer to move audiences with the intense, personal feeling of classic blues, Billie Holiday changed the art of American pop vocals forever. Billie Holiday's highly stylized reading of this blues tradition revolutionized traditional pop, ripping the decades-long tradition of song plugging in two by refusing to compromise her artistry for either the song or the band."
John Bush, Allmusic.com

Did you know...

Holiday was discovered by producer John Hammond at the age of 18. In 1933, she cut her first record and Hammond organized her first commercial recording session with Benny Goodman.