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🇺🇸 United States · 1930–1959

Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday, born Eleanora Fagan, left an indelible mark on jazz music and popular singing. Her interpretive style, deeply influenced by jazz instrumentalists, introduced a novel way of playing with phrasing and rhythm. This uniqueness, combined with her improvisational skill, set her apart from the beginning. Discovered by producer John Hammond while singing in Harlem clubs, she signed her first recording contract with Brunswick in 1935. Her collaboration with Teddy Wilson resulted in *What a Little Moonlight Can Do*, a piece that became a genre standard. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Holiday enjoyed great popularity, recording for labels such as Columbia and Decca.

Holiday’s career was also marked by difficult moments. In the late 1940s, she faced legal troubles and personal struggles tied to substance abuse. Despite these hardships, after serving a brief sentence, she returned to the stage with a landmark concert at Carnegie Hall. She remained a highly sought-after artist during the 1950s, delivering more successful performances at the same iconic venue. Her final recordings, including the 1958 album *Lady in Satin*, reflected changes in her voice, and though they received mixed reviews, they achieved moderate commercial success. Billie Holiday passed away in 1959 at the age of 44 due to cirrhosis and heart failure.

Blues Jazz swing traditional pop vocal jazz 1910s

3 Albums

49 Songs

2,4M Listeners/mo

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Strange Fruit

Lady Sings the Blues

2:43 02

Say It Isn't So

Lady Sings the Blues · 1956

3:01 03

I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm

Lady Sings the Blues · 1956

3:55 04

I Wished On The Moon

Lady Sings the Blues · 1956

6:48 05

Always

Lady Sings the Blues · 1956

3:57 06

Everything Happens To Me

Lady Sings the Blues · 1956

6:20 07

Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me

Lady Sings the Blues · 1956

5:00 08

Ain't Misbehavin'

Lady Sings the Blues · 1956

4:38 09

Trav'lin Light

Lady Sings the Blues · 1956

3:07 10

I Must Have That Man!

Lady Sings the Blues · 1956

3:04

3 album|s · 1956 — 2005

Full discography

2005 ★ Essential

Lover Man

9 song|s · Blues

1958 ★ Essential

Lady in Satin

24 song|s · Blues

1956 ★ Essential

Lady Sings the Blues

16 song|s · Blues

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Biography

Holiday’s legacy has been recognized with numerous honors. She received four posthumous Grammy Awards for historic albums. She was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. In 2000, she was added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an early influence, with the institution noting that “Billie Holiday changed jazz forever.” Her voice was also ranked by NPR as one of the 50 most important voices, and in 2023, Rolling Stone placed her at number four on its list of the 200 best singers of all time. Holiday’s life has inspired several films, including *Lady Sings the Blues* (1972) and *The United States vs. Billie Holiday* (2021).