Always

The song *Always* has a duration of 3 minutes and 58 seconds. Its canonical title is, precisely, *Always*.

The life of Billie Holiday, also known as Lady Day, is the basis for the biographical film *Lady Sings the Blues*, released in 1972. This production by Motown Productions for Paramount Pictures narrates the trajectory of the jazz singer, from her beginnings cleaning a brothel in Harlem to becoming a star, through her struggle against heroin addiction and the loss of a loved one. Diana Ross played Holiday in the film, sharing the screen with actors such as Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor, James T. Callahan, and Scatman Crothers. For her performance, Ross was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in 1973. The film was also presented at the Cannes Film Festival that same year.

Born Eleanora Fagan Gough on April 7, 1915, in Philadelphia, Billie Holiday grew up in Baltimore with teenage parents. Her father, Clarence Holiday, a guitarist, abandoned the family when she was just a baby. Her childhood, marked by paternal absence and the youth of her mother, Sarah Fagan, was difficult. At ten years old, she suffered a sexual assault and was placed in an institution for girls who were victims of abuse. By twelve, she was already working cleaning brothels, and at fourteen, living in New York with her mother, she was forced into prostitution. Her musical journey began around 1930. In a desperate situation due to lack of money, she entered a bar in Harlem, where, after a failed attempt as a dancer, a pianist invited her to sing. Her voice led her to secure a steady job. Her musical training was self-taught, learning from the recordings of Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong. After three years performing in various venues, her talent began to attract attention.