Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Celebrating A Centennial For Billie

Today I'm setting aside photography to mark an occasion. Today is the hundredth anniversary of the birth of the great American jazz singer Billie Holiday. She lived a tumultuous and tragic life, dying much too young. Her voice had a limited range- but she would work wonders with that range. She could make you feel warm inside and break your heart- often within the same song.


To mark the occasion, here are two of her signature songs. The first is a protest song of outrage at lynchings in the American South; pay close attention to the lyrics. The second is a love song.



Happy Birthday, Billie. You were the best.

43 comments:

  1. Nicely written brief explanation of her greatness!


    ALOHA from Honolulu,
    ComfortSpiral
    =^..^=

    ReplyDelete
  2. Billie teve a vida marcada por tragédias mas estas não foram suficientes para calar o seu grande talento
    Uma bela homenagem ao centenário da grande cantora
    Um abraço

    ReplyDelete
  3. Can't wait to listen to the songs. Thank you for linking them. You must be on vacation. You've been painfully quiet lately!

    Janis
    GDP

    ReplyDelete
  4. I knew the strange fruit by Nina Simone. Thanks for your link I listened this version as well. Happy birthday Billie Holiday
    Thank you William

    ReplyDelete
  5. thanks for sharing, I like her song "All of Me."

    ReplyDelete
  6. I didn't know today is her hundredth anniversary.
    To honour her I'm playing one of my favourite sonds now: "Summertime".

    ReplyDelete
  7. the second one is classic. i had not heard the first before and it gave me chills and stomach churns. bless her.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I don't Listen to Billie enough. I'm familiar with the Very Thought of You but don't remember the other song.

    ReplyDelete
  9. @Cloudia: thanks!

    @Kay: she was such a talent.

    @Gracita: there was so much tragedy in her life. Heartbreaking when you get to know about that.

    @Janis: the Easter weekend tends to wreck havoc with computer time. It'll take me a couple of days to catch up.

    @Luis: you're welcome.

    @Marianne: I love jazz, and she is quite simply my favourite jazz singer.

    @Feyza: I have heard Nina's take on the song, and like that one too.

    @Gill: that's a great one too.

    @Jan: another great one.

    @Tex: Strange Fruit is such a powerful song. It does give one chills.

    @Sharon: I thought it entirely appropriate to go in this direction today.

    @Red: I've been listening to Billie for years, and The Very Thought Of You was one of the earliest ones from her songbook that I heard.

    ReplyDelete
  10. She was something else. My favorite was "The Very Thought of You" and I often play that on the piano.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wonderful tribute William.. Too many amazingly talented artists die at a young age, bet there's one hell of a party going on somewhere :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a great tribute for the wonderful singer.
    Happy birthday to Billie Holiday!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I think I'll have to get Billie on the turntable (CD player) tonight! Great post, William!

    ReplyDelete
  14. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cannot believe it ! She was and still is one of the greatest.
      Marietta

      Delete
  15. Nice tribute, William! She was amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Maybe not the best, but surely one of the greatest!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I really liked her and have several cassettes--maybe I should get CDs. Tragic story though
    MB

    ReplyDelete
  18. i love Billie. she is beautiful and her voice. awesome!! amazing!! ( :

    ReplyDelete
  19. After the day I've had, this was perfect thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  20. A wonderful tribute to a gifted woman....

    ReplyDelete
  21. Lovely tribute and great songs, William. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Very thoughtful William, a tribute to a great artist..

    ReplyDelete
  23. @Lowell: I've heard so much of her music down through the years.

    @Grace: she was a tormented soul.

    @Tamago: she surely was the best.

    @Mari: yes, she was.

    @RedPat: I have several of her albums. I'll be listening to her again tonight.

    @Tomas: I guess some musicians make more of an impact in some parts of Europe than others, but she's very well known here.

    @Marietta: she was a legend.

    @EG: she certainly was.

    @VP: It might be a matter of taste- some might go for Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald, or Nina Simone.

    @MB: a very tragic story.

    @Beth: she was amazing.

    @Ciel: you're welcome.

    @Linda: thanks!

    @Norma: she was.

    @Jennifer: thank you!

    @Linda: you're welcome.

    @Geoff: thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  24. A nice tribute to one of the iconic voices from the 20th C.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Yes, she had great talent. A real trailblazer.

    ReplyDelete
  26. A nice tribute...

    ReplyDelete
  27. She was an amazing singer, what a voice! Thank you for sharing those links.

    ReplyDelete
  28. She was a great singer. Great post for her, William

    ReplyDelete
  29. @Randy: a short life, but such a presence.

    @Peter: she was such a joy to listen to.

    @Linda: that she was.

    @Halcyon: she's missed.

    @TDP: thank you!

    @Denise: you're welcome.

    @Orvokki: thanks!

    @Jose: thank you.

    @Whisk: she belongs in heaven.

    ReplyDelete