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Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo. She was known for her vocal delivery and improvisational skills.

After a turbulent childhood, Holiday began singing in nightclubs in Harlem, where she was heard by producer John Hammond, who liked her voice. She signed a recording contract with Brunswick in 1935. Collaborations with Teddy Wilson produced the hit "What a Little Moonlight Can Do", which became a jazz standard. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Holiday had mainstream success on labels such as Columbia and Decca. By the late 1940s, however, she was beset with legal troubles and drug abuse. After a short prison sentence, she performed at a sold-out concert at Carnegie Hall. She was a successful concert performer throughout the 1950s with two further sold-out shows at Carnegie Hall. Because of personal struggles and an altered voice, her final recordings were met with mixed reaction but were mild commercial successes. Her final album, Lady in Satin, was released in 1958. Holiday died of cirrhosis on July 17, 1959, at age 44.

Holiday won four Grammy Awards, all of them posthumously, for Best Historical Album. She was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. She was also inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, though not in that genre; the website states that "Billie Holiday changed jazz forever". Several films about her life have been released, most recently The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021).

Birth and Death Data: Born April 7, 1915 (Philadelphia), Died July 17, 1959 (Metropolitan Hospital Center)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1933 - 1950

Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist, songwriter, lyricist, composer

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 126-150 of 198 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Vocalion 20508 10-in. 1/12/1937 If my heart could only talk Billie Holiday Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo vocalist  
Vocalion 20509 10-in. 1/12/1937 Please keep me in your dreams Billie Holiday Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo vocalist  
Vocalion 20918 10-in. 4/01/1937 Where is the sun? Billie Holiday Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo vocalist  
Vocalion 20919 10-in. 4/01/1937 Let's call the whole thing off Billie Holiday Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo vocalist  
Vocalion 20920 10-in. 4/01/1937 They can't take that away from me Billie Holiday Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo vocalist  
Vocalion 20921 10-in. 4/01/1937 I don't know if I'm coming or going Billie Holiday Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo vocalist  
Vocalion 21249 10-in. 6/15/1937 Me, myself and I (are all in love with you) Billie Holiday Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo vocalist  
Vocalion 21250 10-in. 6/15/1937 A sailboat in the moonlight Billie Holiday Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo vocalist  
Vocalion 21251 10-in. 6/15/1937 Born to love Billie Holiday Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo vocalist  
Vocalion 21252 10-in. 6/15/1937 Without your love Billie Holiday Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo vocalist  
Vocalion 21686 10-in. 9/13/1937 Getting some fun out of life Billie Holiday Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo vocalist  
Vocalion 21687 10-in. 9/13/1937 Who wants love? Billie Holiday Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo vocalist  
Vocalion 21688 10-in. 9/13/1937 Trav'lin' all alone Billie Holiday Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo vocalist  
Vocalion 21689 10-in. 9/13/1937 He's funny that way Billie Holiday Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo vocalist  
Vocalion 22281 10-in. 1/12/1938 Now they call it swing Billie Holiday Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo vocalist  
Vocalion 22282 10-in. 1/12/1938 On the sentimental side Billie Holiday Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo vocalist  
Vocalion 22283 10-in. 1/12/1938 Back in your own backyard Billie Holiday Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo vocalist  
Vocalion 22284 10-in. 1/12/1938 When a woman loves a man Billie Holiday Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo vocalist  
Vocalion 22921 10-in. 5/11/1938 You go to my head Billie Holiday Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo vocalist  
Vocalion 22922 10-in. 5/11/1938 The moon looks down and laughs Billie Holiday Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo vocalist  
Vocalion 22923 10-in. 5/11/1938 If I were you Billie Holiday Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo vocalist  
Vocalion 22924 10-in. 5/11/1938 Forget if you can Billie Holiday Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo vocalist  
Vocalion 23151 10-in. 6/23/1938 Having myself a time Billie Holiday Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo vocalist  
Vocalion 23152 10-in. 6/23/1938 Says my heart Billie Holiday Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo vocalist  
Vocalion 23153 10-in. 6/23/1938 I wish I had you Billie Holiday Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo vocalist  
(Results 126-150 of 198 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Holiday, Billie," accessed November 1, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/102008.

Holiday, Billie. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 1, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/102008.

"Holiday, Billie." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 1 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/102008

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