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 |
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
External Sources
Wikipedia: Billie Holiday
Discogs: Billie Holiday
Allmusic: Billie Holiday
Apple Music: Billie Holiday
Grove: Billie Holiday
RILM: Billie Holiday
IMDb: Billie Holiday
Britannica: Billie Holiday
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Holiday, Billie, 1915-1959 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n50033023
Wikidata: Billie Holiday - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q104358
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/14857262
MusicBrainz: Billie Holiday - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/d59c4cda-11d9-48db-8bfe-b557ee602aed
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