She made several singles, including “What a Little Moonlight Can Do” and “Miss Brown to You.” That same year, Holiday appeared with Duke Ellington in the film Symphony in Black. Known for her distinctive phrasing and expressive, sometimes melancholy voice, Holiday went on to record with jazz pianist Teddy Wilson and others in 1935. With Goodman, she sang vocals for several tracks, including her first commercial release “Your Mother’s Son-In-Law” and the 1934 top ten hit “Riffin’ the Scotch.” Hammond was instrumental in getting Holiday recording work with an up-and-coming clarinetist and bandleader Benny Goodman. Billie Holiday SongsĪt the age of 18, Holiday was discovered by producer John Hammond while she was performing in a Harlem jazz club. She followed her mother, who had moved to New York City in the late 1920s, and worked in a house of prostitution in Harlem for a time.Īround 1930, Holiday began singing in local clubs and renamed herself “Billie” after the film star Billie Dove. In her difficult early life, Holiday found solace in music, singing along to the records of Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong. According to Donald Clarke’s biography, Billie Holiday: Wishing on the Moon, she returned there in 1926 after she had been sexually assaulted. She was returned to her mother’s care in August of that year. Only 9 years old at the time, Holiday was one of the youngest girls there. She was then sent to the House of Good Shepherd, a facility for troubled African American girls, in January 1925. Holiday started skipping school, and she and her mother went to court over Holiday’s truancy. Sometimes Billie was left in the care of other people. But that marriage ended a few years later, leaving Billie and Sadie to struggle along on their own again. Sadie married Philip Gough in 1920 and for a few years Billie had a somewhat stable home life. Unfortunately for Billie, her father was an infrequent visitor in her life growing up. Her father is widely believed to be Clarence Holiday, who eventually became a successful jazz musician, playing with the likes of Fletcher Henderson. Her mother, Sadie, was only a teenager when she had her. Holiday spent much of her childhood in Baltimore. (Some sources say her birthplace was Baltimore, Maryland, and her birth certificate reportedly reads “Elinore Harris.”) In 2000, Billie Holiday was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.īillie Holiday was born Eleanora Fagan on April 7, 1915, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Considered one of the best jazz vocalists of all time, Holiday had a thriving career as a jazz singer for many years before she lost her battle with substance abuse.Īlso known as Lady Day, her autobiography was made into the 1972 film Lady Sings the Blues. Jazz vocalist Billie Holiday was born in 1915 in Philadelphia.
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