Billie Holiday, born Eleanora Fagan,(April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed “Lady Day” by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo.
Here’s one of her well-known songs, The Very Thought of You.
Billie’s story can be found in Lady Sings the Blues
photo from samkling, flickr creative commons license
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