(#7) One Of Her Iconic Hits Is Easily One Of The Most Haunting Songs In American History
The song "Strange Fruit" began as a poem by a Jewish teacher in the Bronx named Abel Meeropol. He wrote it as a protest, after he saw photos of the 1930 lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith in Indiana. He set the poem to music and began performing it publicly at protests.
Billie Holiday first performed "Strange Fruit" in 1939. Holiday's label at the time, Columbia, wasn't interested in recording the song, so she recorded it with Commodore Records instead. It became a huge hit, and one of the songs that she was most well-known for. However, she said that some audiences didn't seem to grasp the meaning of the song, requesting "that sexy song about the people swinging."
(#14) She Was Arrested One Last Time - On Her Death Bed In The Hospital
In 1959, Billie Holiday was admitted to the hospital suffering from liver and heart problems, complications of years of drug use. To add insult to injury, she was actually arrested in her hospital bed for narcotics possession, and was under "bed arrest" for an entire month before she passed away.
There was a guard outside her room, and all of her flowers and gifts, as well as her record player, were removed. She passed away on July 17th, 1959, at the age of just 44.
(#2) She And Her Mother Lived In A Poor Neighborhood, Where A Neighbor Assaulted Her At The Young Age Of 10
At the age of nine, Billie was sent to the House of Good Shepard - a reform school for African American girls. She was sent there for being absent from school too often, and was sent back to live with her mother later that year.
Sadly, within a year Billie was sexually assaulted by one of her neighbors; she was only 10. For that, she was sent back to reform school.
(#1) She Was Born To A Teenage Mother
Billie Holiday was born to a teen mom. In 1915, when she was born, her mother Sadie was only 13, and her father was only 15. Billie's given name was Eleanora Fagan, but she gave herself her stage name based on movie star Billie Dove and her father, reportedly jazz musician Clarence Holiday. Unfortunately, her father was rarely around during her childhood and she and her mother had to struggle on their own.
(#9) The Death Of Her Mother Escalated Her Drug And Alcohol Problems
The death of her mother, Sadie, in 1945 was a traumatic period in Holiday's life. The pain of her loss drove her even further into the abyss of substance abuse. She had always been a heavy drinker, and had been using heroin for years. Her grief led to the beginning of a steady downward spiral that would hang a cloud over her career for the rest of her life.
(#8) Her First Husband Introduced Her To Heroin
Depending on who you ask, Billie's first husband either smoked opium or had a heroin habit. The drugs have their subtle differences, but are very similar substances - and either way, they had the same effect on her life.
Her husband, Jimmy Monroe, was a fellow musician - a trombone player. With Billie's growing success, she was able to keep both of them supplied with drugs. The marriage lasted less than three years.
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Billie Holiday is an American jazz and swing singer with a career of 26 years. She has had an innovative influence on jazz music and popular songs, and she is known for her voice expression and improvisation skills. Unfortunately, the experience of growing up in poverty and years of drug abuse almost destroyed Billie Holiday’s future.
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