Billie Holiday Research Paper

First, in her essay “Chief Little Feather, Where Are You”? She was a child, she reflected her loneliness. For example, she explained that her parents owned an appliance store, but especially she remarked that she felt lonely because her parents never had time for her. As she said, “If my father was the brain of the business, my mother was the heart and the soul”. (pg.4). Most of the time she had to do her homework by her own because their parents worked long hours at the store. At her young age her father lets her and her sister Linda to walk home at night. He seemed that he did not care about them, but just the money.

Celia might be compared with US jazz vocalist Sarah Vaughan in her ability to bring vocal techniques to a primarily instrumental music, but she has a more essentially popular appeal than any jazz singer. Seemingly indestructible vocally, Celia continued a full schedule of concerts and recordings throughout the 1980s and beyond. She received a Grammy award for the album Ritmo en el corazón, recorded with conga player Ray Barretto, in 1990, as well as an honorary doctorate from Yale University.

Life is easy for few and difficult for many, especially when born to a teenage mother and father. Billy Holiday, formally known as Eleanora Fagan, was born on April 7, 1915, to thirteen-year-old Sadie Fagan and Clarence Holiday, who was fifteen at the time. Life began dismally for Holiday since her father picked his own career in music over his family. He was a jazz musician who played the banjo and guitar (Bush). School was not a priority for Holiday since she had limited schooling and her mother would often leave her with relatives to care for her (Bush). Billie’s family was poor, and she had a life of pain, struggling, and disturbance ahead of her. As a child Holiday would help out at a brothel by running errands for prostitutes, because in the sitting room of the brothel she could listen to Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong music (“Billie Holiday”). She later described her style of music as a cross between Armstrong and Smith, even though she couldn’t get her voice to be as “big” as

She was also upset about the family breaking apart when Noah, and Connie left on their own. She believed a family must stay together even in tough times. She did not care where they would live, as long as wherever they were the family would remain together, because she understood the concept of a home being where your loved ones are.

“Blue Skies” was written into the second act. The song’s introduction was made even more memorable by the fact that Ms. Baker forgot the lyrics, and Irving Berlin himself sang them from the front row. 1930s/40s Swing Time Notable Performers Ella Fitzgerald Frank Sinatra Willie

The blues emerged as a distinct African-American musical form in the early twentieth century. It typically employed a twelve-bar framework and three-lined stanzas; its roots are based in early African-American songs, such as field hollers and work songs, and generally have a melancholy mood. The blues can be divided into many sub-genres, including Classical, Country, and Urban. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the careers of two of Classical blues most influential and legendary singers: Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith.

Butch Cassidy and his members of the Wild Bunch left a remarkable chapter in the history of old American West. Interestingly, Butch was no mean robber, but someone full of charm. The story of the group was made more interesting with the addition of Butch’s constant partner-in-crime, Sundance Kid.

Ella's voice had a sweetness to it that was rarely accompanied by such a wide range as hers. Her style has been described as effortless, natural, flexible, ageless and accessible. Many call her "The First Lady of Song". She started as a swing singer, moved to bebop, perfected scat and jazz and could sing modern or classic songs. Artists whose songs she stylized included Louis Armstrong, Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer, Irving Berlin, Duke Ellington and the Gershwins.

Educationally, Billie was deprived. Never getting beyond the fifth grade, Billie was the victim of the educational restrictions that were imposed on many of those who dwelt in Black Ghettos (BB 67). As Billie grew older her education became a limitation. "This woman's talent and her looks, and yet in some ways she really had the mind of a 12-year-old" (BB 67). This lack of education would haunt Billie later in her career, a startling reminder of her childhood, and its definite shortcomings

Carole King was originally named Carole Klein when she was born in New York City on February 9, 1942 [1]. An accomplished pianist by age 10, Carole began songwriting in her early teens [1]. Shortly after, she helped form a quartet called the Co-Sines and created her stage name, Carole King [1]. While attending Queens College, King met Gerry Goffin, her first husband [1]. Shortly after King and Goffin’s marriage, they

Meanwhile, Fitzgerald had begun to work with Norman Granz, the impresario of a popular series called "Jazz at the Philharmonic." In 1955, she was the first artist signed to Granz's new record label, Verve, and began recording a series of "songbook" albums. The first offering, a two-record set entitled Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook (1956) led to eight other songbooks, each devoted to the work of a particular composer or composing team: Harold Arlen, Irving Berlin, Duke Ellington, Jerome Kern, Frank Loesser, Johnny Mercer, Rodgers and Hart, and George and Ira Gershwin. The

Every memory of the summer of 1969 is connected to, in one way or another, the historical event, Woodstock. The festival could not have left more of an impact on the “hippie” generation anymore than it did those three days of music and peace. The generation of the time wanted nothing more than what they got out of Woodstock. Today, people still look back on the festival and think of how well it made history without the expectance of doing so. Woodstock, one of the most important cultural events of the 20th century, combined iconic musical acts with interesting social behavior.

     During 1936, Holiday toured with groups led by Jimmie Lunceford and Fletcher Henderson, then went back to New York for several more recording sessions. In later January of 1937, she recorded several songs with a small group from one of Hammond's newest discoveries, Count Basie's Orchestra. Tenor Lester Young, who'd known Billie from previous engagements, and trumpeter Buck Clayton were

The bop era, which lasted from about 1945 to 1960, was also the period of cool

was a burden for her friends and family staying alive in her condition. She recovered from this