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Billie Holiday Research Paper

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The Beginning
• Born Eleanora Fagan, Ms. Holiday grew up in the 1920’s jazz filled state of Baltimore (1).
• With her parents divorced, and an unstable home life, Billie was often left in the care of others (1).
The start of a musical career
• As a young teenager, she found solace in music, often performing at Jazz clubs by singing along the records of famous acts such as Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith during afterhours (2)
The Start of Billie Holiday
• Eleanora followed her mother, whom moved to New York in search for a job. After her (2).
• Soon Eleanora found the opportunity to perform in Harlem nightclubs, therefore making her official debut as a singer. She soon adopted the stage name Billie Holiday, based off of the screen star Billie …show more content…

Lady Sings the Blues
• In 1956, Holiday caught the attention of many through her autobiography: "Lady Sings the Blues" - written with the help of William Duffy (2).
• The content within the novel should be taken with a caution due to the fact that Holiday was not in a good condition whilst working on the project with Duffy (1)
• In addition, Holiday confessed that she has never read her novel one it was finished (1).
Lady in Satin
• In 1958, Holiday recorded her album, ‘Lady in Satin’, with the help of Ray Ellis’ orchestra (2).
• The album was very different than Holiday’s previous ones, as it showcased vocals that were emotional yet much rougher than before (2).
The last stage
• On May 25, 1959, New York City, Holiday participated in what would be her last performance (1).
• Not long after this performance she was admitted to a hospital for both liver and heart problems (2).
• By now, Holiday’s addiction to heroin had become so immense that she was arrested for possession of narcotics whilst in the hospital (1).
• Her addiction to drugs and alcohol slowly destroyed her, until her death on July 17, 1959 (4).
The funeral of Billie

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