Billie Holiday's Life And Accomplishments

Not everyone is blessed with musical talent but when someone has an extraordinary ability, he or she should get the chance to please others with it. Sometimes a career can be made out of musical endowment, and that is what Billie Holiday did. Billie had a life that she may not have dreamed of since it started out rough with her mistreatment from adults and discouraging misfortunes, but she was ambitious and that showed through her singing career. Billie could usually adapt to her life’s problems except for her drug addiction and alcohol abuse, which unfortunately led to her demise. She was a talented woman who sang and helped create hit songs that aided her to rise to fame. Billie Holiday bravely stood up to racism, showed the world her talent, and inspired many of her beloved fans, all while continuing to be herself and not allowing the issues in her life hold her back.

The Harlem Renaissance was an African American cultural movement specifically in creative arts such as music and literature. Jazz represented the flavor and zest of African American culture in the 1920s-1940s. Billie Holiday had a great impact on the Harlem Renaissance because she was one of the most influential jazz singers of all time. She performed with other great jazz musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Teddy Wilson, Jo Jones, and Henry Allen. Her career as a jazz singer was an incredible and thriving one, however, it was shortened because of her battle of substance abuse. Despite the drug use and the loss of her mother, the only thing she could turn to was her music. Billie Holiday's legacy will always live on when the discussion of the Harlem Renaissance is present.

Gloria Estefan is a musical superstar who has helped made Latin music popular in the United States. She worked hard for her success but also supports others. She helps others by volunteering to help with charity and makes music for people.

Dorothy Vaughan, Born September 20, 1910 in Kansas city. At age two her mother passed away, her father did remarry, her stepmother became a big force with her education she taught her how to read before she went to school. Dorothy was able to go up two grades at age eight. She graduated from Beechurst High school in 1925 at age nineteen, four years later she received a bachelor science degree from Wilberforce University in Ohio as a B,A. She became a math teacher got married and had six children, Leonard , Maida, Ann, Kenneth, Michael and Donald. Mrs.Vaughan set her sights to graduate at Howard University because she felt like she had responsibility for her family. Dorothy was hired by NASA December 1943 during World War 2. She was assigned

Billie was born to the name, Eleanora Fagan on April 7, 1915. She was born in Philadelphia but grew up in the Fell's Point section of Baltimore. Her mother, was just 13 at the time of her birth; her father, was 15. Holidays' teenage parents, Sadie Harris (aka Fagan) and probable father, Clarence Holiday, never married, and they did not live together for a long time. Clarence, a banjo and guitar player worked with Fletcher Henderson's band in the early 30s. He remains a shady figure who left his family. Clarence would often be away from home, and during the stay with Henderson, which lasted until 1932, the guitarist severed connections with the Fagans. Billie was an angry chile who lived a hard life. She was raped at the age of 10 soon

Bessie Coleman left a legacy not just in Texas but in the United States that few pilots could ever achieve. She may not have been the first African American to earn a pilot's license but she was the first female African American. When people hear of famous African Americans their first thought automatically goes to Rosa Parks or Martin Luther King Jr but nobody has heard of Bessie Coleman. It is thought that Bessie’s life was shaped by the tragedies she endured. First Bessie was born in early 1892 to illiterate parents that were both English-born slaves and that were children of slaves. Bessie’s father left her and his family in 1901. Her mother and two older brothers went to work later that year. Second, being African American during that time made it difficult for Coleman and her family to accomplish anything. Because of these reasons Bessie lived a life of hardships and tribulations. (notablebiographies.com)

Josephine Baker is a well know African American because of her being an french resident agent. She also was entertainer and activist.

Billie Jean King: Portrait of a Pioneer shows the dedication and drive that women had to have in order to be successful at sports in the twentieth contrary. Billie Jean King who came from a very athletic family first got her inspiration to succeed at sports from the athletic sermons she herd in church every Sunday as a young child. One of her friends was starting to play tenses and she wanted to start also. After working around the neighborhood to earn the money for her first racket, Billie Jean King overcame many obstacles along with great personal struggles to become the best professional tennis player of her time.

A brilliant woman once said, “I believe if the white and colored people could get together and be left alone, they would understand each other and consequently love each other” (Josephine Baker). Originally born Freda Josephine McDonald, Baker lived an oppressed early life as an African American girl with little to hardly any money. At the time, African Americans faced hardships due to the white supremacists that believed dark-colored people would not be of equal value to caucasians. Baker decided that she could overcome her persecution by moving to France and making herself into an idol. She was an independent and courageous woman who opened the doors for equality to many. Josephine Baker greatly impacted America due to her influence on women; therefore, leading to more women involved in education and working, her civil rights speeches that opened opportunities for equal races, as well as advocating for equality among men and women.

Dubbed "The First Lady of Song," Ella Fitzgerald was the most popular female jazz singer in the United States for more than half a century. In her lifetime, she won 13 Grammy awards and sold over 40 million albums.

Billie Holiday, whose real name is Eleanora Gough, was born in Philadelphia Pennsylvania in 1915. She grew up mostly in Baltimore and always loved jazz. Billie was born to very young parents. Her mother was thirteen when she was born and her father just fifteen. (www.numberonestars.com, 2010)

Etta James was born January 25, 1938 and died on January 20, 2012. Which was five

She was a “strong woman with a remarkable voice. She didn’t let discrimination against her race and gender stop her from pursuing her dream. Her voice gave hope all throughout the Harlem Renaissance and influenced other American singers. Many big names in the music industry respected her musical talent.” She was very shy, according to the trumpet player in Chick Webb’s band, Mario Bauzá. He remembers “she didn’t hang out much. When she got into the band, she was dedicated to her music… She was a lonely girl around New York, just kept herself to herself, for the gig.” And according to her official website, she didn’t like to talk in front of crowds, even though she won 13 Grammys, and many other major awards, such as an honorary doctorate of Music from Harvard University. Though she was shy, when she was in front of the stage singing, she was poised, sophisticated, and most importantly of all, confident. Nothing could stop her, she was the Queen of

Aretha Franklin was known as Lady Soul in the 60’s. Born in Memphis raised in Detroit made Pop and R&B music and dominated. Artist always have an inspiration and Aretha’s was gospel music. Since she was raised in the church. Her father was a Reverend and a well-known Detroit gospel singer along with her mother who lead the church choir. Just like any normal person Aretha had a family. She was unique compared to woman in that time. She had two sons before her seventh birthday. Which then lead to her marriage with Ted White who was her manager and a pimp in Detroit. Who was a bad influence on Aretha he introduced her to marijuana and alcohol. Which began taking a toll on her music career she was unfocused and unhappy. On top of all the stress