Billie Holiday Essay

actions of the whites to the blacks was shocking. Lynching is documented in the history books and is considered as one of the most inhumane acts ever done by an individual or group of individuals. Billie Holiday released a song titled “Strange Fruit” which was extremely controversial. I’m sure Billie Holiday knew the controversy the song would bring and the large amount of individuals that would hate it. Surprisingly, the outcome was in her favor and more people liked the song than hated

Strange Fruit is a poem written by Abel Meeropol and was later performed by the famous Billie Holiday, Nina Simon, and recently sampled by Kanye West. The poem started off by Meeropol seeing a picture, taken by Lawrence Beitler, of two colored men being lynched that haunted him for days and lamentably inspired him to write Strange Fruit. Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith were the two colored men hauled out of jail by a multitude of Caucasians and were lynched the night of August 7, 1930. Additionally

Strange Fruit The song Strange Fruit was first recorded by the famous jazz singer Billie Holiday and release in 1939. The genre of the song was blues and jazz. Strange Fruit was an early cry for the Civil Rights Movement, exposed racism, and performed the practice o hanging. The song has simple lyrics, that carry a huge strength, and haunt you even when the song is over. The juxtaposition of the beautiful landscape, the scent of flowers, with the blood of human beings brutally beaten, gives a powerful

Strange Fruit “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday is a song that’s known for it’s haunting imagery of the Jim Crow era in the south, as well as it’s riveting performance by Holiday. It’s been famously covered by Nina Simone and others like Diana Ross, prior to that the song we know and love was first a poem originally published in 1937. Penned by school teacher Abel Meeropol, it was shipped around for years (performed by himself, his wife, and vocalist Laura Duncan in Madison Square Garden, for

when it first began. Blues music originated in plantations, where slaves sung, using it as a mental escape method from their oppression. Even though it started off in a simple way, it eventually turned into a serious entertainment. Bessie Smith and Billie Holliday, two well-known blues female singers, became hit sensations. Blues started in the South, long ago, when slavery was still socially accepted. Slaves were severely oppressed because they were legally bound to their masters. One way they found

There are many important women who significantly contributed to Jazz and left a legacy of women artists. In the early years of Jazz, it was considered a male professional and women who tried to be part of Jazz faced obstacles. This was from male musicians, critics, record producers, club-owners, concerts and also racism. Despite the obstacles, women forced their way to be part of Jazz and pushed for equality and visibility (“Gender Discrimination, 2014). Dolly Adams was a pianist and multi-instrumentalist

Billie Holiday, Singer, Hero With the rise of the Harlem Renaissance many African-Americans could show their work on a massive scale. There were many parts to the Harlem Renaissance including art, fashion, dance, and music, mostly jazz. Many up and coming musicians could show their views through music, to a large segment of the population. They confronted the social problems of their day, which included segregation, wrongful prosecution, and past slavery (Berg 27). One singer in particular, Billie

Billie Holiday was one of the most influential jazz singers of all time and she had a thriving career for many years. Holiday’s interest in a musical career began when she was around fifteen years old. She had a rough childhood and turning to music was a good thing for her. She began singing in local clubs around New York. By the age of eighteen, she was discovered by producer John Hammond, while performing in a Harlem jazz club. He worked with up-and-coming clarinetist and bandleader Benny Goodman

Billie Holiday “I’m always making a comeback but nobody even tells me where i’ve been’’ stated Billie Holiday. Billie Holiday was one of the greatest jazz vocalists of her time. She had a music involved childhood, a career in jazz music and also a unique element to her career. In fact, Holiday’s love for music started when she was very young. Billie Holiday was born on April 7, 1915 and died on July 17, 1959. She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but she grew up in Baltimore, Maryland. Her

Artists in modern music have been using more and more samples of older music as they run out of ideas. Samples of older songs can enhance the feel of new music and give older people a portion to relate to within current music. A lot of the time, the younger generation doesn’t know where the sample actually came from or the story behind it. Also many listeners don’t know how much it has changed or been through to fit into the song they are now listening to. Like in Kanye’s “Blood on the Leaves”, Kanye