Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday (7th April 1915-17th July 1959), also called Lady Day (and born Eleanora Fagan Gough in Baltimore , Maryland), was a U.S. jazz and popular-music singer.

Her personal life was as turbulent as the songs she sang. She married trombonist Jimmy Monroe on 25th August 1941. While still married to Monroe, she took up with trumpeter Joe Guy as his common law wife and her drug dealer. She finally divorced Monroe in 1947, and also split with Guy. In 1947 she was jailed on drug charges and served eight months at the Alderson Federal Correctional Institution for Women in West Virginia. Her New York City Cabaret Card was subsequently revoked, which kept her from working in clubs there for the remaining twelve years of her life.

Like many artists, the importance of Holiday's music and her influence were only truly recognised after her death. She struggled against racism and sexism her entire career, and achieved fame despite a turbulent life. She is also often cited as an example to the black and gay communities, both of which admire her early efforts to stand up for equal rights, and to speak out against discrimination and racism. She is now considered one of the most important vocalists of the twentieth century. Is "Strange Fruit" , a piece she co-composed, not regarded as one of the earliest "protest" songs? If this is the case then she can be seen as an innovative composer also.

Billie Holiday is buried in Saint Raymond's Cemetery, Bronx, New York.