Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday is recognized by most people as the supreme jazz vocalist that has ever lived. She lived a passionate and challenging life and her songs are an expression of the unbelievable complexity of sentiments that narrated of the challenging life, injustices, and success. Despite the fact that her career never lasted long and frequently sensual she left substantial masterpieces as a jazz vocalist. Holiday died in 1959 at the age of 44 due to heroin addiction and alcoholism. Even though she had struggled with substance addition she had battled sexism and racism even in the presence of personal challenges (PBS 1).

Holiday impacted the Jazz industry by utilizing her singing platform to address some of the pressing issues in the society such as racism. She felt that the society was so judgmental that it failed to recognize individual’s worth based on race and sex. She ended up becoming a tragic hero who despite trying to solve issues that were affecting the society was unable to save herself (PBS 1). Holiday was a voice to the vulnerable particularly women and minority groups in America. By the time she was consumed with substance abuse, she had 24 compilation albums which were received positively across the globe (PBS 1). Being an African American Holiday experienced intense discrimination during her singing career which she claimed to have denied her singing platforms in the past. In addition, being a female singer was not easy for her as she had to deal with male abuse as the female gender was considered inferior during the 20th century. Holiday was mainly influenced by the need to be different as she asserted that she only needed to sing as herself and not a copy of someone else. 

Source: USA Today

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Work Cited

Monir, Malak and Durando, Jessica. Billie Holiday's life and legacy. USA Today, 2015. Retrieved from: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/04/07/billie-holiday-birth-anniversary-100/25357845/

PBS. Billie Holiday. PBS, 2006. Retrieved from: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/billie-holiday-about-the-singer/68/