What do you think?
Rate this book
Lady Sings the Blues
With photos
Originally released by Doubleday in 1956, Harlem Moon Classics celebrates the publication with the fiftieth-anniversary edition of Billie Holiday’s unforgettable and timeless memoir. Updated with an insightful introduction and a revised discography, both written by celebrated music writer David Ritz.
Lady Sings the Blues is the fiercely honest, no-holds-barred autobiography of Billie Holiday, the legendary jazz, swing, and standards singing sensation. Taking the reader on a fast-moving journey from Holiday’s rough-and-tumble Baltimore childhood (where she ran errands at a whorehouse in exchange for the chance to listen to Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith albums), to her emergence on Harlem’s club scene, to sold-out performances with the Count Basie Orchestra and with Artie Shaw and his band, this revelatory memoir is notable for its trenchant observations on the racism that darkened Billie’s life and the heroin addiction that ended it too soon. We are with her during the mesmerizing debut of “Strange Fruit”; with her as she rubs shoulders with the biggest movie stars and musicians of the day (Bob Hope, Lana Turner, Clark Gable, Benny Goodman, Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, and more); and with her through the scrapes with Jim Crow, spats with Sarah Vaughan, ignominious jailings, and tragic decline. All of this is told in Holiday’s tart, streetwise style and hip patois that makes it read as if it were written yesterday.
Originally released by Doubleday in 1956, Harlem Moon Classics celebrates the publication with the fiftieth-anniversary edition of Billie Holiday’s unforgettable and timeless memoir. Updated with an insightful introduction and a revised discography, both written by celebrated music writer David Ritz.
Lady Sings the Blues is the fiercely honest, no-holds-barred autobiography of Billie Holiday, the legendary jazz, swing, and standards singing sensation. Taking the reader on a fast-moving journey from Holiday’s rough-and-tumble Baltimore childhood (where she ran errands at a whorehouse in exchange for the chance to listen to Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith albums), to her emergence on Harlem’s club scene, to sold-out performances with the Count Basie Orchestra and with Artie Shaw and his band, this revelatory memoir is notable for its trenchant observations on the racism that darkened Billie’s life and the heroin addiction that ended it too soon. We are with her during the mesmerizing debut of “Strange Fruit”; with her as she rubs shoulders with the biggest movie stars and musicians of the day (Bob Hope, Lana Turner, Clark Gable, Benny Goodman, Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, and more); and with her through the scrapes with Jim Crow, spats with Sarah Vaughan, ignominious jailings, and tragic decline. All of this is told in Holiday’s tart, streetwise style and hip patois that makes it read as if it were written yesterday.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1956
550 people are currently reading
11600 people want to read
About the author
Billie Holiday
105 books73 followersBillie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter.
Nicknamed Lady Day by her sometime collaborator Lester Young, Holiday was a seminal influence on jazz, and pop singers' critic John Bush wrote that she "changed the art of American pop vocals forever." Her vocal style — strongly inspired by instrumentalists — pioneered a new way of manipulating wording and tempo, and also popularized a more personal and intimate approach to singing.
She co-wrote only a few songs, but several of them have become jazz standards, notably "God Bless the Child," "Don't Explain," and "Lady Sings the Blues."
Nicknamed Lady Day by her sometime collaborator Lester Young, Holiday was a seminal influence on jazz, and pop singers' critic John Bush wrote that she "changed the art of American pop vocals forever." Her vocal style — strongly inspired by instrumentalists — pioneered a new way of manipulating wording and tempo, and also popularized a more personal and intimate approach to singing.
She co-wrote only a few songs, but several of them have become jazz standards, notably "God Bless the Child," "Don't Explain," and "Lady Sings the Blues."
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 597 reviews
October 4, 2021
"Finally the piano player took pity on me. He squashed out his cigarette, looked up at me, and said, 'Girl, can you sing?' "
Can she what. A unique voice, unlike any other. Anyone who's heard Billie Holiday sing will know exactly what I'm talking about. A mixture of raw pain & sass. As is this book.
"You just feel it..."
I was obsessed with jazz in my late teens and early 20s, often frequenting The Basement, The Blue Note, Soup Plus & The Harbourside Brasserie. Sadly all are now relics of my memories. Billie Holiday and Vince Jones were on constant rotation, which would be on as loud as I could play it. Yes, my neighbours were impressed I'm sure.
You cannot beat amazing music which contains layers of emotions and feelings in it. A couple of bars of jazz notes and you're exactly where you need to be. You know what it's saying. Add the talent of an incredible voice, and you're lost for hours.
Billie Holiday's voice was the perfect vehicle for jazz and blues, as you can hear she lived every single emotion she sang about. Her immaculate phrasing and intensity came from having experienced some harsh realities.
Her introduction to the world was a rocky one. Born Eleanora Fagan, her mother gave birth to her when she was only thirteen, her father fifteen. Even for those times, this was way too young.
Baltimore was a hard place to make ends meet. Billie's Dad left them to pursue his dream as a jazz musician (the irony). After serving in WWI, he figured he should do something that made him happy. Now a single Mum, Sadie headed north to New York, where she could earn better money working as a maid. Which meant leaving Billie to live for some years with her grandparents, where she received daily beatings from a vicious older cousin, and sexual assault from her cousin's son.
Abject poverty. Lack of a complete education. You could say Billie's life started on the back foot.
Once settled, Sadie sent for her daughter to join her in New York. And as fate would have it, Harlem called Billie. Where the jazz clubs and cool cats did their thing.
It was a fateful day when she walked down 133rd Street desperate to find work, so that she and her Mum wouldn't be evicted from their flat.
"It was jumping with after-hours spots, regular hour joints, restaurants, cafés, a dozen to a block."
The rest, as they say, was history.
You'll find out how Eleanora became Billie. And how she got her moniker Lady Day.
While I loved reading about the jazz greats she worked with, it was tough to read about the appalling treatment toward her not only as a woman, but a woman of colour.
"You can be up to your boobies in white satin, with gardenias in your hair and no sugar cane for miles, but you can still be working on a plantation."
Not being able to walk through a hotel lobby. Having to walk through a kitchen door to go on stage. To sleep in a car or tour bus as no hotel would rent her a room. Likewise using the side of the road as a bathroom, as many times facilities weren't available to her. The segregation was tough to read about. And it wasn't all that long ago in the scheme of things.
"Eating was a mess, sleeping was a problem, but the biggest drag if all was a simple little thing like finding a place to go to the bathroom."
Some of the jazz musos she worked with tried to stand up to "the system". To break the hypocrisy of loving the music but not the colour. Too often she'd have to leave the stage immediately on finishing a set.
Is it any wonder addictions beckon, to dull the pain and take the edge off.
"I had the white gowns and the white shoes. And every night they'd bring me the white gardenias and the white junk."
This book has very rough edges. It's raw. It's not a smooth read. Or a comfortable one. Human rights are brought into sharp focus. As are racism and sexism. But Billie's strength and sense of self are there on every page. There's no self pity. It is what it is.
"It's like they say, there's no damn business like show business. You had to smile to keep from throwing up."
Among the tough stuff, there are moments of joy and humour. Her relationship with her Mum was special. I loved the open house her Mum had, cooking fried chicken at all hours of the day and night for Billie and her musician friends.
Billie preferring to drink scotch over champagne (as champers "tasted funny"). Once at a party, thinking the champagne she was drinking was going to straight to her head, Billie was told that in fact a minor earthquake had taken place. That really amused me.
I'm taking off a star simply for her constant reference to other women as bitches. It began to grate. If you're familiar with my reviews, you'll know earworms (wordworms?) are my bugbear. And bitch was the earworm in this memoir. I've no idea if this is how she spoke in real life, or if this was a bit of artistic license on behalf of William Dufty who ghostwrote this with/for her.
Other than this gripe, Billie's memoir took me exactly where I wanted to be this weekend.
It ends with her musings about her hopes for the future. Kicking her habit. Being in love.
"Tired? You bet. But all that I'll soon forget with my man..."
Trigger warnings! Sexual assault and exploitation, rape, prostitution, domestic violence, racism, drug and alcohol abuse.
"It must be love - say what you choose
I gotta right to sing the blues."
- Vocals: Billie Holiday
- Lyrics & music: Ted Koehler and Harold Arlen
Listen to Billie Holiday sing "I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues" on YouTube. It never loses its vibrancy.
https://youtu.be/AULNpnLhesc
Can she what. A unique voice, unlike any other. Anyone who's heard Billie Holiday sing will know exactly what I'm talking about. A mixture of raw pain & sass. As is this book.
"You just feel it..."
I was obsessed with jazz in my late teens and early 20s, often frequenting The Basement, The Blue Note, Soup Plus & The Harbourside Brasserie. Sadly all are now relics of my memories. Billie Holiday and Vince Jones were on constant rotation, which would be on as loud as I could play it. Yes, my neighbours were impressed I'm sure.
You cannot beat amazing music which contains layers of emotions and feelings in it. A couple of bars of jazz notes and you're exactly where you need to be. You know what it's saying. Add the talent of an incredible voice, and you're lost for hours.
Billie Holiday's voice was the perfect vehicle for jazz and blues, as you can hear she lived every single emotion she sang about. Her immaculate phrasing and intensity came from having experienced some harsh realities.
Her introduction to the world was a rocky one. Born Eleanora Fagan, her mother gave birth to her when she was only thirteen, her father fifteen. Even for those times, this was way too young.
Baltimore was a hard place to make ends meet. Billie's Dad left them to pursue his dream as a jazz musician (the irony). After serving in WWI, he figured he should do something that made him happy. Now a single Mum, Sadie headed north to New York, where she could earn better money working as a maid. Which meant leaving Billie to live for some years with her grandparents, where she received daily beatings from a vicious older cousin, and sexual assault from her cousin's son.
Abject poverty. Lack of a complete education. You could say Billie's life started on the back foot.
Once settled, Sadie sent for her daughter to join her in New York. And as fate would have it, Harlem called Billie. Where the jazz clubs and cool cats did their thing.
It was a fateful day when she walked down 133rd Street desperate to find work, so that she and her Mum wouldn't be evicted from their flat.
"It was jumping with after-hours spots, regular hour joints, restaurants, cafés, a dozen to a block."
The rest, as they say, was history.
You'll find out how Eleanora became Billie. And how she got her moniker Lady Day.
While I loved reading about the jazz greats she worked with, it was tough to read about the appalling treatment toward her not only as a woman, but a woman of colour.
"You can be up to your boobies in white satin, with gardenias in your hair and no sugar cane for miles, but you can still be working on a plantation."
Not being able to walk through a hotel lobby. Having to walk through a kitchen door to go on stage. To sleep in a car or tour bus as no hotel would rent her a room. Likewise using the side of the road as a bathroom, as many times facilities weren't available to her. The segregation was tough to read about. And it wasn't all that long ago in the scheme of things.
"Eating was a mess, sleeping was a problem, but the biggest drag if all was a simple little thing like finding a place to go to the bathroom."
Some of the jazz musos she worked with tried to stand up to "the system". To break the hypocrisy of loving the music but not the colour. Too often she'd have to leave the stage immediately on finishing a set.
Is it any wonder addictions beckon, to dull the pain and take the edge off.
"I had the white gowns and the white shoes. And every night they'd bring me the white gardenias and the white junk."
This book has very rough edges. It's raw. It's not a smooth read. Or a comfortable one. Human rights are brought into sharp focus. As are racism and sexism. But Billie's strength and sense of self are there on every page. There's no self pity. It is what it is.
"It's like they say, there's no damn business like show business. You had to smile to keep from throwing up."
Among the tough stuff, there are moments of joy and humour. Her relationship with her Mum was special. I loved the open house her Mum had, cooking fried chicken at all hours of the day and night for Billie and her musician friends.
Billie preferring to drink scotch over champagne (as champers "tasted funny"). Once at a party, thinking the champagne she was drinking was going to straight to her head, Billie was told that in fact a minor earthquake had taken place. That really amused me.
I'm taking off a star simply for her constant reference to other women as bitches. It began to grate. If you're familiar with my reviews, you'll know earworms (wordworms?) are my bugbear. And bitch was the earworm in this memoir. I've no idea if this is how she spoke in real life, or if this was a bit of artistic license on behalf of William Dufty who ghostwrote this with/for her.
Other than this gripe, Billie's memoir took me exactly where I wanted to be this weekend.
It ends with her musings about her hopes for the future. Kicking her habit. Being in love.
"Tired? You bet. But all that I'll soon forget with my man..."
Trigger warnings! Sexual assault and exploitation, rape, prostitution, domestic violence, racism, drug and alcohol abuse.
"It must be love - say what you choose
I gotta right to sing the blues."
- Vocals: Billie Holiday
- Lyrics & music: Ted Koehler and Harold Arlen
Listen to Billie Holiday sing "I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues" on YouTube. It never loses its vibrancy.
https://youtu.be/AULNpnLhesc
July 26, 2017
Touching story! unbelievable,interesting,amazing,lyrical goddess,captivating and factually correct information about the 'real' Billie Holiday (paperback!)
June 5, 2022
Well, there you go again. Sometimes one should read reviews before you pick out a book, but most of the time I just glance over other people’s reviews to see if the book would possibly appeal to me. I want to avoid being influenced in my own feelings about a book by reading a great number of reviews on the book that I am about to start reading.
After finishing this autobiography, I now read in reviews of other GR readers that this autobiography is a hoax. Billie Holiday had even never read it! I am not surprised in the slightest as I already concluded while reading along that it was the worst autobiography I ever read. You just felt that something was seriously wrong and untrue in the presentation of her person, her feelings, political views and life events. I could expand on that in detail but I refrain. It is very surprising though that this publication could be published in 1956 without any permission or even examination of Billie Holiday herself. I assume she was too far gone in her heroin addiction and perhaps also in jail because of it to even care about anything at all at that time. I might read a decent biography of her in the future, but for now I just leave it at this.
I just posted a review of a GR member, Nyasha Tarlia of Oct 27, 2021, on my profile page and that review provides the very same opinion as I have of the book.
After finishing this autobiography, I now read in reviews of other GR readers that this autobiography is a hoax. Billie Holiday had even never read it! I am not surprised in the slightest as I already concluded while reading along that it was the worst autobiography I ever read. You just felt that something was seriously wrong and untrue in the presentation of her person, her feelings, political views and life events. I could expand on that in detail but I refrain. It is very surprising though that this publication could be published in 1956 without any permission or even examination of Billie Holiday herself. I assume she was too far gone in her heroin addiction and perhaps also in jail because of it to even care about anything at all at that time. I might read a decent biography of her in the future, but for now I just leave it at this.
I just posted a review of a GR member, Nyasha Tarlia of Oct 27, 2021, on my profile page and that review provides the very same opinion as I have of the book.
June 20, 2021
i'm so glad i took the time to read about the life of jazz singer billie holiday. i recently read Billie Holiday, a dismal graphic novel which focuses only on billie's suffering. after this, i felt i owed it to her to read a more balanced account of her life.
and wow, she endured so much. the first chapter alone depicts a lifetime worth of trauma.
i don't want to list all of her traumas; there are many horrific things. but each of these tribulations is recounted with humor and honesty. as david ritz says in his introduction, billie really did have "a life where music triumphed over pain."
if you decide to read lady sings the blues, i recommend snagging the 50th anniversary edition with introduction by ritz. he provides some helpful context to this book's origins. yes, it was ghostwritten by william dufty. but dufty conducted long conversational interviews with billie as a basis for the book, and her voice shines through. the words on the page are hers.
and yes, there are embellishments and untruths here. but the spirit of the book is candid. it is billie's life as it felt to her, and that is valuable.
billie's vivid jazz-era language and blunt attitude are spirited and wonderful (one of my favorite things is when she refers to her younger self as a "hip kitty"). they make me want to sit across a kitchen table from her while she talks about her life. to listen to her and be in her presence.
(i recommend putting on some of billie's albums in the background while you read. there's an intense combination here: her haunting voice in your ears and her brutally honest voice on the page)
one tricky thing to grapple with is billie's sexuality. i've read proclamations that she was "openly bisexual," but there is none of that here. and it certainly makes sense that in the 1950s the publisher would not allow the book to include wlw relationships. but billie mentions several (!!!) incidents where a "dike" hits on her, and she uses violence to reject the advances. in regard to one lesbian, she says "freakish feelings are better than no feelings at all." all of this makes me question how "openly" bisexual billie really was. it's difficult stuff, but the use of homophobic slurs is definitely of its time.
there's a whole lot of name-dropping in the second half of the book, which can become tiresome. billie does this in a silly way too. on more than one occasion she tells a story about an encounter with someone, and only at the end of the anecdote does she reveal which celebrity she was talking about. it's corny as hell, but maybe a bit endearing, too.
there are humorous anecdotes, but there's a lot of grit and substance here. billie speaks frankly about her battle with addiction, the many forms of abuse and racism she endured, and flaws in the US criminal justice system. needless to say, all of these struggles remain quite relevant today.
even with her many different traumas, the most heartbreaking part of the book for me is when she talks about her dreams for the future.
she wanted to give a better life to those with painful childhoods like her own. her empathy is palpable. she spends several pages describing her dream of this home for kids, as well as her dream of owning her own jazz club.
but billie died at age 44, three years after the publication of lady sings the blues.
her life was filled with tragedy, but it was also filled with love and music and deep emotion. reading this book while listening to billie's music made me feel close to her, which was a beautiful experience.
and wow, she endured so much. the first chapter alone depicts a lifetime worth of trauma.
i don't want to list all of her traumas; there are many horrific things. but each of these tribulations is recounted with humor and honesty. as david ritz says in his introduction, billie really did have "a life where music triumphed over pain."
Billie Holiday continues to feed our spirit. She is our wounded angel whose voice will never fade.
if you decide to read lady sings the blues, i recommend snagging the 50th anniversary edition with introduction by ritz. he provides some helpful context to this book's origins. yes, it was ghostwritten by william dufty. but dufty conducted long conversational interviews with billie as a basis for the book, and her voice shines through. the words on the page are hers.
and yes, there are embellishments and untruths here. but the spirit of the book is candid. it is billie's life as it felt to her, and that is valuable.
billie's vivid jazz-era language and blunt attitude are spirited and wonderful (one of my favorite things is when she refers to her younger self as a "hip kitty"). they make me want to sit across a kitchen table from her while she talks about her life. to listen to her and be in her presence.
(i recommend putting on some of billie's albums in the background while you read. there's an intense combination here: her haunting voice in your ears and her brutally honest voice on the page)
one tricky thing to grapple with is billie's sexuality. i've read proclamations that she was "openly bisexual," but there is none of that here. and it certainly makes sense that in the 1950s the publisher would not allow the book to include wlw relationships. but billie mentions several (!!!) incidents where a "dike" hits on her, and she uses violence to reject the advances. in regard to one lesbian, she says "freakish feelings are better than no feelings at all." all of this makes me question how "openly" bisexual billie really was. it's difficult stuff, but the use of homophobic slurs is definitely of its time.
there's a whole lot of name-dropping in the second half of the book, which can become tiresome. billie does this in a silly way too. on more than one occasion she tells a story about an encounter with someone, and only at the end of the anecdote does she reveal which celebrity she was talking about. it's corny as hell, but maybe a bit endearing, too.
there are humorous anecdotes, but there's a lot of grit and substance here. billie speaks frankly about her battle with addiction, the many forms of abuse and racism she endured, and flaws in the US criminal justice system. needless to say, all of these struggles remain quite relevant today.
even with her many different traumas, the most heartbreaking part of the book for me is when she talks about her dreams for the future.
Look at my big dream! It's always been to have a big place of my own out in the country someplace where I could take care of stray dogs and orphan kids, kids that didn't ask to be born; kids that didn't ask to be black, blue, or green or something in between. I'd only want to be sure of one thing - that nobody in the world wanted these kids. Then I would take them.
she wanted to give a better life to those with painful childhoods like her own. her empathy is palpable. she spends several pages describing her dream of this home for kids, as well as her dream of owning her own jazz club.
but billie died at age 44, three years after the publication of lady sings the blues.
her life was filled with tragedy, but it was also filled with love and music and deep emotion. reading this book while listening to billie's music made me feel close to her, which was a beautiful experience.
I've been told that nobody sings the word "hunger" like I do. Or the word "love." Maybe I remember what those words are all about. Maybe I'm proud enough to want to remember...
October 11, 2021
Almost every day there was an "incident".
In a Boston joint, they wouldn't let me go in the front door; they wanted me to come in the back way. The cats in the band flipped and said, "If Lady doesn't go in the front door, the band doesn't go in at all." So they caved.
Sadly, more of the racialised 'incidents' recorded in this book go unchallenged and Billie Holiday recounts event after event where she's turned away and directed to the 'Black' entrance; where she gets an inflamed bladder because of not being able to find 'Black' toilets on tour; and of people who come to see her sing apparently just so they can heckle her with the N-word in public. Most of these she deals with with a kind of stoical, sometimes wearily amused, dignity - but when she snaps, breaks a bottle on a bar and challenges a Naval officer to a duel for N-word abuse, I was silently cheering.
In some ways this is a grim story - but what makes it is Holiday's distinctive and personable voice. She recounts her story with verve, and there's a rawness about it (however much there have been claims that not all the facts are strictly accurate e.g. her mother's age when she gave birth). As with her singing, genuine feeling is on show rather than manufactured sentimentality, and there's no hint of self-pity throughout.
If anything, I wanted more details: about Holiday's career, her relationships, that drug addiction and relapse - but she tells this story with optimism as well as hindsight.
July 22, 2020
Reading Rush: Read a book entirely "outside" your home
4.5 Stars
Billie Holiday is a legend.
She took Blues & Jazz to a level that most people thought was impossible. In her much too short career she left a mark on music and Black culture that is still being seen and felt today.
Billie Holiday died in 1959 at 44 years old with only $750 to her name. Despite being considered a legend even in her lifetime because of her skin color she was never able to truly become as big a star as she deserved to be.
Lady Sings the Blues was published in 1956 and its one of the rawest autobiographies I've ever read. William Duffy was her co-writer but this book reads like a conversation between Billie and the reader. Billie Holiday had a rough life and its one of the things that made her such a fantastic singer. When you listen to Billie Holiday's music you can hear her pain. Billie's music has gotten me through some rough times. This is my second time reading Lady Sings the Blues and it hit me in a completely different way than when I read it as a teenager.
I love this book and everyone should read it.
4.5 Stars
Billie Holiday is a legend.
She took Blues & Jazz to a level that most people thought was impossible. In her much too short career she left a mark on music and Black culture that is still being seen and felt today.
Billie Holiday died in 1959 at 44 years old with only $750 to her name. Despite being considered a legend even in her lifetime because of her skin color she was never able to truly become as big a star as she deserved to be.
Lady Sings the Blues was published in 1956 and its one of the rawest autobiographies I've ever read. William Duffy was her co-writer but this book reads like a conversation between Billie and the reader. Billie Holiday had a rough life and its one of the things that made her such a fantastic singer. When you listen to Billie Holiday's music you can hear her pain. Billie's music has gotten me through some rough times. This is my second time reading Lady Sings the Blues and it hit me in a completely different way than when I read it as a teenager.
I love this book and everyone should read it.
July 24, 2016
This book is great, regardless of the ghost writing and the liberties with the "truth". I read it years ago but have been listening to Lady Day all evening.
Plus it gives me the chance to post this performance again which, as I have said before, is the greatest musical performance I have ever had the pleasure of seeing. Not only from Billie, of course, but good god that is a line up - Young, Webster, Hawkins etc etc etc - just perfection and completely heartbreakingly beautiful.
So if you have never watched this, get your headphones on and prepare to fall in love https://youtu.be/Jf0ldEBBJhY
Plus it gives me the chance to post this performance again which, as I have said before, is the greatest musical performance I have ever had the pleasure of seeing. Not only from Billie, of course, but good god that is a line up - Young, Webster, Hawkins etc etc etc - just perfection and completely heartbreakingly beautiful.
So if you have never watched this, get your headphones on and prepare to fall in love https://youtu.be/Jf0ldEBBJhY
February 21, 2008
My mom was a jazz band singer in the same era as Billie Holiday. All the young singers were in awe of Billie, according to Mom, but her addiction was well-known. Her nickname in the music trade was "Miss Needles." The music industry in the late 1930's and early 1940's was one of the few places where whites and African-Americans could mingle freely -- Mom was white and worked with many persons of color. Unfortunately, once off stage and off the work sites, in the southern cities where they worked they were forbidden to enter the same restaurants, hotels, etc. Mom hated that and worked for civil rights all her life. Her insights into band era life were so very interesting.
October 22, 2018
I have no idea what people say or don't about this book, I think its beautiful. I have never really gotten much into Billie Holiday, but I will after reading this book. I love her for it, and will definitely listen to her more. I didn't know she had written Strange Fruit, which is a song I have heard more in the Nina Simone interpretation, or Don´t explain, which is one of my favourite songs ever ever.
Thank you Billie for this book! (Wherever she is)
Thank you Billie for this book! (Wherever she is)
March 1, 2021
A wonderful autobiography of a woman gone too soon.
Her voice, whether telling us a story or singing, is one that you wish could have been around for longer than the 44 years we were blessed with.
More thoughts to come.
Her voice, whether telling us a story or singing, is one that you wish could have been around for longer than the 44 years we were blessed with.
More thoughts to come.
March 7, 2021
Αφορά έκδοση 1984! Ξεχασμένο σε κάποιο ράφι της βιβλιοθήκης ήρθε και η ώρα του... Εντυπωσιακή αυτοβιογραφία και εάν εξαιρέσεις ονόματα μουσικών η κάποιες άγνωστες για μας λεπτομέρειες του μουσικού κλάδου, η αφήγηση της ζωής της είναι ενίοτε οδυνηρή για τους αναγνώστες. Οι δυσκολίες ως παιδί, ο χωρισμός των γονιών, η άστατη εφηβεία, η πορνεία, τα ναρκωτικά. Πως βρέθηκε στο τραγούδι, οι περιοδείες, οι ταλαιπωρίες της, η περίοδος της φυλάκισης, σφίγγουν την καρδιά σου.
Πεθάνε στα 44 και ίσα ίσα πρόλαβε ένα χρόνο πριν να γράψει την αυτοβιογραφία της. Όμως η φωνή και η φήμη της ζουνε ακόμα....
Πεθάνε στα 44 και ίσα ίσα πρόλαβε ένα χρόνο πριν να γράψει την αυτοβιογραφία της. Όμως η φωνή και η φήμη της ζουνε ακόμα....
March 11, 2023
Mar 8, 8pm ~~ Review asap. Have some music to listen to and a little other research to do first.
Mar 11, 2pm ~~ I discovered Billie Holiday when I bought a cassette tape of her greatest hits through a book club I was in at the time. I still have that cassette but it is pretty worn out these days. I knew only a bit about her life; really all I knew was that her voice and the way she sang touched me deeply. I could tell she felt every song in her soul.
I have had this book in my project pile for biographies and memoirs for a couple of years and I'm glad that I finally read it, but I was not able to give it more than three stars, which means just what GR says it means. I liked the book but I was not wowed by it.
But why not? If I am so moved by her singing, why was I not as moved by the book that tells of her struggles in life, of the background that created her? Her early years were certainly crazy rough, and many of the others were too. She had a thing for the wrong type of man, she liked to party hard. She had lots of issues and these pages touch on them all.
The book was actually written by William Dufty. Quoting from Wiki:
Holiday's autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues, was ghostwritten by William Dufty and published in 1956. Dufty, a New York Post writer and editor then married to Holiday's close friend Maely Dufty, wrote the book quickly from a series of conversations with the singer in the Duftys' 93rd Street apartment. He also drew on the work of earlier interviewers and intended to let Holiday tell her story in her own way. In his 2015 study, Billie Holiday: The Musician and the Myth, John Szwed argued that Lady Sings the Blues is a generally accurate account of her life, but that co-writer Dufty was forced to water down or suppress material by the threat of legal action.
I felt so sorry for Billie and the things she endured. Learning about her life was not necessarily an enjoyable read: it was painful to see the way her life played out. And I wonder just how much of this book is Dufty. How much of Lady Day's 'own way' did he really get on paper? There would be no way to know without talking to Billie herself.
She may remain a mystery to me even after I read the other books I have ordered. But a mystery can be loved without being solved. She speaks to me in her songs. God Bless The Child, she will live forever.
Mar 11, 2pm ~~ I discovered Billie Holiday when I bought a cassette tape of her greatest hits through a book club I was in at the time. I still have that cassette but it is pretty worn out these days. I knew only a bit about her life; really all I knew was that her voice and the way she sang touched me deeply. I could tell she felt every song in her soul.
I have had this book in my project pile for biographies and memoirs for a couple of years and I'm glad that I finally read it, but I was not able to give it more than three stars, which means just what GR says it means. I liked the book but I was not wowed by it.
But why not? If I am so moved by her singing, why was I not as moved by the book that tells of her struggles in life, of the background that created her? Her early years were certainly crazy rough, and many of the others were too. She had a thing for the wrong type of man, she liked to party hard. She had lots of issues and these pages touch on them all.
The book was actually written by William Dufty. Quoting from Wiki:
Holiday's autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues, was ghostwritten by William Dufty and published in 1956. Dufty, a New York Post writer and editor then married to Holiday's close friend Maely Dufty, wrote the book quickly from a series of conversations with the singer in the Duftys' 93rd Street apartment. He also drew on the work of earlier interviewers and intended to let Holiday tell her story in her own way. In his 2015 study, Billie Holiday: The Musician and the Myth, John Szwed argued that Lady Sings the Blues is a generally accurate account of her life, but that co-writer Dufty was forced to water down or suppress material by the threat of legal action.
I felt so sorry for Billie and the things she endured. Learning about her life was not necessarily an enjoyable read: it was painful to see the way her life played out. And I wonder just how much of this book is Dufty. How much of Lady Day's 'own way' did he really get on paper? There would be no way to know without talking to Billie herself.
She may remain a mystery to me even after I read the other books I have ordered. But a mystery can be loved without being solved. She speaks to me in her songs. God Bless The Child, she will live forever.
September 10, 2021
Lady Sings the Blues (1956) suggests that Billie Holiday led an eventful life with many ups and downs. More downs than ups. Amongst the many issues she contended with were her drug use, drinking, and relationships with abusive men. This was compounded by corrupt cops, an unsympathetic justice system, and endemic racism.
Despite this, what shines through is how she retained a strong survivor instinct, a gallows sense of humour, and an incredible resilience.
Remarkable, and an eye opening read.
4/5
Despite this, what shines through is how she retained a strong survivor instinct, a gallows sense of humour, and an incredible resilience.
Remarkable, and an eye opening read.
4/5
April 28, 2014
there are voices which upset you. a particular tessitura which speaks to you. I remember the last Sarah Vaugahn's concert in France. The very sizeable newspaper "Le Monde" titrated : is it still necessary to listen to Sarah Vaughan? Appalling idiot. She was brilliant. She died few time after. And I remind to Montserrat Caballe, Waltraud Meier, to Chet Baker… All these singers who spoke directly in the heart.
Billie, I can only listen to her records.
There are in its voice so much sensuality and suffering. And her life is a succession of trial. Woman, artist and black, she undermined serious handicaps. No vexation was saved to him. In round with Benny Goodman, she could not use the toilets, because she was black.
And there is this pride, this rage to succeed. Billy became Lady, and Edward Ellington the Duke.
Which courage, which determination. And when I listen to Billie, I understand that the life is a combat.
Billie, I can only listen to her records.
There are in its voice so much sensuality and suffering. And her life is a succession of trial. Woman, artist and black, she undermined serious handicaps. No vexation was saved to him. In round with Benny Goodman, she could not use the toilets, because she was black.
And there is this pride, this rage to succeed. Billy became Lady, and Edward Ellington the Duke.
Which courage, which determination. And when I listen to Billie, I understand that the life is a combat.
March 8, 2021
There's nothing cooler than hearing a person describe their story in their own words. Just finished watching "The US vs. Billie Holiday" and wanted to get more info about her. I was shocked how much she doesn't hold back (with drugs, prostitution, etc.) even though this book was initially published in the 1950's. I wish there had been more info about the few years between the book's publication and her death (especially the horrible circumstances surrounding her death), but overall, you can't beat hearing about Billie from Billie herself.
February 20, 2022
Lady Day
Review of the Harlem Moon / Broadway Books 50th Anniversary Edition paperback (2006) of the Doubleday hardcover original (1956)
Iconic jazz singer Billie Holiday's autobiography starts off with a gut-punch. 2-sentence & 23-word, introduction, and doesn't stop with her frank discussion about her life and career with all its ups and downs for the rest of its journey.
I'm having a bit of a Billie Holiday month this February 2022 and I've already gone on to read John Szwed's revelatory Billie Holiday: The Musician and the Myth (2015) which provides further background on the 1956 book and details some of its censored passages. These were primarily about Hollywood characters whose agents and lawyers threatened to sue if Holiday's escapades with actors Charles Laughton, Orson Welles and Tallulah Bankhead had been left in the final edit.
Even without those elements there is plenty of joy and despair to be found in the remaining work, which comes through completely in Holiday's voice even if the hand of ghostwriter William Dufty crafted the final production. Dufty also wrote several articles for the New York Post after Holiday's passing which he had hoped would be included in future printings of Lady Sings the Blues, but no enhanced or uncensored edition has yet appeared.
Front cover of the original first edition hardcover published by Doubleday in 1956. Image sourced from Wikipedia.
This 50th Anniversary edition includes a very enthusiastic introduction and a "fan-friendly" Billie Holiday discography selected by music writer David Ritz.
Soundtrack
These were the main Billie Holiday albums that I was listening to while reading Lady Sings the Blues:
1. Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia (1933-1944) Vol. 1 A collection of the earliest recordings, esp. the first 2 songs (Your Mother's Son-in-Law & Riffin' the Scotch with Benny Goodman, recorded in 1933.
Box set cover image sourced from Discogs.
2. Strange Fruit (1939), original 10" shellac single (listened via YouTube)
Disc image sourced from Discogs.
3. Lady Sings the Blues (1956), an album recorded, titled and released in order to coincide with the publication of the book.
Cover image sourced from Discogs.
4.The Essential Billie Holiday: Carnegie Hall Concert Recorded Live (1961), a November 10, 1956 live concert to celebrate the release of the book, including readings from the book. Album released posthumously.
Cover image sourced from Discogs.
Trivia and Link
Lady Sings the Blues was adapted as the same-titled film in 1972 directed by Sidney Furie with Diana Ross in the role of Billie Holiday. A trailer for the film can be viewed on YouTube here.
Review of the Harlem Moon / Broadway Books 50th Anniversary Edition paperback (2006) of the Doubleday hardcover original (1956)
Mom and Pop were just a couple of kids when they got married. He was 18, she was 16, and I was three.
Iconic jazz singer Billie Holiday's autobiography starts off with a gut-punch. 2-sentence & 23-word, introduction, and doesn't stop with her frank discussion about her life and career with all its ups and downs for the rest of its journey.
I'm having a bit of a Billie Holiday month this February 2022 and I've already gone on to read John Szwed's revelatory Billie Holiday: The Musician and the Myth (2015) which provides further background on the 1956 book and details some of its censored passages. These were primarily about Hollywood characters whose agents and lawyers threatened to sue if Holiday's escapades with actors Charles Laughton, Orson Welles and Tallulah Bankhead had been left in the final edit.
Even without those elements there is plenty of joy and despair to be found in the remaining work, which comes through completely in Holiday's voice even if the hand of ghostwriter William Dufty crafted the final production. Dufty also wrote several articles for the New York Post after Holiday's passing which he had hoped would be included in future printings of Lady Sings the Blues, but no enhanced or uncensored edition has yet appeared.
Front cover of the original first edition hardcover published by Doubleday in 1956. Image sourced from Wikipedia.
This 50th Anniversary edition includes a very enthusiastic introduction and a "fan-friendly" Billie Holiday discography selected by music writer David Ritz.
Soundtrack
These were the main Billie Holiday albums that I was listening to while reading Lady Sings the Blues:
1. Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia (1933-1944) Vol. 1 A collection of the earliest recordings, esp. the first 2 songs (Your Mother's Son-in-Law & Riffin' the Scotch with Benny Goodman, recorded in 1933.
Box set cover image sourced from Discogs.
2. Strange Fruit (1939), original 10" shellac single (listened via YouTube)
Disc image sourced from Discogs.
3. Lady Sings the Blues (1956), an album recorded, titled and released in order to coincide with the publication of the book.
Cover image sourced from Discogs.
4.The Essential Billie Holiday: Carnegie Hall Concert Recorded Live (1961), a November 10, 1956 live concert to celebrate the release of the book, including readings from the book. Album released posthumously.
Cover image sourced from Discogs.
Trivia and Link
Lady Sings the Blues was adapted as the same-titled film in 1972 directed by Sidney Furie with Diana Ross in the role of Billie Holiday. A trailer for the film can be viewed on YouTube here.
February 6, 2023
Lady sings the blues - Billie Holiday si William Dufty.
Am fost pregatit pentru cartea asta deoarece am vazut filmele biografice ale altora din domeniu. Filme ca Ray sau Get On Up. Totusi intotdeauna, cunoscand-o doar din cantecele ei, mi s-a parut ca fost stilata, intotdeauna manierata, tot timpul la locul ei. Ce ma bucur ca nu a fost asa!
Viata Eleanorei, caci asta era numele ei de botez, nu a fost usoara.
”Mai intai trebuie sa ai in viata un pic de mancare si un pic de dragoste si abia apoi sa ti se ceara sa asculti cuminte predicile cuiva despre cum trebuie sa te porti”
A cunoscut iubirea si bunatatea doar in portii mici. A avut parte de abuzuri de tot felul. Abuzuri din partea familiei, abuzuri din partea barbatilor, abuzuri din partea albilor. Ba era prea alba ca sa cante intr-o formatie de negri (si a trebuit sa se dea cu ceva crema pe fata), ba nu era indeajuns de alba ca sa intre pe usa din fata sau sa manance intr-un restaurant. Nici macar sa stea pe scena pe durata intregului concert. A fost inchisa peste tot, in internate, in inchisori si in centre de reabilitare. Doar muzica, formatia sa, inca o mana de oameni si fanii i-au mai redat libertatea.
”Visul meu dintotdeauna a fost sa am o casa mare undeva, la tara, unde sa pot sa am grija de caini vagabonzi si de copiii orfani, care n-au cerut sa vina pe lumea asta, copii care n-au pretins ei sa fie negri sau albastri sau verzi sau cine stie ce amestec de culori.
De un singur lucru as vrea sa fiu sigura - ca nu i-a vrut absolut nimeni. Abia atunci i-as lua eu, ar fi copii din flori, fara mama si fara tata.”
Voia sa le arate iubirea, asa cum ei nu i s-a putut arata. Sa-i invete cum e viata dinainte de a fi in mijlocul ei. Sa-i invete sa se accepte cum sunt si unde sunt.
A mai avut un vis, si ea, unul in care ar fi putut canta oricand si oricum si orice, intr-un locusor doar al ei. Si sunt sigur ca ar fi reusit.
Dar desi a luptat impotriva tuturor demonilor si i-a invins, a existat unul care se intorcea mereu, unul care a ramas adanc ancorat de sufletul ei, unul despre care atragea atentia constant - Abuzul de droguri.
”Cand eu aveam douazeci si cinci de ani, mama avea treizeci si opt. Niciodata nu a vrut sa-si aprinda mai mult de patru lumanari pe tort. Aveam doar treizeci si opt de ani cand a murit. Eu o sa fac la fel. O sa ma opresc la treizeci si opt, cel mult patruzeci”
N-au fost treizeci si opt, si nici patruzeci. In 17 iulie 1959, la patruzeci si patru de ani, Billie s-a oprit. Pe un pat de spital, in urma unui stop cardio-respirator, cauzat la randul lui de ciroza.
Am fost pregatit pentru cartea asta deoarece am vazut filmele biografice ale altora din domeniu. Filme ca Ray sau Get On Up. Totusi intotdeauna, cunoscand-o doar din cantecele ei, mi s-a parut ca fost stilata, intotdeauna manierata, tot timpul la locul ei. Ce ma bucur ca nu a fost asa!
Viata Eleanorei, caci asta era numele ei de botez, nu a fost usoara.
”Mai intai trebuie sa ai in viata un pic de mancare si un pic de dragoste si abia apoi sa ti se ceara sa asculti cuminte predicile cuiva despre cum trebuie sa te porti”
A cunoscut iubirea si bunatatea doar in portii mici. A avut parte de abuzuri de tot felul. Abuzuri din partea familiei, abuzuri din partea barbatilor, abuzuri din partea albilor. Ba era prea alba ca sa cante intr-o formatie de negri (si a trebuit sa se dea cu ceva crema pe fata), ba nu era indeajuns de alba ca sa intre pe usa din fata sau sa manance intr-un restaurant. Nici macar sa stea pe scena pe durata intregului concert. A fost inchisa peste tot, in internate, in inchisori si in centre de reabilitare. Doar muzica, formatia sa, inca o mana de oameni si fanii i-au mai redat libertatea.
”Visul meu dintotdeauna a fost sa am o casa mare undeva, la tara, unde sa pot sa am grija de caini vagabonzi si de copiii orfani, care n-au cerut sa vina pe lumea asta, copii care n-au pretins ei sa fie negri sau albastri sau verzi sau cine stie ce amestec de culori.
De un singur lucru as vrea sa fiu sigura - ca nu i-a vrut absolut nimeni. Abia atunci i-as lua eu, ar fi copii din flori, fara mama si fara tata.”
Voia sa le arate iubirea, asa cum ei nu i s-a putut arata. Sa-i invete cum e viata dinainte de a fi in mijlocul ei. Sa-i invete sa se accepte cum sunt si unde sunt.
A mai avut un vis, si ea, unul in care ar fi putut canta oricand si oricum si orice, intr-un locusor doar al ei. Si sunt sigur ca ar fi reusit.
Dar desi a luptat impotriva tuturor demonilor si i-a invins, a existat unul care se intorcea mereu, unul care a ramas adanc ancorat de sufletul ei, unul despre care atragea atentia constant - Abuzul de droguri.
”Cand eu aveam douazeci si cinci de ani, mama avea treizeci si opt. Niciodata nu a vrut sa-si aprinda mai mult de patru lumanari pe tort. Aveam doar treizeci si opt de ani cand a murit. Eu o sa fac la fel. O sa ma opresc la treizeci si opt, cel mult patruzeci”
N-au fost treizeci si opt, si nici patruzeci. In 17 iulie 1959, la patruzeci si patru de ani, Billie s-a oprit. Pe un pat de spital, in urma unui stop cardio-respirator, cauzat la randul lui de ciroza.
April 27, 2011
Normally, I would mark this book as a 3, possibly 4, star work, but there are two severe complications in that regard. One, Holiday herself claimed to have never read the book, or have much to do with it; it stands to reason that her attitude is direclty related to fact two, which is that many pieces of this particular story have been contradicted and/or proven false by historians and contemporaries.
As a fan of Holiday and her art, this is a maddening situation, as her truth was stranger, and stronger, than this fiction. Not only that, but she is an important, canonical artist in jazz's development, and to hear the truth of that experience, with rendering assistance from an expert co-writer (William Dufty, for better or worse, ghostwrites here besides his co-writing) would have laid the groundwork for a pivotal jazz work worthy of 5 stars. Alas...
Bearing no weight on this review is the movie adaptation, yet I can't help but think we wouldn't have had to suffer that travesty if not for this book's billing as autobiographical.
Read with caution, and use it to suppliment other Holiday and general jazz readings. It is important, but not nearly enough in the proper ways.
As a fan of Holiday and her art, this is a maddening situation, as her truth was stranger, and stronger, than this fiction. Not only that, but she is an important, canonical artist in jazz's development, and to hear the truth of that experience, with rendering assistance from an expert co-writer (William Dufty, for better or worse, ghostwrites here besides his co-writing) would have laid the groundwork for a pivotal jazz work worthy of 5 stars. Alas...
Bearing no weight on this review is the movie adaptation, yet I can't help but think we wouldn't have had to suffer that travesty if not for this book's billing as autobiographical.
Read with caution, and use it to suppliment other Holiday and general jazz readings. It is important, but not nearly enough in the proper ways.
April 1, 2014
Hated the film starring Diana Ross. Bought the paperback years ago for a couple of dollars but didn't read it until now. Yes, Billie is fast and loose with some facts - her mother almost certainly was 18 or 19 when Billie was born, not 13 as Billie claims. Then there's the limitations arising from 1) the hurry to publish in order to generate money to defend drug charges and 2) the suppression of 20-30% of the original manuscript by folks with business interests in Lady Day. None of those factors count in the end. Billie's testimony on music, poverty, racism, sexual and physical exploitation, and the selective criminalization of drugs is priceless. So much of today's madness makes sense after seeing into the world in which Billie Holiday lived. I read every music biography and autobiography I can get my hands on. This one belongs in a category of its own. My biggest takeaway: music is by definition political.
July 26, 2020
"You can be up to your boobies in white satin, with gardenias in your hair and no sugar cane for miles, but you can still be working on a plantation"
A really touching story about a young woman's rise to success in a hostile, racist and cruel atmosphere. Born when her mother was just 13, Billie Holliday (or Eleanora Fagan) - left school in 5th grade and washed white women's steps all day to earn money. She worked tirelessly and went through absolute hell before she finally made it. She was jailed for being assaulted by a middle-aged white man when she was a child, she was sent to a cruel and unforgiving catholic institution where she was locked in a room with a dead body for punishment, she worked as a call girl and got persecuted for refusing to sleep with a man who was forceful. She was brash, wise and full of melody. I feel her music in this.
This was an important read, what a triumphant and inspiring life.
A really touching story about a young woman's rise to success in a hostile, racist and cruel atmosphere. Born when her mother was just 13, Billie Holliday (or Eleanora Fagan) - left school in 5th grade and washed white women's steps all day to earn money. She worked tirelessly and went through absolute hell before she finally made it. She was jailed for being assaulted by a middle-aged white man when she was a child, she was sent to a cruel and unforgiving catholic institution where she was locked in a room with a dead body for punishment, she worked as a call girl and got persecuted for refusing to sleep with a man who was forceful. She was brash, wise and full of melody. I feel her music in this.
This was an important read, what a triumphant and inspiring life.
December 26, 2024
Heavy shit from the Lady.
I’m generally averse to jazz vocalists, but Billie just killed everything. Including herself, of course, but also every slab of polyvinyl chloride to ever bear her name.
This is some sad testifying considering what would happen so soon thereafter, but Billie was under no delusions she’d yet found that salvation. I truly do hope she did on the other side.
I’m generally averse to jazz vocalists, but Billie just killed everything. Including herself, of course, but also every slab of polyvinyl chloride to ever bear her name.
This is some sad testifying considering what would happen so soon thereafter, but Billie was under no delusions she’d yet found that salvation. I truly do hope she did on the other side.
February 27, 2021
Fiction. Could. Never. Compete. With. Real. Life. (PERIOD)
⠀
Whew.You will walk away disgusted with the world, the government, and the people who loved her music but hated her skin color and especially the ones who failed her as a child.The amount of trauma she faced will make you compassionate to her drowning the pain in drugs over time and then sick all over again for the persecution she got as a result of that. The title fits. Lady Day was a civil rights leader from a hard knock life.
⠀
Please note the following trigger warnings: abuse, molestation, sexualization of a minor, prostitution, drug use, racism, and sexism to name a few. In spite of all I mentioned above I would still read this over and over again. Billie Holiday was the type of woman that as Robert Jones, Jr. put it, can “smoke and talk ish at the same time”. She was glamorous and gritty. As a result, the way she tells her story is raw, very frank, and she is nobody’s victim. What I love the most is Lady Day’s commentary on America’s response to addicts and the judicial system. I immediately followed this reading with watching the 1970s adapted film of the same name. The movie is abridged, compared to the book, and focuses only on the singing aspect of her life story more than who she was as a person. I encourage you to read the book and watch the movie because it allows you to dive deeper into concepts perhaps your imagination didn’t really grasp in text. Also, comparing helps to note the details. The books gives the bigger picture, while the movie zooms in to sensationalize Hollywood’s ideal narrative. The movie also attempts to explain some of the inconsistencies in her life’s accounts from the book. 😒This autobiography is often criticized for its inconsistent timeline but it is from the woman who lived it, so what’s more important: the way a person sees the world and thus explains their actions or the logic of historical events?
⠀
There is so much more I want to say but I don't want to ruin the book for you. My DM is open. I am about to watch The United States vs. Billie Holiday. Thoughts to come.
⠀
💋xoxo,
Kat
March 10, 2025
"You can be up to your boobies in white satin, with gardenias in your hair and no sugar cane for miles, but you can still be working on a plantation."
the first 20 pages of "Lady Sings the Blues" felled me to the rock-bottom floor and i was hooked. there is always an even lower and more drawn out note in any scale, 'though. higher ones as well. Billie hits them all, and then she takes another hit of some kind. and gets back up: our strange blue heroine & siren.
a knock-out, natural, devastating, brassy, sassy, brazen, violent, uncensored and highly personal period piece. you don't know US women's history, women's jazz history, or Bille Holiday until you read Lady Day in her own words. we are indebted to every minute we've spent listening to her records while knowing not much about her ghosts and who she was, both behind and in front of the curtain. bow down to this autobiographical piece of our visceral heritage.
the first 20 pages of "Lady Sings the Blues" felled me to the rock-bottom floor and i was hooked. there is always an even lower and more drawn out note in any scale, 'though. higher ones as well. Billie hits them all, and then she takes another hit of some kind. and gets back up: our strange blue heroine & siren.
a knock-out, natural, devastating, brassy, sassy, brazen, violent, uncensored and highly personal period piece. you don't know US women's history, women's jazz history, or Bille Holiday until you read Lady Day in her own words. we are indebted to every minute we've spent listening to her records while knowing not much about her ghosts and who she was, both behind and in front of the curtain. bow down to this autobiographical piece of our visceral heritage.
February 7, 2021
I know there’s a lot of discussion about how much of this book is accurate (for different reasons) and how much Billie had to do with it, but I found the voice really authentic and engaging, which I’m sure the ghostwriter was able to replicate from speaking with her and interviews. While I’m sure lots was left out for publishing reasons, I was surprised how candid her thoughts on prison, policing, and drug prohibition were. Overall it just made me really sad about how just about every person in her life and every system in the US failed her, and how little has changed in this country. I thought it was a good overview of her life.
April 21, 2019
"You can be up to your boobies in white satin, with gardenias in your hair and no sugar cane for miles, but you can still be working on a plantation."- a great, poignant quote by Billie Holiday.
Billie told the story, her story, its written just like she says it. A story of poverty, abuse, drugs and racism in a world most of us would fail in. Billie however remains legendary.
Billie told the story, her story, its written just like she says it. A story of poverty, abuse, drugs and racism in a world most of us would fail in. Billie however remains legendary.
January 13, 2019
more next week when I get home. In the meantime, although it's widely known that parts of this book are embellished, it still makes for great reading.
August 10, 2022
Well, that was a sad tale. Billie Holiday's autobiography ends with her using a mink coat as a blanket to keep her dog warm in a prison cell, and she died years later at the age of 44, handcuffed to her hospital bed with police guards posted outside - for a simple possession charge. The decades of pure hell the cops rained down on her just for being hooked on heroin really surprised me. These guys really hated the hell out of her.
But then that's a big part of the story of jazz - Bud Powell suffering life-long neurological problems after being beaten by police. Miles Davis beaten bloody by police for not "moving along" when he was standing outside the club where he was playing, underneath the marquee with his name on it. Thelonious Monk unable to work in New York for many years because of a bullshit possession charge for drugs in a car he was in that probably weren't even his.
Speaking of Miles Davis - Holiday has something in common with him: both of them had fathers who died relatively young because the doctors wouldn't treat them. In Davis's case, an ambulance wouldn't take his father to the hospital after he was hit by the train, even though he was one of the wealthiest businessmen and landowners in the state. In Holiday's case, the hospitals wouldn't admit him when he was sick in the cracker-ass South.
So there it is - a great deal of this short memoir chronicles the all-too-common profound suffering of living as a member of a rejected and despised social group in the United States, where racism is the Original Sin that mars and threatens all of its accomplishments and ideals.
It's a harrowing read, and the early pages especially dealing with her early childhood are almost unbearable, beginning with the first awful sentences: "Mom and Pop were just a couple of kids when they got married. He was eighteen, she was sixteen, and I was three."
That she rose from these horrible conditions to become perhaps the greatest singer in the history of jazz is a mystery of the human spirit, though I wouldn't go so far as to call it an inspiration.
This book is her own account of her life and times, pieced together from her ghostwriter based on conversations and interviews, and that's how it reads. It's not a worked-out autobiography, but a free-running series of memories and reflections.
I would have liked a lot more detail on some of the key periods in her life, especially when she first found success as a musician. On one page she walks into a restaurant at the age of 15 and is amazed to find the room enchanted by her singing at an open mic, and a few pages later she's hanging out with Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong, even though obviously a whole world lies between those two points. How did this woman with a fifth-grade education and no training at all work with professional musicians? How did she learn how to perform, how to get work? What was the personal journey like, meeting some of her great heroes and working alongside them? I would have loved much more on that - or anything, really.
It's more like meeting a friendly celebrity at a party and them telling you a bunch of stuff, and her ghostwriter does not seem to have prompted her to fill in any of the missing pieces. We never learn about the notoriously abusive behavior of any of the men she's with, and she gives little detail on her drug use, other than the legal hassles she experienced. And sometimes you have to read between the lines, because she's giving her own account of how things seemed to her, and she's not always the most reliable interpreter.
But if you want to learn more about Lady Day's life, here it is, in her own voice. It's clearly the key document in understanding that story.
But then that's a big part of the story of jazz - Bud Powell suffering life-long neurological problems after being beaten by police. Miles Davis beaten bloody by police for not "moving along" when he was standing outside the club where he was playing, underneath the marquee with his name on it. Thelonious Monk unable to work in New York for many years because of a bullshit possession charge for drugs in a car he was in that probably weren't even his.
Speaking of Miles Davis - Holiday has something in common with him: both of them had fathers who died relatively young because the doctors wouldn't treat them. In Davis's case, an ambulance wouldn't take his father to the hospital after he was hit by the train, even though he was one of the wealthiest businessmen and landowners in the state. In Holiday's case, the hospitals wouldn't admit him when he was sick in the cracker-ass South.
So there it is - a great deal of this short memoir chronicles the all-too-common profound suffering of living as a member of a rejected and despised social group in the United States, where racism is the Original Sin that mars and threatens all of its accomplishments and ideals.
It's a harrowing read, and the early pages especially dealing with her early childhood are almost unbearable, beginning with the first awful sentences: "Mom and Pop were just a couple of kids when they got married. He was eighteen, she was sixteen, and I was three."
That she rose from these horrible conditions to become perhaps the greatest singer in the history of jazz is a mystery of the human spirit, though I wouldn't go so far as to call it an inspiration.
This book is her own account of her life and times, pieced together from her ghostwriter based on conversations and interviews, and that's how it reads. It's not a worked-out autobiography, but a free-running series of memories and reflections.
I would have liked a lot more detail on some of the key periods in her life, especially when she first found success as a musician. On one page she walks into a restaurant at the age of 15 and is amazed to find the room enchanted by her singing at an open mic, and a few pages later she's hanging out with Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong, even though obviously a whole world lies between those two points. How did this woman with a fifth-grade education and no training at all work with professional musicians? How did she learn how to perform, how to get work? What was the personal journey like, meeting some of her great heroes and working alongside them? I would have loved much more on that - or anything, really.
It's more like meeting a friendly celebrity at a party and them telling you a bunch of stuff, and her ghostwriter does not seem to have prompted her to fill in any of the missing pieces. We never learn about the notoriously abusive behavior of any of the men she's with, and she gives little detail on her drug use, other than the legal hassles she experienced. And sometimes you have to read between the lines, because she's giving her own account of how things seemed to her, and she's not always the most reliable interpreter.
But if you want to learn more about Lady Day's life, here it is, in her own voice. It's clearly the key document in understanding that story.
August 15, 2020
'Lady sings the blues' lezen lijkt me het equivalent van een avondje flink door zakken aan de toog met Lady Day nadat ze zichzelf volledig gegeven heeft tijdens een concert.
Je luistert (leest) ontzettend geboeid en valt als luisterend oor (lezer) van de ene verbazing in de andere. Je bent al snel van slag over hoe de jonge Billie absoluut niet door het leven gespaard werd en je supportert vurig voor de felle, waarachtige vrouw die daar uit groeit.
In zo'n gesprek denk je weleens - terwijl de waard je glazen nog eens vult - 'het zal wel zijn, Billie' of 'dit lijkt me toch wat bij de haren getrokken' waarna je dat gewoon weer van je af laat glijden om gefascineerd verder te luisteren (lezen).
Het blijft erg heftig om te aanhoren (lezen) hoe moeilijk het zwarte Amerikanen - zelfs eens ze beroemde muzikant zijn - gemaakt werd en hoe ze daarmee proberen om te gaan. Billie's drugsverslaving is pijnlijk, maar er is zoveel meer en zoveel moois.
Ik ben er heilig van overtuigd dat je - terwijl ze na haar vierde glas even naar het toilet gaat - tegen de waard zucht: "Wat een leven! Wat een madame!"
Wat een boek. ❤️
Je luistert (leest) ontzettend geboeid en valt als luisterend oor (lezer) van de ene verbazing in de andere. Je bent al snel van slag over hoe de jonge Billie absoluut niet door het leven gespaard werd en je supportert vurig voor de felle, waarachtige vrouw die daar uit groeit.
In zo'n gesprek denk je weleens - terwijl de waard je glazen nog eens vult - 'het zal wel zijn, Billie' of 'dit lijkt me toch wat bij de haren getrokken' waarna je dat gewoon weer van je af laat glijden om gefascineerd verder te luisteren (lezen).
Het blijft erg heftig om te aanhoren (lezen) hoe moeilijk het zwarte Amerikanen - zelfs eens ze beroemde muzikant zijn - gemaakt werd en hoe ze daarmee proberen om te gaan. Billie's drugsverslaving is pijnlijk, maar er is zoveel meer en zoveel moois.
Ik ben er heilig van overtuigd dat je - terwijl ze na haar vierde glas even naar het toilet gaat - tegen de waard zucht: "Wat een leven! Wat een madame!"
Wat een boek. ❤️
January 28, 2009
It helps to have some historical perspective on this book as you read it. Yes, it's a sad tale of the rise and struggles of an amazing jazz legend and you can't help but hear the voice of Billy as the story unfolds (I could not resist playing her music on my IPod in the background). But it's also important to keep in mind that the book is not always precisely truthful, perhaps for lots of personal, historical, and publishing reasons. I think it's best read for the general history, impressions/truths it creates, not as a literal record of specific facts about Billy Holiday's life and works. It's a good way to introduce those who might not be familiar with Billy Holiday and the history of Jazz to the voice of Billy and as a stepping stone for learning more. But better still and not to be ignored, is to just to listen to her voice as she sings in her own special style songs like "I cover the waterfront," "Strange Fruit," "April in Paris," and "God bless the child."
October 25, 2020
Δεν ήξερα σχεδόν τίποτα για τη Billie Holiday και τη μουσική της μέχρι να διαβάσω αυτό το βιβλίο. Από ότι διαβασα οι αιτιάσεις σχετικά με το ότι περιέχει ανακρίβειες, ότι γράφτηκε για να βγάλει χρήματα για τον εθισμό της στα ναρκωτικά κλπ έχουν βάση. Όπως και να έχει περιγράφει τη ζωή και την άνοδο στο προσκήνιο μιας μαύρης γυναίκας μέσα από ένα πολύ σκληρό και φτωχό περιθώριο, με το ρατσισμό πανταχού παρόντα. Παρότι η δομή και η γλώσσα του δεν είναι ότι πιο λογοτεχνικό, μου άρεσε πολύ για αυτό που εκφράζει.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 597 reviews