Widely celebrated as one of the finest jazz vocalists in history, Billie Holiday left an indelible mark on music before her life was cut short by substance abuse. Her life story, told through her autobiography — she was known as Lady Day — became the basis for the 1972 film Lady Sings the Blues. In the year 2000, Holiday earned a place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Born Eleanora Fagan on April 7, 1915, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Holiday's origins carry some ambiguity. (Her birth certificate supposedly says "Elinore Harris," according to some accounts, she was born in Baltimore, Maryland.)
Baltimore, Maryland, is where Holiday grew up. Her mother, Sadie, was just barely a teenager at the time of Holiday's birth. As for her father, Clarence Holiday, he is usually thought to have been a renowned jazz musician, performing alongside Fletcher Henderson and others.
Sadly, Clarence Holiday was only an occasional presence during her childhood. When Sadie married Philip Gough in 1920, it brought a few years of relative stability to Holiday's home life. That marriage eventually fell apart, however, forcing Holiday and Sadie back into a difficult existence on their own. During these turbulent times, Holiday was occasionally entrusted to the care of others.
It was producer John Hammond who discovered the young singer performing in a Harlem jazz bar at just 18 years old. Through Hammond's efforts, Holiday landed the opportunity to record with clarinetist and bandleader Benny Goodman.
Working with Goodman, she lent her vocals to several recordings, among them "Your Mother's Son-In-Law," which marked her first commercial release, along with "Riffin' the Scotch," one of the top 10 smashes of 1934.
By 1935, Holiday had begun recording alongside jazz pianist Teddy Wilson and others, a period during which her distinctive phrasing and deeply emotive, often melancholic voice truly became her signature.
Holiday gave what would be her final performance on May 25, 1959, in New York City. Shortly after, she was hospitalized due to heart and liver issues.
Her addiction to heroin was so severe that she was arrested for possession while still in the hospital. On July 17, 1959, Holiday passed away from complications related to alcohol and drug abuse.