Nicknamed “Lady Day” by her friend and musical partner, saxophonist Lester Young, Billie Holiday became an influential force in jazz and popular music from the mid-1930s through the 1950s. She had a novel way of phrasing and manipulating a song’s lyrics when she performed – a unique vocal style and tempo that was inspired by the jazz music itself. Holiday became known for that style, and was admired worldwide for her deeply personal, intimate approach to her music. Critic John Bush wrote that she “changed the art of American pop vocals forever.”
Holiday co-wrote a share of her songs, and several of them became jazz standards, such as “God Bless the Child”, “Don’t Explain,” “Fine and Mellow,” and “Lady Sings the Blues.” She also became famous for singing jazz standards including “Easy Living,” “Summertime,” and “Good Morning Heartache.”
Take a look back at Lady Day in her final decade before she lost her battle with drug addiction through 20 vintage photographs below:
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| 1950. (Gilles Petard) |
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| 1952. (Bob Willoughby) |
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| 1950s. (Bob Willoughby) |
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| 1950s. (Gerrit Schilp) |
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| 1954. (Charles Hewitt) |
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| 1954. (Charles Hewitt) |
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| 1954. (Charles Hewitt) |
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| 1954. (Hulton) |
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| 1954. (Charles Hewitt) |
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| 1954. (Gilles Petard) |
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| 1955. (Evening Standard) |
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| 1956. (Bettmann) |
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| 1957. (Paul Hoeffler) |
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| 1957. (Bob Willoughby) |
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| 1957. (Bob Parent) |
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| 1957. (Bill Spilka) |
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| 1957. (Bill Spilka) |
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| 1957. (Michael Ochs) |
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| 1957. (Michael Ochs) |
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| 1958. (Jean-Pierre Biot) |
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