Billie Holiday (28 page)

Holiday, Billie: singing style, 171, 190

criticism of, 88, 98–100, 106, 138, 192

development of, 96–98

influences on, 78, 88, 108–12

mature features of, 56, 102–6, 136

and phrasing, 39–40, 69, 98, 103, 105–6, 110, 115, 117, 120–21, 128, 145, 148, 175, 180, 193

praise of, 3–4, 21–22, 39, 97–98, 115, 118, 135, 150–51

and rhythm/timing, 115–19, 122, 128, 136, 139–40, 145, 175, 180–81

slowness of, 92, 98–99, 122, 168, 170, 177, 180, 184

and vibrato, 99, 103–4, 123, 140, 193

See also
speech-song method; torch singing

Holiday, Billie: songs

autobiographical, 108, 129, 173, 184, 194

with big bands, 152–53, 174–75

composed by Holiday, 116, 165, 167, 172–74

criticism of, 166

emotional power of, 2, 4, 11, 94, 99, 101, 103–4, 115, 120–22, 127, 132, 198

first, 56, 90, 98–99, 136

her approach to, 13, 103–4, 110–11, 120–22,

her choice of, 2–4, 91, 94, 104, 110, 132–33, 141, 171

her variations of, 123, 144–46, 161, 165, 170, 174, 181–82

and improvisation, 3, 112, 125–26, 128–29, 131–32, 140, 175

and the lyrics, 115, 118, 120, 122, 125, 139, 143, 148, 151, 159, 161, 170, 180, 184, 193

praise of, 143

repertoire of, 69, 132–33, 138–39, 167, 185–87

signature pieces, 168, 175, 183, 185, 191

with strings, 1, 167–68, 179–80

stylistic periods of, 126–29

writes lyrics for, 15, 167, 172–74

written for her, 36, 40, 66, 127, 132, 152, 161, 179–80, 182–83

See also
albums; Holiday, Billie: recordings;
specific song titles

Holiday, Clarence (father), 12, 18, 51, 70, 106, 159

Holiday on Broadway
, 187

Hollywood, 20, 28, 30, 33, 45, 51, 56, 59, 62, 64, 67–69, 106, 157, 174, 187–188

Holman, Libby, 4, 32–33, 79, 93–95

Holmes, John Clellon, 7

Hoover, J. Edgar, 37–38

Hope, Bob, 28

Horne, Lena, 155–56, 166

“How Am I to Know?,” 168

Huang, Hoa, 118

Huang, Rachel V., 118

Hughes, Langston, 71, 77, 88

Humes, Helen, 148

Hurston, Zora Neale, 7, 71, 126

“I Can't Get Started with You,” 148

“I Cover the Waterfront,” 132, 169

“I Got a Right to Sing the Blues,” 110, 167

“I Loves You, Porgy,” 142–43, 186

“I Wished on the Moon,” 132, 191

“I'll Be Seeing You,” 2, 98–99, 176–77

“I'll Get By,” 144–45

“I'll Look Around,” 91, 182

Ink Spots, 122, 145, 164

Institute of Jazz Studies, Rutgers University–Newark, 5

Irwin, May, 82–83

“I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm,” 107–8

jazz, 40, 48, 63, 105, 144

and the blues, 92–93

books about, 6–7, 12, 15, 20, 52

cultural importance of, 127, 154

distinguishing features of, 117, 120, 140

films about, 55–62, 64–71, 73

history of, 58–59, 62, 155, 178

Holiday's role in, 1–4, 69, 184

and improvisation, 125, 165

instrumentals, 111–12, 117, 119–20, 126, 180

interaction in, 116, 138

and magazine photos, 71–73

and “signifyin(g)” tradition, 114

“small-band” style of, 177–79

and small-group sessions, 137, 189

standards of, 32, 127, 142, 180, 189

sung by Holiday, 6, 110–12, 126–27, 131–33, 164, 193–94

See also
drugs: and jazz

“Jazz at the Philharmonic,” 188–89

Jazz
magazine, 100

Jefferson, Margo, 122–23

Jenkins, Gordon, 168, 186

Jessel, George, 63

Johnson, Greer, 42, 143, 184–85

Johnson, James P., 73, 119, 155

Jolson, Al, 79–80, 145

Jones, Esther, 87

Josephson, Barney, 91, 154–58, 160–63

jukeboxes, 98, 123, 137, 176, 180

Kane, Helen, 87

Kempton, Murray, 61

Kern, Jerome, 132

Kerouac, Jack, 6–7

Kirkpatrick, Ralph, 39, 150

Kitchings, Irene, 22.
See also
Wilson, Irene

Knickerbocker Hospital, 196

Krupa, Gene, 33, 49, 179

Kuehl, Linda, 3, 5, 12, 104

Lady Sings the Blues
(autobiography), 2–3, 40, 45–46, 48, 56, 87, 108, 173, 179

bluntness of, 11, 18–19, 21, 24–25, 27, 47

coauthor of, 6, 14–25, 28, 52, 161

criticism/reviews of, 4–6, 11–15, 21–23, 25, 47, 52, 65

editing of, 27–28, 32, 34, 37, 39, 42–43, 70

Holiday's comments on, 15, 23–24

inaccuracies in, 12–15, 52, 92

and libel, 21–22, 27–28, 38, 43

message of, 52–53, 65, 70, 162–63

and “Strange Fruit,” 159, 161–63

Lady Sings the Blues
(film), 22, 64–71, 165

“Lady Sings the Blues” (song), 46

Laughton, Charles, 22, 28–29

Layton, Skip, 175

Lee, Peggy, 1, 36, 91, 164

Levey, Jules, 59, 61

Levy, John, 22, 34, 36–37

Lewis, Sam M., 170

Lieb, Harry A., 21–22

Life
magazine, 72–73, 166

Lincoln, Abbey, 68, 101

Lincoln Hotel (New York City), 152–53

Loeb, John Jacob, 139

Lombardo, Carmen and Guy, 139

Los Angeles, 30, 56, 60, 175, 187–88

“Love for Sale,” 94, 169, 190–91

Love, Preston, 147

“Lover, Come Back to Me,” 132

“Lover Man,” 127, 132, 179–80

lynching, 4, 11, 157–59, 163, 165–66

Lyttelton, Humphrey, 144

Majestic Pictures, 58–59

Major, Gerry, 72

Margolick, David, 6

McCrary, Tex, 120

McCullough, Frances, 5

McDonough, Dick, 136

McKay, Louis, 16, 21–22, 43, 67, 70–71

“Me, Myself, and I,” 125

Meeropol, Abel.
See
Allan, Lewis

Melody Maker
magazine, 135

Mendelsohn, Danny, 160, 174

Mercer, Johnny, 132, 136, 174–75

Mercer, Mabel, 87–88, 90–91, 182

Metronome
, 18

Metropolitan Hospital, 51, 196–97

Mezzrow, Mezz, 29

MGM, 141, 188, 191, 194–97

microphones, 79, 85, 102–3, 108, 136, 147, 190

Mili, Gjon, 73, 166

Millstein, Gilbert, 46–47

Mingus, Charles, 6, 105

minstrel shows, 79–82, 84–85

“Moanin' Low,” 32

Monroe, Clark, 28, 30

Monroe, Jimmy, 30, 173, 175

Monroe, Marilyn, 107, 192

Moore, Marianne, 41

Moore, Monette, 135

Moreau, Jeanne, 66

Morgan, Helen, 4, 95

Morton, Benny, 144

Morton, Jelly Roll, 118–19, 140

Motown Records, 68–69

Mulligan, Gerry, 63, 124

Muni, Paul, 28

Murphy, Rose, 87

Museum of Modern Art, 40–41

music critics/reviewers

on African American singers, 78–79

compare Holiday to poets, 114

criticize Holiday, 11–12, 49, 100, 138, 193–94

Holiday complains about, 15, 23

praise Holiday, 12, 22, 100, 105, 138, 185–86

See also
press, the

music producers, 19, 28, 97, 126–27, 136–37, 141, 143, 154, 167–68, 179–80, 187, 189–91, 194

music publishers, 138, 151, 161

musical theater, 4, 32, 56, 67, 77, 79, 82, 84, 94–95, 132, 157–58

musical traditions

African American, 3, 77–86, 91, 93, 121–22, 126, 139, 155, 173

classical, 1, 40, 60, 78–79, 118, 125, 131, 140, 150, 168, 185, 191

European, 78–80, 91–92, 94–95, 118, 121

musicians

admire Holiday, 105, 147, 156–57

criticize Holiday, 98, 100

on working with Holiday, 117–18, 120

Holiday's views on, 126, 146–47

See also specific names

“My Man,” 4, 89, 95, 128–29, 132, 142, 147, 183–84, 186

NAACP, 32, 95, 135, 153, 166

New Jersey, 187

New Masses
, 157, 164

New Orleans, 56–62, 119, 125, 165, 178

New Statesman
, 18–19

New York Amsterdam News
, 147

New York City

52nd Street clubs, 6, 177–79

133rd Street clubs, 133–34

elite clubs in, 179, 192

Holiday banned in, 12, 49, 63, 65

Holiday's life in, 6, 16, 27–28, 40, 77

racial interaction in, 134–35, 154–55

See also
specific club names
;
specific theater names

New York Herald Tribune
, 23–24, 185

New York Post
, 15–17, 48, 143, 197

New York Times
, 11–12, 41, 47, 65, 82–83

New Yorker
, 23, 117

Newport Jazz Festival, 67

Newton, Frankie, 156, 165

Nichols, Herbie, 46

“No Good Man,” 183

“No More,” 132–33, 180–81

“No Regrets,” 141

Obama, Barack, 2

obbligato, 125–26

O'Day, Anita, 2

O'Hara, Frank, 197

OKeh Records, 168

O'Meally, Robert, 13

Onyx Club (New York City), 31

opera, 78–79, 105, 141–44

Our World
magazine, 49

Panassié, Hugues, 138

Paramount, 55, 69, 87

Paris, 57, 90, 95, 121, 156, 175–76, 183

Parker, Charlie, 168, 180

Parker, Dorothy, 132, 155

Patton, Charlie, 118

Paul, Elliot, 57–59, 61

Paul Whiteman Orchestra, 90, 169, 174–75

“Pennies from Heaven,” 110, 132

People
,
The
,
newspaper, 25

Peterson, Oscar, 189–91

Philadelphia, 12, 24, 43, 133, 187

Philharmonic Auditorium (Los Angeles), 188–89

Piaf, Édith, 95, 121, 141

Pleasants, Henry, 78–79

PM
newspaper, 18, 160–61

Pod's and Jerry's (Harlem), 149

poetry, 39, 41, 98, 112, 114, 120, 133–34, 140, 143, 158, 162, 164, 197

politics, 6, 92, 126, 162, 178

pop

artists of, 87–88, 122

and blues songs, 93–94

music, 70, 96, 137, 150, 159

recordings, 126–27

songs, 80–82, 85, 89, 100, 148, 151, 189

sung by Holiday, 94, 98, 110–12, 114, 179–80, 187, 193

Porgy and Bess
, 141–44

Porter, Cole, 94, 118, 153, 155, 161

poverty, 13, 24, 50, 52, 62, 70, 93

press, the, 2, 6, 18, 38, 90, 96, 108, 153

African American, 49, 89, 99, 166

Holiday's views on, 25, 51

hound Holiday, 16, 43, 48

and
Lady Sings the Blues
book, 14–15, 18, 23

See also
music critics/reviewers

Prohibition, 77, 133, 177–78

prostitution, 11–12, 25, 32, 52, 62, 92, 95

protest songs, 159–60, 166.
See also
“Strange Fruit”

Queens, New York, 34, 44

Quill, Gene, 195

race, 89, 135, 198

and films, 58, 60–61, 65, 157

and Holiday's songs, 47, 159, 167

Holiday's views on, 6, 49–50, 143

and jazz, 6, 35, 45, 59, 96, 154–55

and
Porgy and Bess
, 141–43

records, 93, 127

and stage performances, 84–85, 151–55, 159

and torch songs, 32, 94

See also
discrimination

racism, 3, 62, 70, 107, 194

radio, 57–58, 78, 102, 107, 111, 122, 134, 181

bans Holiday songs, 94, 166, 168–69

Holiday's acting on, 32, 60

Holiday's interviews on, 143, 153

leaks “race records,” 93

and royalties, 172–73, 176

Raft, George, 28

ragtime, 81

Rainey, Ma, 85–86

Ramirez, Roger “Ram,” 179

rap music, 89, 122

recordings, 78, 93, 128.
See also
Holiday, Billie: recordings

red-hot mamas, 77, 86–87, 89, 92

Redding, J. Saunders, 23

religious music, 121–22, 163.
See also
gospel music; spirituals

Richmond, June, 151

Riddle, Nelson, 191, 195

“Riffin' the Scotch,” 136

RKO, 30, 56–58, 61

Robeson, Paul, 55, 166, 169, 174

Robinson, Earl, 158

Ronell, Ann, 64, 66

Roosevelt, Eleanor, 155, 170

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano, 35, 45–46, 158

Rorem, Ned, 6, 28, 40, 93, 104

Rosenkrantz, Timme, 105–6, 149

Ross, Diana, 68–71

Rowles, Jimmy, 189–90

Rushing, Jimmy, 63, 146, 148

Russell, Bob, 180

“Saddest Tale, The,” 55–56

San Francisco, 37, 143

Sands, Diana, 67

Savoy Ballroom (New York City), 147

scat singing, 3, 87, 89, 100, 112

Schiffman, Frank, 101

Schuller, Gunther, 97–98, 112, 132, 144, 193

Scott, Hazel, 45, 56, 155

segregation, 52, 59, 78, 188

Shaw, Artie, 62, 64, 99, 117, 141–42, 148–53, 170, 180

sheet music, 111, 114, 119, 137–38, 140, 161, 172–73, 192

Sherman, James, 179

Shore, Dinah, 96, 99

Show Boat
(film), 65–66, 95

show tunes, 94, 110, 126–27, 142–44

Showboat Club (Philadelphia), 43

Simone, Nina, 166

Sinatra, Frank, 2, 91, 100, 103, 120, 139, 158, 176, 191, 195

“Sistren an' Brethren,” 157, 161–62

Smith, Bessie, 57, 89, 93, 136, 157, 159

influences Holiday, 4, 108–10, 115, 132, 186, 195

as leading jazz singer, 78

photographs of, 71–72

and “red-hot mamas,” 86–87

Smith, Mamie, 111

Smith, Willie “The Lion,” 149–50

“Solitude,” 132, 186