Lady Sings the Blues: The Life and Art of Billie Holiday
Added 2020-12-17 20:13:18 +0000 UTCIn this episode, Breht is joined by Tiffani to discuss the life, art, and politics of Billie Holiday! We discuss her childhood trauma, her victimization by the War on Drugs, what made her music so unique, and much more!
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Outro Music: 'Lady Sings The Blues' by Billie Holiday
Comments
I would like to expand a bit on the song "Strange Fruit." As Tiffani mentioned, it was written by Abel Meeropol. Abel was a member of the Communist Party, and in addition to "Strange Fruit," he is also known for writing the song "The House I Live In" which was sung by Frank Sinatra in the Academy Award winning short film of the same name. He is also known along with his wife as the couple who adopted the 2 children of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Abel Meeropol brought the song to Barney Josephson, the owner of Cafe Society in New York. Cafe Society was the only night club to be intergrated. It catered to a left wing crowd. Both Billie Holiday and Barney Josephson understood the power of "Strange Fruit" and Josephson choreographed how the song should be sung: it was Billie Holiday's closing number, the stage was dark with a single spotlight, all wait staff were at the back of the room off the floor, and there was no encore. The song stunned audiences.
Jim Madigan
2021-03-30 19:18:31 +0000 UTCFascinating program, thank you Tiffani.
Jim Madigan
2021-03-30 19:08:46 +0000 UTC
