The Remarkable Journey of Billie Holiday: Jazz Icon and Cultural Legend

START THE DAY HERE

Early voting turnout strong in North Carolina. What Hamas leader’s death may mean for war in Gaza. Investigation into Liam Payne’s fatal fall continues.

Billie Holiday’s Illustrious Career

Jazz singer Billie Holiday, left, and composer Duke Ellington, center, rehearse "Symphony in Black: A Rhapsody of Negro Life" in 1935. Fans and artists are celebrating Lady Day, as she was known, on the 100th anniversary of her birth on April 7, 1915.
Jazz singer Billie Holiday, left, and composer Duke Ellington, center, rehearse “Symphony in Black: A Rhapsody of Negro Life” in 1935. Fans and artists are celebrating Lady Day, as she was known, on the 100th anniversary of her birth on April 7, 1915.
Louis Armstrong and Holiday pose for a portrait in 1939.
Louis Armstrong and Holiday pose for a portrait in 1939.
Holiday performs "Fine and Mellow" accompanied by James P. Johnson on piano in 1943.
Holiday performs “Fine and Mellow” accompanied by James P. Johnson on piano in 1943.
Holiday performs in the Esquire Jam Session at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1944.
Holiday performs in the Esquire Jam Session at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1944.
Holiday performs at Carnegie Hall in New York in 1948 during the peak of her musical career.
Holiday performs at Carnegie Hall in New York in 1948 during the peak of her musical career.
Holiday performs under a spotlight at a club in 1954.
Holiday performs under a spotlight at a club in 1954.
From left, Holiday, performs with musicians Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins and Gerry Mulligan on the CBS television program "The Seven Lively Arts" in New York in 1957.
From left, Holiday, performs with musicians Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins and Gerry Mulligan on the CBS television program “The Seven Lively Arts” in New York in 1957.
Holiday sings at the Olympia in Paris in 1958.
Holiday sings at the Olympia in Paris in 1958.

1 of 9

Back To Top