Billie Holiday

Billie began singing in nightclubs in Harlem, where producer John Hammond noticed her and signed her to a record contract with Brunswick in 1935. She collaborated with Teddy Wilson, producing the hit "What a Little Moonlight Can Do," which later became a jazz standard. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, she found success on labels like Columbia and Decca. Her vocal style was unique: low, syrupy, and marked by her manipulation of phrasing and tempo, with improvisation as a hallmark skill. She was nicknamed "Lady Day" by friend and music partner Lester Young.

In the late 1940s, Holiday faced legal troubles and drug abuse, serving a short prison sentence. She then performed a sold-out concert at Carnegie Hall, and continued successful concert performances throughout the 1950s, with two more sold-out shows there. Her final recordings received mixed reviews due to personal struggles and an altered voice, yet were lukewarm commercial successes. Lady in Satin, her final album, was released in 1958. She died of heart failure the following year, on July 17, 1959, at age 44. After her death, she won four Grammy Awards for best historical album, was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame, and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 as an early influence. NPR dubbed her one of the 50 Great Voices, and in 2023 Rolling Stone ranked her fourth on its list of the "200 Greatest Singers of All Time." Several movies have been based on her life, the most recent being The United States vs. Billie Holiday from 2021. She is remembered as a genius, a pioneer, and a beloved icon in queer history, being unapologetically bisexual herself.