Billie Holiday was a legendary jazz singer born in 1915 in Philadelphia. She had a difficult childhood with an absent father and time spent in reform schools. Holiday developed her unique vocal style in Harlem nightclubs in the 1930s and was discovered by record producer John Hammond in 1933. Her 1939 recording of "Strange Fruit," a song about lynching, helped establish her as a powerful interpreter of emotion in songs. Holiday's distinctive vocal style had a significant influence on jazz and pop singing and she is considered one of the greatest vocalists of the 20th century.