Billy Holiday, born Eleanora Fagan in 1915, was an influential jazz singer. She endured a difficult childhood marked by neglect, abuse, and time in reform school. Her singing career began in Harlem nightclubs in the 1930s. Record producer John Hammond helped launch her recording career at age 18. Though successful, Holiday struggled with drug and alcohol addiction, which took a toll on her health and led to her arrest. She died in 1959 at the age of 44 from cirrhosis of the liver. Holiday was a trailblazer as one of the first successful black female jazz singers and brought a unique emotional depth to her performances.

1. BILLY HOLIDAY
An African American 1940’s Jazz Singer
By Lyndsey Dattola

2. EARLY LIFE
 Born on April 7, 1915
 Original name was Eleanora Fagan
 Her father left their family when her mother was pregnant to
pursue a music career
 Mom had no support from family
 Eleanora stayed with mostly her aunts and uncles. She suffered
from neglect without with proper attention from her mother

3. EARLY LIFE
 Her mom was constantly switching jobs and Eleanora was passed
on from relative to relative.
 She skipped too much school and had to go to a catholic reform
school.
 By age 11, she completely dropped out of school

4. ABUSE
 At age 11, Eleanora was raped by her neighbor.
 She had a job at brothel running errands when she was 12 years
old.
 Her mother became a prostitute
 A few days later when Eleanora was 13, she became one too.
 The house was raided, and her and her mother were arrested and
released after 5 months.

5. SINGING CAREER
 She started off singing at local night clubs in Harlem
 She got her stage name “Billy Holiday” from an actress she liked
named Billy Dove and a musician named Clarence Holiday.
 At 17, she sang in a night club called “Covan’s” and the producer
John Hammond loved her voice.
 He arranged for her to make a recording debut at age 18

6. SINGING CAREER
 She was signed to the record label Brunswick Records by John
Hammond
 She did many collaborations with other artists such as Teddy
Wilson, Count Basie, and Artie Shaw
 She was fired from unknown reasons from singing with Count
Basie

7. SINGING CAREER
 She was then hired to work with Artie Shaw and was one of the
first black females to work with an all white orchestra.
 At this point she started to become very successful but she still
faced heavy criticism because of her decent.

8. DOWNFALL
 She made up to a quarter million dollars from her career
 Her mother kept borrowing money to open a restaurant
 Her money was soon gone and her mother did not pay her back
when she needed it
 She was arrested for narcotics on May 16, 1947
 She was released and continued to sing but the drugs and alcohol
had an obvious affect on her voice

9. DEATH
 She had a bad habit of staying with men who mistreated her
 She blew the rest of her money
 She died on July 17, 1959 from drug and alcohol abuse
 She was arrested while dying in the hospital for possession of
narcotics

10. SIGNIFICANCE
 Billy Holiday was one of the first African American female singers
to be successful
 Her voice was haunted with the trauma of her past that brought an
emotion in her singing that was incomparable
 Her voice of hope made American citizens believe that they can
achieve their dreams

11. MUSIC
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-3O-X6UUpY
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4ZyuULy9zs
 Biography:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nfl4fFKrLtw