But now, Billie Holiday stays close to the music, to her performance style, and to the self she created and put into print, on record and on stage.ĭrawing on a vast amount of new material that has surfaced in the last decade, critically acclaimed jazz writer John Szwed considers how her life inflected her art, her influences, her uncanny voice and rhythmic genius, a number of her signature songs, and her legacy. Today, Billie Holiday is an icon an artist whose voice has weathered countless shifts in public taste, and whose impact on contemporary music is unquestionable. Today, Billie Holiday is an icon - an artist whose voice has weathered.

Most of the writing on Holiday has focused on the tragic details of her life-her prostitution at the age of fourteen, her heroin addiction and alcoholism, her series of abusive relationships-or tried to correct the many fabrications of her autobiography. Drawing on a vast amount of new material that has surfaced in the last decade, critically acclaimed jazz writer John Szwed considers how her life inflected her. When eighteen-year-old Billie Holiday stepped into Columbia studios in November of 1933 to record 'Riffin' the Scotch' and 'Your Mother's Son-in-Law', it marked the beginning of what is arguably the most remarkable and important career in twentieth-century popular music. Her voice weathered countless shifts in public taste, and new reincarnations of her continue to arrive, most recently in the form of singers like Amy Winehouse and Adele. When Billie Holiday stepped into Columbia’s studios in November 1933, it marked the beginning of what is arguably the most remarkable and influential career in twentieth-century popular music. Published in celebration of Holiday’s centenary, the first biography to focus on the singer’s extraordinary musical talent Kirkus Best Books of 2015 selection for Biography Billie Holiday: The Musician and the Myth Kindle Edition by John Szwed (Author) Format: Kindle Edition 141 ratings Kindle 13.99 Read with Our Free App Audiobook 0.Science Fiction & Fantasy - Available Now.Armchair Explorers for Children and Teens.

Billie Holiday by John Szwed