Do you know what Billie Holiday's Real Name Is?
Perhaps the best Jazz Singer/Songwriter within the era - Billie Holiday was born into tumultuous surroundings. Much adversity surrounded her at a very young age, however, for 30 years she made a name for herself in the music industry despite challenges placed before her - Drugs, Alcohol, Physical Abuse & Arrest. |
| Citation: Billie Holiday Style Evolution: No One Did Ladylike Like Lady Day (PHOTOS) | The Huffington Post |
Billie had a voice that enraptured all who heard. Her soul was deeply revealed when she sang. A checkered past, and a broken home while growing up, took a toll on her sadly. Anyone who listens to her music will hear that pain she battled daily. Her songs are truly an open book to her story.
The personal demons, and how she coped with her background, were stressful. All were contributing factors for her consequential demise in 1959 when she passed away at the young age of 44 years old. Here is her story below.
Her fame still lives on even though she is no longer on this Earth because she was an old soul living in a very young body who's records keep speaking messages beyond the grave. She has earned four Grammy Awards posthumously and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame many years after her death. I wonder what she would think about that today if she knew.
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| Citation: Holiday aged 2 in 1917 Wikipedia |
"Billie Holiday" was an assumed stage name which came later in life. In fact not until 1933.
Here above is a photo taken of Eleanora (Billie) Harris Fagan - the child behind that famous name. This photo is dated 1917. Later to be called Billie Holiday, Eleanora was two years old living in Baltimore, Maryland at the time of this snapshot.
Here above is a photo taken of Eleanora (Billie) Harris Fagan - the child behind that famous name. This photo is dated 1917. Later to be called Billie Holiday, Eleanora was two years old living in Baltimore, Maryland at the time of this snapshot.
Billie has been identified as having a birth date of 07 April 1915. However, there has been no actual birth record that has surfaced online to prove this date or any other. And to further complicate, many biographies that have been put forth dispute place of birth as Maryland or Pennsylvania.
Here below is the first Census record Eleanora appears within. It is dated 06 JAN 1920 for Baltimore City, Maryland. She is stated as being four yrs 8 months old in this image.
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| Citation: Year: 1920; Census Place: Baltimore Ward 5, Baltimore (Independent City), Maryland; Roll: T625_659; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 61; Image: 883 |
Eleanora is living among household of her Aunt Eva Miller (Fagan) and her Aunt's husband Robert. She is also residing with her cousins and her mother Sadie Fagan who is a 1/2 sister to Eva. Her mother's occupation is listed as an Operator of a Shirt Factory and she is shown as 24 years old. The age of her mother is another discrepancy among biographies of Billie Holiday. Many accounts attest to her age as 13 years old upon giving birth to Eleanora "Billie". This record discredits that statement. She would have been closer to 15 years old. And in Census records thereafter this date, it appears there was consistently a 15 year age difference between Mother & Daughter. Without accurate evidence however, it all can only be speculated.
It is known for certain that little Eleanor, our "Billie", was born of two young teenagers out of wedlock. There was about a 2-3 year age difference between her parent. Her mother appears to have been the older of the two. Neither of her parents were ready to take on responsibility as a parent when she was born - That is very clear. They both fell victim to society, its pressures and many hardships. And sadly for Eleanora, she suffered the largest casualties of all. Her Mom Sadie struggled to provide for her daughter as a single parent. She on occasion took work that was questionable for her character and often confused a young girl (Eleanora) who had to grow up much before her time.
Eleanora's Father (Clarence Holliday) never appeared on any Federal Census Record in household with both of these women. Even though he did not live far away from his daughter, he was a traveling Musician with a career all his own. He played the Banjo and the Guitar traveling on tour with many bands to include the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra. He also recorded with Benny Carter, Bob Howard, Charlie Turner, Don Metcalf and the Don Redman Big Band. Here is a newspaper clipping of the Fletcher Henderson band performing in 1931 in New York at The Lafayette. Known to be America's leading Colored Theatre at the time, this was likely an advertisement for entertainment at the height of Clarence Holliday's career with this Band.
Clarence may not have been around for his daughter because of the music industry - But, he also had a past of questioning - Especially his service in the US Army. You will note on his Draft Card below he is shown as having two LL's in his last name. That is accurately how his last name was spelled. Eleanora "Billie", in later years when she assumed the stage name "Holiday" dropped the second L from her Father's name.
Secondly, on this Draft Card, you will note that Clarence lists his birth year as 1895. He in fact was born in 1898 not 1895. He lied regarding his age in order to enlist. Many young men did this at that time. That wasn't quite unusual. But what is interesting is that Clarence was single even though his daughter Eleanora was two years old at the time. He did not ever seek the hand in marriage of Eleanora's mom Sadie. I'm sure this had some detrimental effect on his young daughter's mentality and confused her immensely about relationships.
It is known for certain that little Eleanor, our "Billie", was born of two young teenagers out of wedlock. There was about a 2-3 year age difference between her parent. Her mother appears to have been the older of the two. Neither of her parents were ready to take on responsibility as a parent when she was born - That is very clear. They both fell victim to society, its pressures and many hardships. And sadly for Eleanora, she suffered the largest casualties of all. Her Mom Sadie struggled to provide for her daughter as a single parent. She on occasion took work that was questionable for her character and often confused a young girl (Eleanora) who had to grow up much before her time.
Eleanora's Father (Clarence Holliday) never appeared on any Federal Census Record in household with both of these women. Even though he did not live far away from his daughter, he was a traveling Musician with a career all his own. He played the Banjo and the Guitar traveling on tour with many bands to include the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra. He also recorded with Benny Carter, Bob Howard, Charlie Turner, Don Metcalf and the Don Redman Big Band. Here is a newspaper clipping of the Fletcher Henderson band performing in 1931 in New York at The Lafayette. Known to be America's leading Colored Theatre at the time, this was likely an advertisement for entertainment at the height of Clarence Holliday's career with this Band.
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| Citation: The New York Age Newspaper - 27 JUN 1931 |
Secondly, on this Draft Card, you will note that Clarence lists his birth year as 1895. He in fact was born in 1898 not 1895. He lied regarding his age in order to enlist. Many young men did this at that time. That wasn't quite unusual. But what is interesting is that Clarence was single even though his daughter Eleanora was two years old at the time. He did not ever seek the hand in marriage of Eleanora's mom Sadie. I'm sure this had some detrimental effect on his young daughter's mentality and confused her immensely about relationships.
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| Citation: Registration State: Maryland; Registration County: Baltimore (Independent City); Roll: 1684142; Draft Board: 17 |
In November of 1917, five months after his enlistment, Clarence Holliday apparently deserted his Regiment in DC. Somehow, he was re-inducted and regrouped with another Unit one year later in 1918. He was sent to France as a Bugler with 811 Pion Infantry - Co. I for the first World War. Clarence died fairly young at the age of 39 on 23 Feb 1937 in Texas. He had been on tour with a band and away from home. It was believed, contributing factors to his demise were an exposure to poisonous gas while he served in the Army. However, this recounting was never accurately founded.
Sadly, Clarence did not give sufficient time to his daughter. Especially true of this was when Billie was young. The cold shoulder most likely was reason in point number one why Billie became vulnerable surrounded by an environment that promoted drugs and alcohol.
Eleanora's Mom Sadie had personal issues of her own as a child. This carried into adulthood. She was a victim of sadness with an un-accepting Father of her own. She knew all too well the loss of no father figure at home to provide. That old saying "History tends to repeat itself"...In this adage - this is indeed accurate.
Sadie was born Sara J. Harris Fagan in 1896 in Maryland. Her Father, Eleanora's Grandfather, was Charles F. Fagan. Her Mother was only known by surname Harris. Charles Fagan was of mixed black and white ancestry - In the Ancestry world this is someone who is Mulatto. It would appear on earliest Census records found for him that his Mother was Rebecca and that he was born in 1869. She was of Black descent so her spouse had to of been White. Although there is no record of him on file with his son Charles.
Charles Fagan did not participate in Sadie's upbringing. Likewise he shunned his daughter when she was young. She spent many years saddened by the fact that she and her daughter Eleanora (Billie) were outcast members of her own Fagan family. This was especially true when Charles did choose to marry and wed a devout Catholic woman named Martha Dixon. Periodically Grandfather Charles would make an appearance for his granddaughter Eleanora's sake as a child, But his involvement was too far and few between to make an a lasting positive impact. Certainly not enough to shield either she or her Mother Sadie from life's ordeals that met them head-on.
Sadie subsequently often left Eleanora in care of her sister - Aunt Eva, or another adult, in Baltimore so she could work to take care of her daughter. Without Eleanora's Father Clarence by her side, sometimes this work was out of state. When she did travel, Eleanora was left in care of a neighbor to check in. Sadie would take on odds and ends jobs working in transportation, a shirt factory, serving as a domestic servant or serving dinner meals in her home under a business name the East Side Grill. She did all that she could do to attend to her daughter as a single parent and provide for her means. She did marry a Philip Gough, a longshoreman, He like Billie's Natural Father Clarence eventually managed to vacate the scene after just a few years leaving the two without support once again.
Here is a City Directory Listing in 1922 in Baltimore, Maryland w/ Eleanora's Mom Sadie married to Phillip Gough
When there were times Eleanora (Billie) was away from both her parents - It obviously was a sorrowful downfall. It produced a huge magnitude of trauma for such a young developing child. In fact in her juvenile years, in the fourth grade at the age of ten, Eleanora skipped school quite frequently. Enough in fact that a judge placed her into a school for wayward girls known as The House of Good Shepherd for Colored Girls in 1925. This school was also referred to as the House of Correction. The Judge's reasoning was simple - lack of parental control and supervision. Eleanora was in and out of there twice in two years before she was returned to her mother in good faith. Here below is an excerpt of another troubled youth from Pennsylvania of that same year in 1925. This young girl of 14 was sent to this same facility for circumstances relayed below. Our Eleanora (Billie) most likely knew Ms. Bechtel below while they both were attending. It is also known that this House of Correction left Eleanora vulnerable to sexual abuse by other females who resided there. It is not an unknown fact that she in her later years was open about her bi-sexuality which may have originated in this school at such a young age.
Unfortunately, upon leaving the school in 1927, Eleanora and her Mom relocated to a seedy part of Baltimore which was filled with varied Bars and Brothels. Eleanora, in some biographical accounts, is stated somewhere around this time to have also been raped by an older neighbor Wilbur Rich. She was about 12 years old. Eleanora gained employment in one of those Brothels downtown working as an errand girl for owner Ethel Moore. Not sure what kind of errands/chores she was delegated. However, all will likely agree that this 'lifestyle surrounding' was not good role model exposure for a young teenage girl.
One can clearly identify though that this Brothel atmosphere was where Billie heard the trumpet music of Louis Armstrong and sultry Blues sounds of Bessie Smith. They were two of the very Music Artists she drew her talent in music from. And without a shadow of a doubt - their tunes could be heard beyond those four walls of the Brothel over and over again.
Eleanora (Billie) decided to try her hand at singing in local amateur shows and movie houses to get some experience under her belt. Subsequently between 1927 and 1929 - This period in Billie's life, and that of her moms, grew darker financially and sadly led to prostitution, ram-pate use of Marijuana and a move to New York.
Upon arriving in New York, she was promptly arrested for prostitution. That was in 1929 and she was only 14 years old. She was sentenced to 100 days work detail at Welfare Island.
Eleanora caught a break around 1930 when she met Kenneth Hollon - American Jazz Saxophonist
Kenneth was young and also with dreams to make it big. Together he and Eleanora entertained any and all who would listen. And he faithfully played saxophone among any band she was in for many years thereafter. He was able to acquire her first real singing gig that opened the doors in 1930 at The Gray Dawn. The Grey Dawn was a cabaret in Queens, NY where Eleanora sang with the Hat Hunter Band. Around this time, she and her Mom could be found in 1930 living at 225 West 135th Street in Harlem. You will also see she hadn't changed her name officially as of yet to "Billie Holiday" even though she was singing in nightclubs - They are listed below as Sadie & Eleanora Fagan.
After she became popular and her performances increased at the Grey Dawn, Eleanora moved onward to the Nest Club and a few other nightclubs in Harlem. She continued to smoke Marijuana and engaged in drinking alcohol. This type of atmosphere of booze and drugs proved too much a temptation not to partake. She stopped soliciting tricks through prostitution because her income as a Singer was providing for her livelihood and for her Mom. Mom Sadie at the same time was gaining more stable income of her own and was working at a Mexican Restaurant.
And then in 1933 the rise to fame for Eleanora was a stroke of good luck and being in the right place at the right time. And indeed, it was a hopeful turn in the right direction musically. A Yale graduate who was "a musician in search of becoming a Producer" named John Hammond (Great Grandson of William Vanderbilt) had traveled to see his friend Monette Moore perform at a Speakeasy in Harlem called Covan's. Moore was a Jazz & Blues recording artist who had recorded with Paramount Records and was of the 1920's Stardom. Moore had created her own establishment - Covan's - on West 132nd Street and entered that club that night with hopes of working with Ms. Moore. However, the stars and planets aligned differently that night and skyrocketed his career and someone else's from that moment forward.
John Hammond was NOT met by Moore. She coincidentally found herself sick and unable to perform that night. Hammond was greeted by a voice that captured his soul. The replacement entertainment of that February 1933 evening was none other than Eleanora Harris Fagan.
This was the marked ending of a name for her that brought sadness and despair. And it was a bright beginning and a fresh start of a new stage name for a girl who had become a woman much before her time. Eleanora became Billie - And Fagan became Holiday. And she was 18 years old but had matured & sounded like she was 30. Here is a photo of John Hammond - Billie's First Producer.
Hammond was the man who arranged for Billie Holiday's recording debut with Benny Goodman in November of 1933 at Columbia Records on Fifth Avenue. He ultimately was behind her her first two singles - "Your Mother's Son-in-Law" and "Riffin' the Scotch" Both titles combined sold 5,300 records.
Billie had selected Holiday for her stage name (but w/o the extra L) because of her Father Clarence's musical background and his notoriety that had already been established in the industry. She also did not want to give credit to her Mothers side (The Fagans) as they had treated her family despicably over the earlier years with out-casting her and her Mother.
But how about the Billie first name? Why this one? Two versions surfaced...Billie loved the story and aspirations of a silent movie actor named Billie Dove who was known as the "American Beauty"
. It has also been suggested that she chose "Billie" for her first name in honor of a friend who stood by her side in earlier years. We do not know for sure which answer is correct. However, in either event, Billie Holiday was no longer Eleanora Harris Fagan as of mid 1933.
1935 was a good year for Billie. She was singing regularly at the Apollo Theatre and she had a small role as a woman abused by her lover in Duke Ellington's Symphony in Symphony in Black: A Rhapsody of Negro Life. In her scene below at 4:35 in this video - she sang the track "Saddest Tale"
Citation: Duke Ellington and his Orchestra.Directed by Fred Waller, tells the story of Ellington’s “A Rhapsody of Negro Life,” Four parts: “The Laborers,” “A Triangle,” “A Hymn of Sorrow” and “Harlem Rhythm.” Holiday appears as a jilted and abused lover in “A Triangle.”
Billie was signed later that year to Brunswick Records. At the same time, she started to sing with Jazz Pianist Teddy Wilson. She goes on to record with him the following titles - "What a Moonlight Can Do" and "Miss Brown to You" She is found below mentioned in a Brooklyn Newspaper as being "One of the very best singers of the day." She was fast becoming a solid performer with a great future in Jazz.
Billie recorded on her own label under Vocalin in 1936. And Hammond, the man who produced her initially led her down a path of infamy with collaborations among William James "Count" Basie and one of the greatest saxophone instrumentalist' of all time- Lester Young who was behind another name Billie was known for in later years - "Lady Day" He was "Prez" after President Franklin Roosevelt "the greatest man around" she would say...They were the best of friends and recorded many songs together.
Billie's Father Clarence Holliday died in 1937 just as her professional career in music was taking off with wings of its own. The man who had literally given her very little in life left it when she was soaring in the industry and becoming golden.
She started to tour with the Count Basie Orchestra in 1937 and eventually created headlines all her own...Being the second black singer to work with an all white Orchestra when she is paired with Bandleader/Composer Artie Shaw in 1938. Traveling with him and his integrated band in the segregated South, it all sparked much controversy. In many ways - it was deeply offensive to Billie and rightfully so.
In September of 1938, Holiday's single "I'm Gonna Lock My Heart" ranked #6th as the most-played song that year. She was then working with Columbia Records. Even with this - show supporters and radio sponsors began to show objection to Holiday's style of music and eccentricities particularly her temper and how she was presenting herself. The world was not ready for what she had to offer and her spark for life was too much for an unwilling to bend society.
Her time touring with Shaw came to an end just as it was shadowed by his hiring of another singer Helen Frost, for the band whom was white. Helen was gaining more noted interest among paid attendees at the concerts and Billie was limited with what she could perform because of the color of her skin. It all took a toll on Billie - There was too much racial discrimination everywhere she performed.
In April of 1939, Billie wanted to record a song from a poem she had read that was written by a schoolteacher Abel Meeropol (pen name Lewis Allen) It was entitled Strange Fruit. However- her record label at the time, Columbia Records, was nervous about how this song would be interpreted.
They did release her from her contract for a one song only deal with Commodore Records. Little did they know that this song landed a spot posthumously into the Grammy Hall of Fame some 39 years later in 1978. She premiered the song in person at the upscale Café Society in 1939.
Strange Fruit was perhaps Billie's most poignant track. It had significant meaning for her. Many of her songs captured raw emotion - But this one more so then others. It was storytelling of a lynching in the South but also in part referencing personally her Father Clarence's having been turned away and refused medical treatment when he was ill in Texas before he died just two years earlier.
Oddly, the song that conjured up the deepest emotions with regard to her distant Father also was her highest grossing record sold in her ensemble of classics. Strange Fruit sold over 1 Million copies. Even in later years, it set another mile marker. Time Magazine, 31 DEC 1999, listed Strange Fruit as "Song of the Century".
In 1940, Historically on record, Billie is still found living with her Mother in New York at 286 West 142nd Street. Interestingly for this Census taker, she is still being referred to as Eleanora (instead of Billie) Holiday. I'm sure her Mom Sadie was at the door when this person came round. Billie would always be Momma's little Eleanora!
Billie married three times in years thereafter - None of these relationships withstood the demands placed upon them. She married first to James Monroe in 1941. Unfortunately James had his own issues with drugs, and was arrested because of it. In part he brought Billie back under the fold of this dark demon in her lifestyle that had been something of the past. They divorced not too much later after his arrest.
In 1946/47 - Billie fulfilled a life long dream of working with her idol Louis Armstrong appearing beside him for the first time in the film New Orleans airing 17 June 1937 - Here below is a snippet found in the Los Angeles Times about the grand opening of this production one day prior. Also below is a snapshot taken of this newfound friendship that was many years in the making and long overdue for Billie. They remained good friends performing and recording together thereafter.
Billie's Mom Sadie died in October of 1947. The lose of her Mom placed her into a deep state of depression. Here below is one of the last photos taken with her Mom Sadie from back in 1945
Further to complicate that temptation of drugs and her fragile state of mind - After 1947, Billie was involved romantically with Joe Guy, a Trumpeter of many Big Band groups. He introduced her to the most deadliest of drugs. This addiction was one she could not overcome - The use of Heroin. Their marriage was no longer than 3 years. She was arrested on possession of Heroin charges and sentenced for a year to the Federal Reformatory for Women in Virginia. She received treatment for her drug dependency and was released on parole. However she had a felony charge to her name - she was unable to perform in nightclubs in New York that had alcohol. This limited her engagements quite heavily. She was driven to other venues out of state and in sometimes other compromising locations.
Between 1953 and 1957, although Billie's frame of mind was fragile and her compulsion for drugs seemingly high, her career did not falter with her fans.
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She appeared on the ABC reality series The Comeback Story in 1953.
She toured in Europe in 1954.
She made her first appearance on The Tonight Show hosted by Steve Allen in 1955.
She released her autobiography entitled : Lady Sings The Blues by Doubleday in 1956.
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Her final husband, Louis McKay, was with her during her last few years of her life. He was known to be affiliated with the Mafia and was suspected of being physically abusive. This coupled with never ending addiction and a second bust with the narcotics made this relationship a real winner from day one. But when Billie died - Louis was there at the hospital for her final hours. Here below is an article that was written in 1957 that details the charges she and this husband were facing w/that bust:
Even though relationships fell to the wayside in Billie's life - And her career fell in and out of the limelight over those past ten years of her life before she died - Billie Holiday Fans were still strong from the mid 1940's all the way through until she died in 1959. At her funeral it is said that over 3000 people came to pay their respects on July 21, 1959. Perhaps the Philadelphia Inquirer said it best on 18 JUL 1959 one day after she passed away:
And what is even more amazing is how Billie's spirit and the sheer power behind her messaging found within those vocals still penetrates the heart beyond the grave.
Here below are just a sampling of the accomplishments she has achieved over the years despite the hurdles. Remarkably a lot of these distinctions are posthumously.
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The "Holiday" mark on music, with the Jazz & Blues vibe she projected will continue to live on for years to come and generations thereafter. But with no children of her own to carry down the legacy - its up to you and me - So if ever you are in Hollywood and stop upon this Star - Lay down a white gardenia (Her favorite trademark) in her honor AND...
Take a moment to reflect on the woman's name etched within.
She was a fighter and someone who was indeed flawed in humanity. But she overcame poverty, rejection, and much adversity to get where she was in life.
And although she chose some paths that others may not dare go down, she did this journey her way. And indeed she was a "Lady Who Sings The Blues" in more ways than one.... God bless you Billie Holiday - may you rest in peace!
Citation: Billie Holiday - I'll Be Seeing You
Clarence stayed single until he decided to marry Fannie L. Taylor on July 5, 1927 in New York. Even though his daughter was about 12 - And at height of much despair and poverty in Baltimore with her Mother, Clarence married someone else. Another relationship hurdle for Eleanora to make sense of that also left a scar on her heart. We don't think she understood the whole picture why her Father never committed himself to her family....Many may not know - However, we may be able to cast perspective and this is why.....
We have unraveled a document that has NOT been found on any other biography found of Eleanora (Billie Holiday). This below Death Record may explain why her Father Clarence did not marry Sadie when she became pregnant with her. He had one 11 months earlier been christened a Father with another child Wilmer Holliday who was born 22 May 1914. This child may also be why Clarence chose to marry Fannie Tyler instead years later out of depression.
What we have learned here is that Eleanora (Billie) had an older brother who was very close in age to her who died at the age of 9 to Tuberculous. She may never have known. We don't think alot of people are aware of this either. Wilmer would have been a half sibling as his Father was Clarence Holliday and mother was Fannie Tyler on this certificate. Had this young boy Wilmer lived, he would have been the only sibling known to Billie Holiday! Here is his death record dated 11 JUL 1923 & also below is the 1930 census for Clarence that verifies this is indeed one in the same family. He and Fannie were married living in NY and he is listed as a musician at 79 St. Nicholas Place.
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| Citation: Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission; Pennsylvania, USA; Certificate Number Range: 073501-076500 |
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| Citation: Year: 1930; Census Place: Manhattan, New York, New York; Roll: 1577; Page: 12B; Enumeration District: 1019; Image: 315.0; FHL microfilm: 2341312 |
Eleanora's Mom Sadie had personal issues of her own as a child. This carried into adulthood. She was a victim of sadness with an un-accepting Father of her own. She knew all too well the loss of no father figure at home to provide. That old saying "History tends to repeat itself"...In this adage - this is indeed accurate.
Sadie was born Sara J. Harris Fagan in 1896 in Maryland. Her Father, Eleanora's Grandfather, was Charles F. Fagan. Her Mother was only known by surname Harris. Charles Fagan was of mixed black and white ancestry - In the Ancestry world this is someone who is Mulatto. It would appear on earliest Census records found for him that his Mother was Rebecca and that he was born in 1869. She was of Black descent so her spouse had to of been White. Although there is no record of him on file with his son Charles.
Charles Fagan did not participate in Sadie's upbringing. Likewise he shunned his daughter when she was young. She spent many years saddened by the fact that she and her daughter Eleanora (Billie) were outcast members of her own Fagan family. This was especially true when Charles did choose to marry and wed a devout Catholic woman named Martha Dixon. Periodically Grandfather Charles would make an appearance for his granddaughter Eleanora's sake as a child, But his involvement was too far and few between to make an a lasting positive impact. Certainly not enough to shield either she or her Mother Sadie from life's ordeals that met them head-on.
Sadie subsequently often left Eleanora in care of her sister - Aunt Eva, or another adult, in Baltimore so she could work to take care of her daughter. Without Eleanora's Father Clarence by her side, sometimes this work was out of state. When she did travel, Eleanora was left in care of a neighbor to check in. Sadie would take on odds and ends jobs working in transportation, a shirt factory, serving as a domestic servant or serving dinner meals in her home under a business name the East Side Grill. She did all that she could do to attend to her daughter as a single parent and provide for her means. She did marry a Philip Gough, a longshoreman, He like Billie's Natural Father Clarence eventually managed to vacate the scene after just a few years leaving the two without support once again.
Here is a City Directory Listing in 1922 in Baltimore, Maryland w/ Eleanora's Mom Sadie married to Phillip Gough
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| Citation: U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. |
When there were times Eleanora (Billie) was away from both her parents - It obviously was a sorrowful downfall. It produced a huge magnitude of trauma for such a young developing child. In fact in her juvenile years, in the fourth grade at the age of ten, Eleanora skipped school quite frequently. Enough in fact that a judge placed her into a school for wayward girls known as The House of Good Shepherd for Colored Girls in 1925. This school was also referred to as the House of Correction. The Judge's reasoning was simple - lack of parental control and supervision. Eleanora was in and out of there twice in two years before she was returned to her mother in good faith. Here below is an excerpt of another troubled youth from Pennsylvania of that same year in 1925. This young girl of 14 was sent to this same facility for circumstances relayed below. Our Eleanora (Billie) most likely knew Ms. Bechtel below while they both were attending. It is also known that this House of Correction left Eleanora vulnerable to sexual abuse by other females who resided there. It is not an unknown fact that she in her later years was open about her bi-sexuality which may have originated in this school at such a young age.
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| Citation: The Harrisburg Telegraph - 23 July 1925 |
Unfortunately, upon leaving the school in 1927, Eleanora and her Mom relocated to a seedy part of Baltimore which was filled with varied Bars and Brothels. Eleanora, in some biographical accounts, is stated somewhere around this time to have also been raped by an older neighbor Wilbur Rich. She was about 12 years old. Eleanora gained employment in one of those Brothels downtown working as an errand girl for owner Ethel Moore. Not sure what kind of errands/chores she was delegated. However, all will likely agree that this 'lifestyle surrounding' was not good role model exposure for a young teenage girl.
One can clearly identify though that this Brothel atmosphere was where Billie heard the trumpet music of Louis Armstrong and sultry Blues sounds of Bessie Smith. They were two of the very Music Artists she drew her talent in music from. And without a shadow of a doubt - their tunes could be heard beyond those four walls of the Brothel over and over again.
Eleanora (Billie) decided to try her hand at singing in local amateur shows and movie houses to get some experience under her belt. Subsequently between 1927 and 1929 - This period in Billie's life, and that of her moms, grew darker financially and sadly led to prostitution, ram-pate use of Marijuana and a move to New York.
Upon arriving in New York, she was promptly arrested for prostitution. That was in 1929 and she was only 14 years old. She was sentenced to 100 days work detail at Welfare Island.
Eleanora caught a break around 1930 when she met Kenneth Hollon - American Jazz Saxophonist
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| Citation: Kenneth Hollon Discography |
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| Citation: Year: 1930; Census Place: Manhattan, New York, New York; Roll: 1563; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 0886; Image: 849.0; FHL microfilm: 2341298 |
After she became popular and her performances increased at the Grey Dawn, Eleanora moved onward to the Nest Club and a few other nightclubs in Harlem. She continued to smoke Marijuana and engaged in drinking alcohol. This type of atmosphere of booze and drugs proved too much a temptation not to partake. She stopped soliciting tricks through prostitution because her income as a Singer was providing for her livelihood and for her Mom. Mom Sadie at the same time was gaining more stable income of her own and was working at a Mexican Restaurant.
And then in 1933 the rise to fame for Eleanora was a stroke of good luck and being in the right place at the right time. And indeed, it was a hopeful turn in the right direction musically. A Yale graduate who was "a musician in search of becoming a Producer" named John Hammond (Great Grandson of William Vanderbilt) had traveled to see his friend Monette Moore perform at a Speakeasy in Harlem called Covan's. Moore was a Jazz & Blues recording artist who had recorded with Paramount Records and was of the 1920's Stardom. Moore had created her own establishment - Covan's - on West 132nd Street and entered that club that night with hopes of working with Ms. Moore. However, the stars and planets aligned differently that night and skyrocketed his career and someone else's from that moment forward.
John Hammond was NOT met by Moore. She coincidentally found herself sick and unable to perform that night. Hammond was greeted by a voice that captured his soul. The replacement entertainment of that February 1933 evening was none other than Eleanora Harris Fagan.
This was the marked ending of a name for her that brought sadness and despair. And it was a bright beginning and a fresh start of a new stage name for a girl who had become a woman much before her time. Eleanora became Billie - And Fagan became Holiday. And she was 18 years old but had matured & sounded like she was 30. Here is a photo of John Hammond - Billie's First Producer.
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| Citation: From THE PRODUCER: John Hammond and the Soul of American Music by Dunstan Prial, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC. |
Billie had selected Holiday for her stage name (but w/o the extra L) because of her Father Clarence's musical background and his notoriety that had already been established in the industry. She also did not want to give credit to her Mothers side (The Fagans) as they had treated her family despicably over the earlier years with out-casting her and her Mother.
But how about the Billie first name? Why this one? Two versions surfaced...Billie loved the story and aspirations of a silent movie actor named Billie Dove who was known as the "American Beauty"
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| Citation: actress Billie Dove | photographer Fred Hartsook | 1920s |
1935 was a good year for Billie. She was singing regularly at the Apollo Theatre and she had a small role as a woman abused by her lover in Duke Ellington's Symphony in Symphony in Black: A Rhapsody of Negro Life. In her scene below at 4:35 in this video - she sang the track "Saddest Tale"
Billie was signed later that year to Brunswick Records. At the same time, she started to sing with Jazz Pianist Teddy Wilson. She goes on to record with him the following titles - "What a Moonlight Can Do" and "Miss Brown to You" She is found below mentioned in a Brooklyn Newspaper as being "One of the very best singers of the day." She was fast becoming a solid performer with a great future in Jazz.
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| Citation: The Brooklyn Daily Eagle Newspaper - 29 DEC 1935 |
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| Citation: Lady Sings The Blues - Lester Young & Billie Holiday |
Billie's Father Clarence Holliday died in 1937 just as her professional career in music was taking off with wings of its own. The man who had literally given her very little in life left it when she was soaring in the industry and becoming golden.
She started to tour with the Count Basie Orchestra in 1937 and eventually created headlines all her own...Being the second black singer to work with an all white Orchestra when she is paired with Bandleader/Composer Artie Shaw in 1938. Traveling with him and his integrated band in the segregated South, it all sparked much controversy. In many ways - it was deeply offensive to Billie and rightfully so.
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| Citation: Pittsburgh Courier / 19 MAR 1938 |
Her time touring with Shaw came to an end just as it was shadowed by his hiring of another singer Helen Frost, for the band whom was white. Helen was gaining more noted interest among paid attendees at the concerts and Billie was limited with what she could perform because of the color of her skin. It all took a toll on Billie - There was too much racial discrimination everywhere she performed.
In April of 1939, Billie wanted to record a song from a poem she had read that was written by a schoolteacher Abel Meeropol (pen name Lewis Allen) It was entitled Strange Fruit. However- her record label at the time, Columbia Records, was nervous about how this song would be interpreted.
They did release her from her contract for a one song only deal with Commodore Records. Little did they know that this song landed a spot posthumously into the Grammy Hall of Fame some 39 years later in 1978. She premiered the song in person at the upscale Café Society in 1939.
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| Citation: Holiday / Singing at Cafe Society - 1939 |
Oddly, the song that conjured up the deepest emotions with regard to her distant Father also was her highest grossing record sold in her ensemble of classics. Strange Fruit sold over 1 Million copies. Even in later years, it set another mile marker. Time Magazine, 31 DEC 1999, listed Strange Fruit as "Song of the Century".
In 1940, Historically on record, Billie is still found living with her Mother in New York at 286 West 142nd Street. Interestingly for this Census taker, she is still being referred to as Eleanora (instead of Billie) Holiday. I'm sure her Mom Sadie was at the door when this person came round. Billie would always be Momma's little Eleanora!
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| Caption: Year: 1940; Census Place: New York, New York, New York; Roll: T627_2669; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 31-1849 |
Billie married three times in years thereafter - None of these relationships withstood the demands placed upon them. She married first to James Monroe in 1941. Unfortunately James had his own issues with drugs, and was arrested because of it. In part he brought Billie back under the fold of this dark demon in her lifestyle that had been something of the past. They divorced not too much later after his arrest.
In 1946/47 - Billie fulfilled a life long dream of working with her idol Louis Armstrong appearing beside him for the first time in the film New Orleans airing 17 June 1937 - Here below is a snippet found in the Los Angeles Times about the grand opening of this production one day prior. Also below is a snapshot taken of this newfound friendship that was many years in the making and long overdue for Billie. They remained good friends performing and recording together thereafter.
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| Citation: Los Angeles Times - 16 June 1947 |
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| Citation: Armstrong/Holiday - On the set of Arthur Lubin's New Orleans (1946) |
Billie's Mom Sadie died in October of 1947. The lose of her Mom placed her into a deep state of depression. Here below is one of the last photos taken with her Mom Sadie from back in 1945
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| Citation: Billie Holiday and her mother Sadie Fagan - 1945 |
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| Citation: Billie Holiday & Joe Guy |
Between 1953 and 1957, although Billie's frame of mind was fragile and her compulsion for drugs seemingly high, her career did not falter with her fans.
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Her final husband, Louis McKay, was with her during her last few years of her life. He was known to be affiliated with the Mafia and was suspected of being physically abusive. This coupled with never ending addiction and a second bust with the narcotics made this relationship a real winner from day one. But when Billie died - Louis was there at the hospital for her final hours. Here below is an article that was written in 1957 that details the charges she and this husband were facing w/that bust:
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| Citation: Pittsburgh Courier - 23 FEB 1957 |
Even though relationships fell to the wayside in Billie's life - And her career fell in and out of the limelight over those past ten years of her life before she died - Billie Holiday Fans were still strong from the mid 1940's all the way through until she died in 1959. At her funeral it is said that over 3000 people came to pay their respects on July 21, 1959. Perhaps the Philadelphia Inquirer said it best on 18 JUL 1959 one day after she passed away:
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| Citation: Philadelphia Inquirer - 18 JUL 1959 |
And what is even more amazing is how Billie's spirit and the sheer power behind her messaging found within those vocals still penetrates the heart beyond the grave.
Here below are just a sampling of the accomplishments she has achieved over the years despite the hurdles. Remarkably a lot of these distinctions are posthumously.
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- 11 Recording Labels
- 21 Albums Recorded
- 350 + Songs Sung
- 38 Charting Singles
- 4x Esquire Magazine Gold /Silver Award Recipient for Best Leading Female Vocalist
- Lady Sings the Blues Film about her life played by Diana Ross - 1972
- 6 Songs Inducted Into the Grammy Hall of Fame Posthumously - 76', 78', 89', 2000, 05', 10'
- 4 Grammy Awards for Best Historical Album Posthumously - 80', 92', 94'. 02'
- Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill - Tony Award Winning Play about her life - 1986
- Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award - 1987
- Holiday U.S. Postal Service Stamp Issued on Sept. 18, 1994
- Ranked #6 on VH1's "100 Greatest Women in Rock n' Roll" in 1999
- Inducted in the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame - 2000
- Library of Congress / National Recording Registry Listing - 1 of 50 songs added in 2002
- Inductee - Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame - 2004
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The "Holiday" mark on music, with the Jazz & Blues vibe she projected will continue to live on for years to come and generations thereafter. But with no children of her own to carry down the legacy - its up to you and me - So if ever you are in Hollywood and stop upon this Star - Lay down a white gardenia (Her favorite trademark) in her honor AND...
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| Citation: Los Angeles Times / Hollywood Star Walk Article - Billie Holiday |
She was a fighter and someone who was indeed flawed in humanity. But she overcame poverty, rejection, and much adversity to get where she was in life.
And although she chose some paths that others may not dare go down, she did this journey her way. And indeed she was a "Lady Who Sings The Blues" in more ways than one.... God bless you Billie Holiday - may you rest in peace!
Citation: Billie Holiday - I'll Be Seeing You
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