Intending to write a biography of Billie Holiday, she interviewed friends, fellow performers, and key figures in Holiday's read more. The years with Teddy Wilson that brought her to fame are barely discussed. Shortly after she became a professional singer as a teenager, Holiday began working with musician/producer John Hammond, who introduced her to Benny Goodman in 1933. Billie is playing in selected cinemas and various streaming services. Her parents split up not long after getting married, and Halliday became an absentee father who remained out of his daughters life. resize77260663c877fb829bf(wrapper); She changed her last name to Holiday to capitalize on her fathers connection as a guitarist with the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, one of the most respected Black Big Bands of its day. var captainformDomReady = captainformDomReady || function(e){var t=!1,n=function(){document.addEventListener? They got married in 1957. var popupParams = { Kuehl, in that period of eight years, began to see parts of herself in Holiday. Earl Zaiding, who was Holidays lawyer, calls McKay a pathological liar.. type: "text/javascript", Kuehl was a journalist and high school teacher that interviewed close to 200 people that knew Ms. Holliday. MTT invited her to sing a program of Gershwin with the San Francisco Symphony and she subsequently became a Rounder Records recording artist and went on a worldwide tour gracing concert halls from Moscow to Lincoln Center and festivals from Umbria Jazz to Monterey Jazz garnering effusiveinternational press and many awards. Its implied that her addiction issues were inherited, because Sandy Williams, a bandmate of Holidays father Clarence, describes Clarence as a happy-go-lucky guy who loved his booze and was often drunk. However, Linda's book was never finished and the tapes never heard . Although she was a heavy user of marijuana, alcohol and cocaine, Holiday was most associated with her use of heroin and other opiates. var readyStateOverflowInterval; One of Holidays most poignant recordings, Lady in Satin, is a lush string album and her last album is made multidimensional by the testimonies of the musicians who played with her and friends she was close with. Various biographies on Holiday have drawn upon Kuehl's material. Eleanoras parents got married when she was 3 years old, and she was raised primarily in Baltimore. She began working on the Holiday biography in 1971 and interviewed an impressive number of people. 2019 Directed by James Erskine Synopsis She sang the truth, she paid the price 'Lady Day' was one of the greatest jazz vocalists the world ever heard. The film consists almost entirely of Kuehls recordings she had 125 cassettes worth of interviews and snippets of her writing, the latter played out over dramatic reconstructions of hands hovering above a typewriter. Kuehl was and still is, posthumously, THE preeminent biographer of Billie Holiday, despite never having completed Holiday's biography before she died in 1978. }, 50); } Josephson sums up the usual complaint that he got was: We came to your nightclub to be entertained. }, true); var captainformCustomVars = {}; He was 18, she was 16, and I was three" - but was also full of inaccuracies. Enjoy our special Billie Holiday Gallery of photos, posters, record covers, surprises and film clips with lots of great music. Kuehl died after attending a Basie concert in Washington, D.C. Luftman says that a big clue for her that it wasnt a suicide was that Kuehl had a cosmetic face mask on, which was her habit when she got ready for bed. She sang in clubs in Harlem and. Olika andra frfattares biografier p Holiday har anvnt Kuehls . Function: _error_handler, File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/page/index.php Several people in the documentary literally say in one way or another, She loved to get high. And they talk about how she had an unusually high physical tolerance for drugs that was stronger than men who were physically a lot bigger than she was. [3] She worked as a high school teacher and free lance writer. Several people in the documentary say that New York City doormen (especially on 52nd Street) would regularly supply her with drugs. var wrapper = jQuery('#captainformForm772606EmbedPopup63c877fb829bf'); Greenwich Entertainment released Billie in select U.S. cinemas, on digital and VOD on December 4, 2020. var captainformCustomVars = {}; else if ('' == 'right') Linda delivers due diligence and interviews all the people involved to come up with an answer, or answers, that are closer to the truth than any other biographer. Sarah Julia Sadie Fagan (a maid) was 13 when she gave birth to Eleanora, and Clarence Halliday (a musician) was 15. Dr. James Hamilton, a psychiatrist who interviewed Holiday when she was in prison, had this diagnosis of her. FISHER Satisfies the Appetite, Memorable and Best Forgotten Thanksgivings. The conditions for African Americans were much more dismal than many people realize and Holidays struggles stand on their own. She spoke to Holidays friends, and to those who had been there for the most transformative chapters of her life. "She excited me with just three notes," drummer Roy Harte tells Kuehl. Linda Lipnack Kuehl [1] was an American arts journalist, based in New York City. Her family, however, believed otherwise. Her death was ruled as a suicide. Holiday grew up in Baltimore, poor and lonely her father had abandoned her and her mother was often absent due to work. BILLIE, directed by James Erskine, is a portrait of legendary singer Billie Holiday based on more than 200 audio interviews conducted by journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl in the 1970s.A compelling look at the jazz legend who should never be forgotten. Holiday corrects an interviewer saying that she was fourteen when she arrived in New York. [11] "Police deemed it suicide, Kuehl having supposedly jumped from her hotel room, although there was no proof of this",[3] and her family believes she may have been murdered. The documentary includes archival news video footage of Joan Allen, a correctional officer who worked at the federal rehabilitation facility in Alderston, West Virginia, where Holiday served her prison time. if (document.getElementById('captainform_js_global_vars') == null) { var append_element = append_element || function(e){if(void 0==e)return!1;if(! Elle fut la premire icne de la protestation contre le racisme ce qui lui a valu de puissants ennemis. }, true); var captainformCustomVars = {}; For some eight years in the 1970s, Kuehl interviewed everyone she could find who had a personal association with Holiday musicians, managers, childhood friends, lovers and FBI agents among them. See also Other Works | Publicity Listings | Official Sites Holidays time with Basie and his band ended on a sour note when she left. var captainformThemeStyle = {}; According to Luftman, her sister Kuehl was threatened by people close to Count Basie, who became close to Kuehl when she interviewed him for the book. Contact Us I would expect that at least they could have found a child with the same coloring as Holiday. Song list and samples here.She portrayed Holiday on stage in C.J.Verburgs play Lady Day in Love. captainForm772606PreloadInterval63c877fb834ac = setInterval(function(){ } Being a solo act gave Holiday the freedom to record whats considered the most important and most controversial song of her career: Strange Fruit. Written by Abel Meeropol under the alias Lewis Allan, and released in 1939, the song is a poetically brutal commentary on racial injustice, particularly in describing the lynching of black people in the South. By the time that Holiday was arrested in 1947, she listed her marital status as separated. She and Monroe got divorced the same year. [8], Kuehl's research revealed that Holiday's addictions were "becoming a crutch for a life beset with violence, misogyny and racism."[2]. Line: 479 Then, before she could finish her biography, Kuehl died: In 1978, her body was found on a Washington, D.C. street. Function: _error_handler, File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/page/index.php Basies saxophonist Lester Young is credited with giving Holiday the nickname Lady Day. if (document.getElementById('captainform_js_global_vars') == null) { She never bothered anybody. And to the best of anyones knowledge, Holiday didnt sing while she was incarcerated. captainForm772605PreloadInterval63c877fb83722 = setInterval(function(){ Whatever the real reasons for Holidays exit from the Count Basie Orchestra, her next career opportunity was one that was groundbreaking but controversial at the time. Then, in the late 1960s journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of Billie. Depending on whom you believe, she either quit or was fired. Consistently entertaining, Billie is really about the writer and subject of the . Add a bio, trivia, and more. Music producer Marty Gabler says in the documentary that Columbia Records didnt want to release Strange Fruit because of the social content and because of how unusual it was to do a protest song. Strange Fruit is considered historically important because it was one of the first social justice songs released by a mainstream performer prior to the U.S. civil rights movement. She wasnt like a slut. Kim Nalley is on faculty at the California Jazz Conservatory and is writing her Doctoral dissertation on the Globalization of Jazz and Black Cultural Politics.. [2] Kuehl is heard in the interview going back and forth with Jones and Hammond to get their reactions to these conflicting allegations. Recently some articles based on faulty interviews emphasize her persecution in Hoovers war on drugs without realizing this was a fact of life for all African American jazz musicians. Linda Lipnack Kuehl (24. tammikuuta 1940 - 6. helmikuuta 1978) oli yhdysvaltalainen taidetoimittaja New Yorkissa. Her drug problems led to her multiple arrests at the height of her fame. Allen shows the cell where Holiday stayed and describes Holiday as quiet and certainly no trouble ever. function resize77260563c877fb83722(wrapper){ Linda Lipnack Kuehl was writing a biography of Holiday when she died suddenly in 1978, though her family believe she may have been murdered Clarisse Loughrey Friday 13 November 2020 11:03 05 January 2023. captainform_create_form_popup(popupParams); if (document.getElementById('captainform_js_global_vars') == null) { Your email address will not be published. Elle recueille 200 heures de tmoignages incroyables : Charles . var wrapper = jQuery('#captainformForm772605EmbedPopup63c877fb83722'); For eight years in the 1970s, a journalist named Linda Lipnack Kuehl researched a biography of Billie Holiday, interviewing as many of the great jazz chanteuse's friends, relatives and . As Holidays fame grew, so too did her notoriety for being a drug addict. At one point, she began to receive strange, threatening calls. } Many books have been written about her success and ongoing struggles. The audio recordings in Billie come from the archives of New York City-based journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl, who died by falling from a hotel in Washington, D.C., on February 4, 1978. Before her mysterious death in 1978, Lipnack Kuehl had taped over 200 hours of interviews. Maria Bryant, a singer and friend of Holidays, calls Levy a dirty, rotten, stinking bastard., In 1945, Holiday moved on to Louis McKay, who would become her manager and then her second husband. Find out about all the best exhibitions, theatre, books and music based on full reviews. Nalleys Ballads for Billie is now available on CD or as a digital album. Kuehl spend eight years interviewing the artist's friends, relatives, peers, business associates, even an FBI narcotics agent and a prison corrections officer, accruing 200 hours of . There might also be a tad too much focus on the woman who made those 125 cassettes, Linda Lipnack Kuehl, who was clearly a gifted writer and smart interviewer. It is maintained is rich with photos, videos, book information, quotes, and, of course, music.Plan to spend some time there. ("elementType"in e))return!1;var n=null;if(n=e.following?e.following.parentElement:e.inside?e.inside:e.replacing?e.replacing.parentElement:"script"==e.elementType?document.head:document.body,null==n)return!1;var l=document.createElement(e.elementType);delete e.elementType,l=jQuery.extend(l,e),e.replacing?n.replaceChild(l,e.replacing):n.appendChild(l)}; Linda Lipnack Kuehl (January 24, 1940 February 6, 1978)[1] was an American arts journalist, based in New York City. (Its one of the reasons why biopics about Holiday portray her in very different ways.). setTimeout(function () { } window.addEventListener('resize', function(){ }); Holidays boxer dog was used as a way to transport drugs underneath the dogs collar. Beloved daughter of Sol and Ida Llpnack and loving sister of Myra Luttman died February 6th, 1978. She was a perfectionist, according to her sister, which is why it took so long for Kuehl to work on the uncompleted book. For some eight years in the 1970s, Kuehl interviewed everyone she could find who had a personal association with Holiday musicians, managers, childhood friends, lovers and FBI agents among. setTimeout(function () { [1], File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/user/popup_modal.php As for Holidays love life, several people in the documentary say that Holiday was openly bisexual. This is not to say that there is no filmed footage. jQuery(wrapper).find('a').removeAttr('href'); Intending to write a biography of Billie Holiday, she interviewed friends, fellow performers, and key figures in Holiday's life, but died before its completion. The song she chose exposed discrimination, [by] putting it on stage., Jazz/swing singer Billy Eckstine says that one of the biggest racial inequality problems that black artists had to deal with was that their music was being controlled and judged by white people. She was a highly talented and unique star, but she also complicated and deeply troubled. The chief suspect in Lipnack Kuehl's killing was Billie's manager and husband, Louis McKay. It turned me on., Although Holiday had several male and female lovers, only one woman is mentioned in the documentary as being one of her paramours: actress Tallulah Bankhead. Her second drug bust came in San Francisco in 1949, but she didnt get any prison time for that arrest. The girl looks absolutely nothing like Holiday. Just click the "Edit page" button at the bottom of the page or learn more in the Biography submission guide. Line: 192 Lipstick and brow pencil are the hallmark features. Raw and brutally honest, incredible testimonies from Charles Mingus, Sarah . Her stillness is fantastic for the camera. Funeral services Friday February 10th, 11 A.M. Parkside Chapel, 170th St . if ('' == 'left') Hopefully someday a filmmaker will be able to tackle the intersectionality of Holiday being both Black and a woman when neither had many rights, and Holiday as a jazz genius when singers were considered neither musicians nor geniuses. Considering all the trauma that Holiday had when she was a child (she was also raped more than once when she was a teenager), its no surprise that she ended up way that she did. }); Her face is an actress as much as her voice. captainform_create_form_popup(popupParams); Before her mysterious death in 1978, Lipnack Kuehl had taped over 200 hours of interviews. Eleanors favorite curse words were motherfucker and cocksucker., By all accounts, Eleanor started working as a housecleaner/maid before she was a teenager. At times the interviews use words that grate on modern ears. Holidays eyes plead, her lips sneer and her single eyebrow rises suggestively and reproachfully. This was one of the principal reasons why she left the band. Hammond estimates that Holidays salary with Basie was $125 a week, at the most. var popupTrigger = jQuery("#captainformForm772606EmbedPopup63c877fb829bf"); ("elementType"in e))return!1;var n=null;if(n=e.following?e.following.parentElement:e.inside?e.inside:e.replacing?e.replacing.parentElement:"script"==e.elementType?document.head:document.body,null==n)return!1;var l=document.createElement(e.elementType);delete e.elementType,l=jQuery.extend(l,e),e.replacing?n.replaceChild(l,e.replacing):n.appendChild(l)}; She interviewed and interviewed. elementType: "script", [13] Some of Kuehl's material was used in Donald Clarke's 1994 biography, Wishing on the Moon[14] and her interviews were used in Julia Blackburn's 2005 biography With Billie: a New Look at the Unforgettable Lady Day. captainformCustomVars['772605'] = ''; Nalleysmany philanthropic endeavors include founding theKim Nalley Black Youth Jazz Scholarshipat the California Jazz Conservatory. Function: _error_handler, File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/user/popup_harry_book.php [2] Various other writers' biographies on Holiday have drawn upon Kuehl's material, as did the film Billie (2019), which is narrated by Kuehl's recorded interviews.