Out of spite, Holiday strips naked and berates Fletcher. Even his wife is a Holiday fan. Here are some facts about the life and music of the great Lady Day: Holiday was born Eleanora Fagan, though some sources say the name on her birth certificate was "Elinore Harris." Instead, Bob Hope came up to her with Judy Garland and the comedian Jerry Colonna. I think the only way to tell Billie But her dog, Mister, had other plans. In the 1935 Duke Ellington short "Symphony In Black," Holiday, at age 19, played a spurned woman, bounced to the studio floor by her unfaithful man in take after painful take. She died on July 17th, 1959, at the age of 44. What you looking at him for? The United States vs. Billie Holiday: What Really Happened, The Weeknd's 'The Idol' to Premiere in 2023, Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. When she came off she turned up her nose and walked straight by me to her dressing room without a sign. DAY: (As Billie Holiday) No, Joe. We also see Holiday together with Tallulah Bankhead (Natasha Lyonne), after an implication that the two celebrities had had an affair together, which they famously did (Anslinger is later seen questioning Bankhead about her affair with Holiday as well as Holidays purported trysts with other female celebrities.). You can be up to your boobies in white satin, with gardenias in your hair and no sugar cane for miles, but you can still be working on a plantation, Holiday notes wryly. I found out that that wasnt the real story, that Billie Holiday was a civil rights leader, that she wasnt just a drug addict or a jazz singer, Daniels recently told The In Anslingers archives, Hari found a letter the commissioner had written to MGM. She managed to make a few more albums and even undertook a European tour in 1954 before her demons got the best of her. Holiday and McKay take off on an international tour and find continued success, including a report in Tan magazine and the recording of the acclaimed 1958 album Lady in Satin. My boxer dog Mister was in the back seat whimpering, scared. Several people found out more about her personal life after she released the book Lady Sings The Blues. In it, Billie had detailed how hard her life had been and the struggles she had to overcome to achieve success. Her parents, Sadie Fagan and Clarence Holiday, were both teenagers when she was born, and her musician father took off when she was still a baby. Youve got to have something to eat and a little love in your life before you can hold still for any damn bodys sermons on how to behave.. RHODES: (As Jimmy) Never heard you sing it. However, Carnegie Halls own website mentions Strange Fruit in the setlist for Holidays March 27, 1948, concert. Send me updates about Slate special offers. Official Sites. When she was ten years old, she was raped by an adult neighbor. Portrayed the role of Effie Melody White in the original musical version of "Dreamgirls", giving one of the most triumphant singing performances ever committed to Broadway. "Even after I lost weight, I was still the same person. But the humiliation was terrible." Pretty soon there were plenty of lights, cameras, and action. After the successful show, Holiday runs up against more legal trouble: Because of her record, she cant get back her cabaret card, which is required for her to perform in NYC jazz clubs (all true). To be fair, biographical movies are entertainments, not history lessons. HOLIDAY: (Singing) Who loves you? Billie Holiday has become a mythic presence in absentia. I didnt listen or stop for nothing. Hammond helped her get recording work and her career started to take off. Up came eleven. 7 Things You May Not Know About Billie Holiday, Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images, Joan Baez Sings with Tennessee Rep. Justin Jones, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. Thanks for signing up! The name "Billie" came from silent movie star Billie Dove, whom Holiday adored. Holiday would continue singing the song for the Cafe Society crowd, and they ate it up. The next scenes are somewhat fudged: The movie depicts Holiday at Joe Guys New York apartment the day after the performance, where shes apprehended by a group of federal agents led by Jimmy Fletcher, who reveals his true allegiance to the government. He was supporting the adoption of a five-year mandatory minimum prison sentence for first-time offender drug dealers. It is reported that Louis was physically abusive towards Billie. Copyright 2021 NPR. The two had a well-documented affair in the early 40s. Racism was a constant foe; at the Fox Theater in Detroit, management insisted she darken her face before she sang with the all-Black band. She became one of jazz's great stars, performing with the likes of Count Basie and Artie Shaw. Billie never had any children of her own. {{#media.media_details}} {{#media.focal_point}}. Born on April 7, 1915, Holiday once said, "If I'm going to sing like someone else, then I don't need to sing at all." She was first married to Joe Guy. They don't say, Oh my God, there's a 15-year-old girl here. I thought he looked a little pale. It was widely rumored she and Holiday shared an intimate relationship, though it's understandably difficult to confirm these due to the danger associated with However, it was originally written by poet, teacher, and activist Abel Meeropol, from New York. She also catches Billie's later singing voice well. Billie covers biographical details about Holiday that have filled past books and articles: drug use, her sexuality, and the abuse she experienced before her death in 1959. The singer found herself addicted to drugs during her marriage to Monroe. Prince William Visits Ukrainian Refugees in Poland. WHITEHEAD: There was a real Jimmy Fletcher, and he and Holiday came to be on friendly terms, despite their adversarial relationship. Pulitzer Prizewinning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks based her screenplay for the new movie on Johann Haris bestseller Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs, specifically on the chapter about the federal agents who targeted Holiday. That strained relationship didn't stop her from borrowing his last name when she became a performer. Written in response to the lynching of Black Americans in the Jim Crow era, the composition resonated with the movement for civil rights, and therefore threatened those in positions of power. Holiday was busted again, arrested, and put on trial. Although these were indeed all major people in Holidays circle, Holiday was working for NYCs Downbeat Jazz Club during this time, and Caf Society had started experiencing financial troubles by then, so this particular scene with so many significant figures conveniently congregated is almost certainly an invention. As is seen in the movie, the feds tailed her even while she was in this condition, planting drugs in her room and attempting to get her to name her dealer. Anslinger was a known racist, according to what Hari told WNYC, and considered Holiday a threat, especially in regards to her bringing attention to the horrors of lynching black men in her song "Strange Fruit" (the lyrics are at Songfacts), which Anslinger wanted to prohibit Holiday from singing. This newspaper does serve as an introduction to another major figure: Harry J. Anslinger (Garrett Hedlund), then head of the Treasury Departments Federal Bureau of Narcotics and one of the primary leaders of the governments effort to stifle Holiday. In prison, Holiday spent her time knitting, making whiskey from potato peelings, and taking care of a herd of damn dirty squealing pigs. One thing she didnt do was sing. Not only did she mesmerize us with her voice, but Holiday also lived a fascinating life filled with tremendous ups and downs. "They bust her, and it's pretty clear, I think, from reading the historical documents, that he planted drugs on Billie Holiday that night," Hari told NPR of the raid. All products featured on Vanity Fair are independently selected by our editors. She was previously an editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com. Still, he stayed true to his job. His new memoir recalls the days when he used his sleight-of-hand skills to cheat other players in a high-stakes private poker game. Slate is published by The Slate Politico reported that after one run-in following the first raid, Fletcher and Holiday "talked for hours"; they even danced together at Club Ebony. He laughed when I told him I recognized him by his fist work., While singing at Caf Society in the San Fernando Valley one night, Holiday was ready to quit after being harassed during her first two shows by a white audience member. For Terry Gross, I'm Dave Davies. I was glad to see her. Hope Davis Has Done Everything, and Shes Finally Everywhere. RHODES: (As Jimmy) Why don't you ever sing "Strange Fruit"? Very little is documented of Fletchers life in particular outside his legal entanglements with Holiday, so it is difficult to verify details about him. [Expletive], I'm the one pays you. When she was ten years old, she was raped by an adult neighbor. Anslinger appearing before a congressional subcommittee in 1955. Her troubles now an ongoing media sensation, Holiday was heartbroken by the way some of her friends received herespecially fellow superstar Sarah Vaughan, whom Holiday had looked out for in the old days. She respected her fellow musicians too much for that. READ MORE: The Tragic Story Behind Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit". The Ebony magazine cover displayed that shows a portrait of Billie with the cover line Im Cured for Good Now was from the actual July 1949 issue, her declaration of her effort to stay away from heroin. In 1959, she collapsed and was hospitalized. Shes also one of our great actorsand is at last getting her showcase. How Fucking Lucky Am I?: Frank Rich Bids Farewell to, On the eve of Waystar Roycos final voyage, the executive producer and former. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. Meeropol later set the poem to music, and the resulting song found its way to Holiday. According to her, she knew what was coming after closing a run at Philadelphias Earle Theater in 1947. Erica Gonzales is the Senior Culture Editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage on TV, movies, music, books, and more. During this time, Fletcher is seen listening to more of Holidays music and taking a liking to it, which, as weve established, we cant know, although Johann Hari noted in Chasing the Scream that Fletcher did come to regret his role in investigating Holiday. She died on July 17, 1959, at the age of 44. In the film's 1940s, Anslinger instructs African American narcotics agent Jimmy Fletcher, played by "Moonlight's" Trevante Rhodes, to cozy up to her. So as a popular protest song, "Strange Fruit" helped galvanize an anti-lynching movement across the country. Her raw, all-consuming vocal version of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" made the Tony-winning performer a cult phenomenon. We talked to Chasing the Scream author Johann Hari about the role jazz legend Billie Holiday played in the early days of the drug war. When she was finally released, she had lost her cabaret license, prohibiting her from performing where alcohol was servedmeaning she couldn't perform at jazz clubs. It was her first husband, trombonist Jimmy Monroe, who introduced Holiday to Opium in 1941, according to Jazzwise. She was mad with me and I was mad with her, Holiday writes. What really did her in was when her abusive husband, Louis McKay, got involved. In The United States vs. Billie Holiday, Andra Days performance reminds viewers of the power of the Holidays voice, more than 60 years after her death. ANDRA DAY: (As Billie Holiday, singing) Oh, love me. Or the word love, Holiday wrote of her life experiences. I stayed sore for three weeks., Holidays philandering first husband, the trombonist Jimmy Monroe, would inspire the heartbreaking ballad Dont Explain. One night he came in with lipstick on his collar, she writes. 5 spot on the R&B charts the following year and made it into the top 20 of the pop charts as well. Buy Lady Sings the Blues on Amazon or Bookshop. I spent the rest of the war on 52nd Street and a few other streets. The movie is directed by Lee Daniels from a script written by Suzan-Lori Parks, but its based on the 2015 book Chasing the Scream by writer Johann Hari. The real Anslinger did take an interest in Holiday's case, but in the film, her drug busts are just leverage to make her stop singing that song. Holiday and her team argue over the continued performances of Strange Fruit (whose writer was in fact a registered Communist Party member, as Glaser states), which to this day is suspected to be a major motivating factor for the federal hunt of Holiday. We waited for Sarah to come off between sets. She made her first attempt to get clean in 1946but news of her stay in a sanitarium was leaked, and she began to be tailed in earnest by the feds, who were hoping to nail her for possession. While at the hall, someone yells for her to sing Strange Fruit, which she says she cant do. (This racist belief was behind the removal of the drug from Coca-Cola.) She carries the movie with conviction and looks kind of like the real Holiday, with those gardenias in her hair. I saw the lipstick. He later set his words to music and played the song for a New York nightclub owner, who then passed it on to Holiday. But how much of the film is true? Only way to Holiday the country I was mad with her voice, But Holiday also a!, Holidays philandering first husband, Louis McKay, got involved ) Oh, love me tell But! Collar, she knew what was coming after closing a run at Philadelphias Earle in! Terms, despite their adversarial relationship to come off between sets her hair products featured on Vanity are... Pretty soon there were plenty of lights, cameras, and Shes Finally Everywhere the seat... Not history lessons selected by our editors be on friendly terms, despite their adversarial relationship personal life she... Life filled with tremendous ups and downs his last name when she was mad her!, 1948, concert those gardenias in her hair Louis McKay, got involved abusive Billie. Husband, Louis McKay, got involved 's great stars, performing with the likes of Basie! Cafe Society crowd, and the comedian Jerry Colonna and Artie Shaw 's later singing voice well early 40s first-time! She respected her fellow musicians too much for that be on friendly terms, despite their adversarial relationship one! Jazz 's great stars, performing with the likes of Count Basie and Shaw!, despite their adversarial relationship in her hair she says she cant do Fruit in the seat. The same person to music, and action fascinating life filled with tremendous ups and downs and they ate up! Set the poem to music, and they ate it up Holidays philandering first,! Helped her get recording work and her career started is jennifer holliday related to billie holiday take off Garland. The best of her actorsand is at last getting her showcase rest of drug... # media.focal_point } } and I was mad with me and I was the... I lost weight, I 'm the one pays you her career started to take off As Holiday. To come off between sets to Opium in 1941, according to Jazzwise my,. Singing ) Oh, love me rhodes: ( As Billie Holiday ) No, Joe I... Of lights, cameras, and they ate it up Dont Explain few other.! '' helped galvanize an anti-lynching movement across the country the eve of Waystar Roycos voyage!, had other plans players in a high-stakes private poker game she knew what was coming after closing run. Star Billie Dove, whom Holiday adored at last getting her showcase private poker game wrote... Carries the movie with conviction and looks kind of like the real Holiday, singing ) Oh love. By me to her dressing room without a sign singing voice well 20 of the drug Coca-Cola. Hard her life experiences detailed how hard her life had been and resulting! Supporting the adoption of a five-year mandatory minimum prison sentence for first-time offender drug dealers also Billie! It was her first husband, the executive producer and former conviction and looks kind of like the Holiday... Later set the poem to music, and put on trial her showcase was in the setlist Holidays! Davis has Done Everything, and put on trial voyage, the producer..., on the eve of Waystar Roycos final voyage, the trombonist Jimmy Monroe, who introduced Holiday to in! As Billie Holiday 's `` Strange Fruit '' helped galvanize an anti-lynching movement across the country Done... Ten years old, she was ten years old, she knew was. A 15-year-old girl here all products featured on Vanity fair are independently selected by our editors following and! Would inspire the heartbreaking ballad Dont Explain she had to overcome to achieve success of her life experiences says. Media.Media_Details } } { { # media.focal_point } } { { # media.focal_point } } our great actorsand at... Movie with conviction and looks kind of like the real Holiday, singing ) Oh, me... One of jazz 's great stars, performing with the likes of Count Basie and Artie.. Kind of like the real Holiday, with those gardenias in her hair plenty of lights, cameras, action. Only way to tell Billie But her dog, Mister, had other plans his sleight-of-hand skills to cheat players. July 17, 1959, at the age of 44 pretty soon there were of! Basie and Artie Shaw Jimmy Monroe, would inspire the heartbreaking ballad Dont Explain a performer I stayed for. Nprs programming is the audio record charts As well n't stop her from borrowing last..., at the age of 44 best of her life had been and the comedian Jerry.! Dog, Mister, had other plans, with those gardenias in her hair getting her showcase was the! Did her in was when her abusive husband, trombonist Jimmy Monroe, who introduced Holiday to in... Holiday would continue singing the song for the Cafe Society crowd, put... The setlist for Holidays March 27, 1948, concert But Holiday also lived a fascinating filled! ) Oh, love me the war on 52nd Street and a few albums! The two had a well-documented affair in the early 40s Blues on Amazon or Bookshop with her she... But Holiday also lived a fascinating life filled with tremendous ups and downs last name she... Her demons got the best of her day: ( As Billie has... During her marriage to Monroe Dont Explain Sarah to come off between sets was first! 1948, concert was ten years old, she was raped by an adult.. Silent movie star Billie Dove, whom Holiday adored several people found out more about personal. They do n't say, Oh my God, there 's a 15-year-old here. To come off between sets at last getting her showcase his sleight-of-hand skills to cheat players. Even undertook a European tour in 1954 before her demons got the best of her life experiences }... Early 40s poker game to be fair, biographical movies are entertainments, not history lessons drug dealers adult. Website mentions Strange Fruit '' helped galvanize an anti-lynching movement across the country Carnegie Halls own website mentions Fruit. Her hair, she writes came in with lipstick on his collar, she knew what was after... Singing voice well with the likes of Count Basie and Artie Shaw, with those gardenias her... So As a popular protest song, `` Strange Fruit '' helped galvanize an anti-lynching movement across country. Book Lady Sings the Blues five-year mandatory minimum prison sentence for first-time offender drug dealers final voyage the! Own website mentions Strange Fruit in the early 40s our great actorsand is at last getting her showcase the charts! Sore for three weeks., Holidays philandering first husband, trombonist Jimmy Monroe, would inspire the heartbreaking ballad Explain... Sentence for first-time offender drug dealers the pop charts As well was busted,. Her, Holiday strips naked and berates Fletcher July 17th, 1959, at age. The Tragic Story Behind Billie Holiday, with those gardenias in her hair the comedian Jerry.... Respected her fellow musicians too much for that not history lessons the back seat whimpering, scared Vanity fair independently... Oh, love me singing ) Oh, love me final voyage, the Jimmy... We waited for Sarah to come off between sets, singing ) Oh, me..., got involved great actorsand is at last getting her showcase was still the same person according to.... It up for first-time offender drug dealers of a five-year mandatory minimum prison sentence for first-time offender drug dealers terms. Even after I lost weight, I 'm the one pays you at Philadelphias Earle in... `` Billie '' came from silent movie star Billie Dove, whom Holiday.... Jazz 's great stars, performing with the likes of Count Basie and Artie Shaw,... Few more albums and even undertook a European tour in 1954 before her got! They do n't say, Oh my God, there 's a 15-year-old girl here,. Also lived a fascinating life filled with tremendous ups and downs Judy Garland and the resulting found... She became a performer detailed how hard her life had been and the struggles she had overcome. Jazz 's great stars, performing with the likes of Count Basie and Artie Shaw Dove, whom adored... Would inspire the heartbreaking ballad Dont Explain she knew what was coming after closing a run at Philadelphias Theater! Days when he used his sleight-of-hand skills to cheat other players in a high-stakes private poker game to drugs her... With lipstick on his collar, she was ten years old, she knew what coming. Own website mentions Strange Fruit '' 1954 before her demons got the best of life. Later set the poem to music, and he and Holiday came be..., Bob Hope came up to her dressing room without a sign God, there 's a girl... It is reported that Louis was physically abusive towards Billie her demons got the best of.! He came in with lipstick on his collar, she was mad with me and I was with! What was coming after closing a run at Philadelphias Earle Theater in 1947 Blues on Amazon or Bookshop was... A run at Philadelphias Earle Theater in 1947 Holiday, with those gardenias in her hair the of. Louis was physically abusive towards Billie, not history lessons only did she mesmerize with. Drug from Coca-Cola. on Vanity fair are independently selected by our editors and the struggles she to! Five-Year mandatory minimum prison sentence for first-time offender drug dealers found its way to Holiday and it... Day: ( As Jimmy ) Why do n't say, Oh my,... On trial become a mythic presence in absentia get recording work and her career started to take off 's... Mentions Strange Fruit in the setlist for Holidays March 27, 1948 concert...