Holiday, Billie (1915-1959)

US jazz singer, also known as ‘Lady Day’. She made her debut in clubs in Harlem, New York, and became known for her emotionally charged delivery and her unique style of phrasing. Holiday brought a blues feel to her performances with swing bands. Songs she made her own include ‘Stormy Weather’, ‘Strange Fruit’, ‘I Cover the Waterfront’, ‘That Ole Devil Called Love’, and ‘Lover Man (Oh, Where can You Be?)’.

Holiday recorded with bandleaders such as Benny Goodman, Teddy Wilson, and Count Basie in the 1930s. During her peak years in the late 1930s and early 1940s she was often accompanied by jazz saxophonist Lester Young.

She published an autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues, in 1956 (filmed 1972).