Billie HolidaySinger / Guitarist Born: 7 April 1915 Died: 17
July 1959 Birthplace: Baltimore, Maryland Best known as: The
popular jazz singer known as "Lady Day" Name at birth: Eleanora
Fagan Billie Holiday was one of the first and greatest of
American jazz singers, known in equal parts for her unique and
laconic timing, her wistful and brassy vocals, and her troubled
personal life. Holiday began singing in Harlem clubs as a
teenager, and first recorded (with Benny Goodman) in 1933. She
was a sensation at New York's famous jazz club, The Apollo, and
sang with the bands of Artie Shaw and Count Basie, among others.
Holiday was nicknamed "Lady Day" during this era by saxophonist
Lester Young, with whom she often recorded. In the 1940s she
began using heroin and opium, and her last years were marked by
her decline in health as a result of drink and drugs. Her most
famous songs include "God Bless the Child," "Lover Man" and "My
Man." She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an
early influence in the