Billie Holiday Could Really Swing, & She Swung Both Ways

She was born Elinore Harris on this very day in 1915. She was named Lady Day by her musical partner- Lester Young, BILLIE HOLIDAY was one of the greatest jazz vocalists. Her catalog is a veritable medley of bittersweet melodies. Her voice is as languorous as her phrasing. Few singers in history mainlined as much emotion into a song. I can work myself into a big pot of melancholy stew listening to her recordings while sipping whiskey & smoking pot on a dark & rainy day.





Billie lived life with a vengeance. She had a huge appetite for drink, drugs, men, & women. She had an affair with Orson Welles, & an affair with Tallulah Bankhead. Not even I could pull that off. Lady Sings The Blues.... a great movie, & I love Miss Ross in her Oscar nominated performance, but I think we are ready for a new Billie Holiday film. This one would star Queen Latifah. In real life, Billie had a little meat on her bones. Can you see it?