Back to Home
Musicians & Singers
Billie Holiday
1915–1959
Jazz vocalist whose 'Strange Fruit' became an anthem against racial violence.
📖Biography
Billie Holiday, born Eleanora Fagan, was an American jazz and swing music singer. She is considered one of the greatest jazz vocalists of all time. Her vocal style influenced jazz and pop singing.
Key Achievements
1
Recorded the anti-lynching protest song 'Strange Fruit'
2
Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame
3
Won four Grammy Awards posthumously
4
Time magazine named 'Strange Fruit' the 'song of the century'
Legacy & Impact
Holiday's 'Strange Fruit' was one of the first major popular songs to address racial violence, using art as protest decades before the civil rights movement.