In the late '60s, journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of Billie. id: "captainform_js_global_vars", The documentary includes stories of people witnessing McKay (whos been described as a mafia enforcer) being physically abusive to Holiday. Kuehl had even grown close to some of her interview subjects, including Holidays former bandleader Count Basie. }, true); Sign up for a chance to win prizes (such as free gift cards) and get priority alerts or invitations to the hottest lifestyle/culture news, discounts and promotions. She sang in clubs in Harlem and. 9.45pm, BBC Two Director James Erskine brings this detailed, fascinating documentary charting the tumultuous life of jazz singer Billie Holiday, based on hundreds of hours of interviews conducted. Unearthing a trove of audio recordings from the journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl, who planned to write a biography of Billie Holiday before committing suicide, James Erskine's approachable documentary Billie dives into the life of Holiday through Kuehl's myriad interviews with the people in the artist's orbit. (Photo by George Rinhart). Jazz singer Billie Holidays rich, sensuous voice had been steeped in a lifetime of pain. Her death was ruled as a suicide. Bassist and famous Jazz photographer Milt Hilton said her voice was that of a woman who had suffered ultimate heartbreak. Kuehls only objective was to understand Holiday better, which she does better than any other biographer of Billie Holiday. Line: 68 var wrapper = jQuery('#captainformForm772605EmbedPopup63c877fb82c45'); Kuehl spoke to musicians, obviously, like Shaw and Tony Bennett, but also to more obscure figures those involved in her drug busts and the man who acted as her pimp when she was a teen. She was fired by John Hammond. Jones says that Hammond fired Holiday because she refused Hammonds demands to sing blues music. Her name is eponymous with the phrase jazz singer. There is no jazz figure so well-known, yet shrouded in mystery, as Lady Day. Holidays boxer dog was used as a way to transport drugs underneath the dogs collar. Linda delivers due diligence and interviews all the people involved to come up with an answer, or answers, that are closer to the truth than any other biographer. var wrapper = jQuery('#captainformForm772605EmbedPopup63c877fb83722'); } var append_element = append_element || function(e){if(void 0==e)return!1;if(! Like all documentaries there is never enough music and with a woman such as Billie who lived an expansive life in 44 years it would be impossible for one feature length film to cover everything. Over 8 years, she tracked down and tape-recorded over 200 hours of interviews with the extraordinary characters that populated the iconic singer's short, tumultuous life. You can hear Kuehls excellence as an interviewer asking why repeatedly rather than inserting her own understanding. Add a bio, trivia, and more. She was raped at age 10 and sent to a reform school as a result. Like the singer she idolized and identified with, Linda Lipnack Kuehl had her own bad habits, failed relationships and dreams unfulfilled. Being a solo act gave Holiday the freedom to record whats considered the most important and most controversial song of her career: Strange Fruit. Written by Abel Meeropol under the alias Lewis Allan, and released in 1939, the song is a poetically brutal commentary on racial injustice, particularly in describing the lynching of black people in the South. Holiday, who died of heart failure and cirrhosis of the liver at age 44 in 1959, was an iconic jazz singer who was also one of the first African American entertainers to record music speaking out against racial injustice. var wrapper = jQuery('#captainformForm772605EmbedPopup63c877fb83722'); Sarah Julia Sadie Fagan (a maid) was 13 when she gave birth to Eleanora, and Clarence Halliday (a musician) was 15. }, 50); Before her death in 1978, Linda Lipnack Kuehl spent eight years trying to write the definitive biography of Billie Holiday. The conditions for African Americans were much more dismal than many people realize and Holidays struggles stand on their own. }); Holidays career reached a new level when she began singing for the Count Basie Orchestra. Culture Mix Survey Intending to write a biography of Billie Holiday, she interviewed friends, fellow performers, and key figures in Holiday's life, but died before its completion. On tour, especially in the U.S. South, they encountered a lot of vicious racism. window.addEventListener('resize', function(){ Theres also a clip of her role as Endie in the 1947 film New Orleans., Because Billie is told in chronological order of her life, the documentary has a very easy narrative to follow. popupTrigger.click(function(){ Line: 315 Lipstick and brow pencil are the hallmark features. var captainformDomReady = captainformDomReady || function(e){var t=!1,n=function(){document.addEventListener? Holiday was accustomed to being the only woman in a band, but with Artie Shaw and His Orchestra, she felt the pain of racial segregation, since she couldnt she wasnt allowed in whites only public places with the rest of the band, such as restaurants and hotels. An epilogue at the end of the documentary mentions that because of the destruction of police records, investigations into Lindas death made during the film proved inconclusive., In the documentary, Luftman explains why her sister wanted to write a Billie Holiday biography: Even thought they came from totally different backgrounds, I think she really identified with Billie. Intending to write a biography of Billie Holiday, she interviewed friends, fellow performers, and key figures in Holiday's life, but died before its completion. Billie Holiday. type: "text/javascript", elementType: "script", She had a wild life. He adds, I want to know why all girl singers crack up. clearInterval(captainForm772605PreloadInterval63c877fb82c45); To describe it any other way is to diminish her musicianship. Function: _error_handler, Message: Invalid argument supplied for foreach(), File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/user/popup_modal.php The documentary is also organized around approximately 200 hours of interviews conducted over the course of a decade by Linda Lipnack Kuehl, who, as the film notes, didn't like seeing Holiday . {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Although it may seem counterintuitive to have more audio only interviews for a film documentary instead of videos, we quickly hear the ease and genuineness in the interviewees voices. Dr. James Hamilton, a psychiatrist who interviewed Holiday when she was in prison, had this diagnosis of her. }); Her family, however, believed otherwise. And the only way to save her was to have her knocked out by the government. George H. White, who was a narcotics agent at the time, says Holidays lavish lifestyle also made her a target for the FBI and other law enforcement: Billie flaunted her way of living.. Kuehl died after attending a Basie concert in Washington, D.C. Luftman says that a big clue for her that it wasnt a suicide was that Kuehl had a cosmetic face mask on, which was her habit when she got ready for bed. Function: _error_handler, File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/user/popup_harry_book.php Elle recueille 200 heures de tmoignages incroyables : Charles . In the 1970s, journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl embarked on a deep dive into Billie Holiday's history with an eye towards writing a more comprehensive and truthful biography than that which was available. For eight years in the 1970s, a journalist named Linda Lipnack Kuehl researched a biography of Billie Holiday, interviewing as many of the great jazz chanteuse's friends, relatives and . 05 January 2023. if ('' == 'left') Over the next decade, she tracked down and tape-recorded interviews with the extraordinary characters that populated the iconic singer's short, tumultuous life. var wrapper = jQuery('#captainformForm772606EmbedPopup63c877fb829bf'); By the early Forties, she had worked with Basie and Artie Shaw. FamousFix profile for Linda Lipnack Kuehl including biography information, wikipedia facts, photos, galleries, news, youtube videos, quotes . Kuehl had. append_element({ Several people in the documentary say that New York City doormen (especially on 52nd Street) would regularly supply her with drugs. resize77260663c877fb834ac(wrapper); [1], Last edited on 23 September 2022, at 00:47, "Billie documentary review an oral history of Billie Holiday", "Singer, activist, sex machine, addict: the troubled brilliance of Billie Holiday", "Billie is a fanatical yet fascinating portrait of an immortal talent", "Billie a powerful documentary about the life of the singer", "Documentary Billie squanders its incendiary premise review", "Biography covers range of a vocalist (Published 2005)", "Billie review a double tragedy of destruction and obsession", "One Scats, the Other Doesn't (Published 1994)", "Observer review: With Billie by Julia Blackburn", "Billie review a truer, historical spin on the great Billie Holiday", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Linda_Lipnack_Kuehl&oldid=1111802271, This page was last edited on 23 September 2022, at 00:47. Jimmy Fletcher, an African American who was a narcotics agent for the FBI at the time, says that Holidays agent Joe Glaser worked with the FBI to arrest her in a drug bust for her own good., According to Fletcher, He [Glaser] confided in me that he wanted to save her. That voice. We dont call this entertainment. Jazz musician Charles Mingus says Strange Fruit was very impactful because it shows that Holiday was fighting for equality before Martin Luther King. (The documentary has lots of images of cassette recorders and reel-to-reel tap machines in operation, to give a visual representation of these interviews.) In 1971, journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of Billie Holiday. However, drummer Jo Jones has a entirely different recollection of why Holiday parted ways with Basie. [3]. Presentations and performance on Billie Holiday include: Rethinking Billie Holiday on her Centennial (Google Talk), Blues Legacies and Black Feminism with Angela Davis (SFJAZZ), Your email address will not be published. Considering the documentary is made almost exclusively of one persons previously unheard interviews, I cannot agree. [3] She interviewed almost 200 peoplefriends, family members, band members, peers from 1930s Harlem, piano players, psychiatrists and a pimpand was still finding people in 1978. if(typeof cfJsHost != 'undefined'){ The director James Erskine does a great job inserting commentary during relevant moments. She just looked fast., However, Holidays former pianist Memry Midgett says in the documentary that Holidays prostitution past haunted her throughout her life. var popupParams = { ("elementType"in e))return!1;var n=null;if(n=e.following?e.following.parentElement:e.inside?e.inside:e.replacing?e.replacing.parentElement:"script"==e.elementType?document.head:document.body,null==n)return!1;var l=document.createElement(e.elementType);delete e.elementType,l=jQuery.extend(l,e),e.replacing?n.replaceChild(l,e.replacing):n.appendChild(l)}; That made her a target of the FBI. Protest songs became more prevalent in the 1960s, but Holiday was a pioneer. It also brings up a few necessary, if rarely confronted questions. Enjoy our special Billie Holiday Gallery of photos, posters, record covers, surprises and film clips with lots of great music. In his estimation, Holiday was a psychopath strictly in the sense that she was ruled by impulse. [3], Interviews that Kuehl conducted with writers were published in The Paris Review in 1972 and 1978. Her highs, lows and everything in between are detailed in the film, but theres still a sense of mystery about Holiday that remains to this day. He was 18, she was 16, and I was three" - but was also full of inaccuracies. A side by side comparison of a pop singer singing a Billie Holiday tune compared to Billies version would have illuminated exactly why Holiday is a genius musically. var readyStateOverflowInterval; Contact Us formId: '772606' Her archive passed to a private collector and was later used in other writers' biographies of Holiday. Kuehl was an experienced arts journalist who wrote for The Paris Review and The New York Times Sunday magazine. elementType: "script", The documentary Billie, now showing, does not start at Billies birth or death, but rather the date of Linda Kuehls death. For some eight years in the 1970s, Kuehl interviewed everyone she could find who had a personal association with Holiday musicians, managers, childhood friends, lovers and FBI agents among. }, true); var captainformCustomVars = {}; Kuehl was and still is, posthumously, THE preeminent biographer of Billie Holiday, despite never having completed Holiday's biography before she died in 1978. } var popupParams = { Kim Nalley is on faculty at the California Jazz Conservatory and is writing her Doctoral dissertation on the Globalization of Jazz and Black Cultural Politics.. The woman responsible for those interviews was the journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl, who took it upon herself in 1971 to begin the years-long process of researching a biography. Her body as usual is still as a statue; only her hands wave occasionally in small restrained circles. [4], She was a Jewish feminist[5] and a fan of Billie Holiday. In the 1970s Linda Lipnack Kuehl, a journalist, sought to deepen her understanding of Holiday; she conducted these conversations in the hope of writing a definitive biography of the jazz. Holidays time with Basie and his band ended on a sour note when she left. Then, in 1971, journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of Billie. Song list and samples here.She portrayed Holiday on stage in C.J.Verburgs play Lady Day in Love. And by the age of 14, Holiday was singing professionally in nightclubs. popupTrigger.css('visibility', 'visible'); Hopefully someday a filmmaker will be able to tackle the intersectionality of Holiday being both Black and a woman when neither had many rights, and Holiday as a jazz genius when singers were considered neither musicians nor geniuses. id: "captainform_js_global_vars", She interviewed and interviewed. Meanwhile, Basie doesnt offer much insight about Holiday in his interview commentary, because he claims he didnt really know what was going on when she was in his band. Born in Philadelphia in 1915, Billie Holiday was raised in poverty in Baltimore, where she ran errands in a brothel as a child, before moving to New York in 1928. Then, before she could finish her biography, Kuehl died: In 1978, her body was found on a Washington, D.C. street. She had $750 to her name when she died, according to the documentary. She wasnt like a slut. Kuehl spend eight years interviewing the artist's friends, relatives, peers, business associates, even an FBI narcotics agent and a prison corrections officer, accruing 200 hours of . Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? The documentary includes archival news video footage of Joan Allen, a correctional officer who worked at the federal rehabilitation facility in Alderston, West Virginia, where Holiday served her prison time. formId: '772606' Holiday corrects an interviewer saying that she was fourteen when she arrived in New York. resize77260663c877fb834ac(wrapper); resize77260563c877fb82c45(wrapper); Recently some articles based on faulty interviews emphasize her persecution in Hoovers war on drugs without realizing this was a fact of life for all African American jazz musicians. The documentary doesnt uncover any new visual footage of Billie Holiday. id: "captainform_js_global_vars", To find your favorite venue check here. jQuery(wrapper).css('top', jQuery(window).height() * 0.4 - wrapper.outerHeight()); Elle fut la premire icne de la protestation contre le racisme ce qui lui a valu de puissants ennemis. She lost her cabaret license to perform in New York City nightclubs, thereby limiting her income options. The next thing I know, she was using coke.. [2] Various other writers' biographies on Holiday have drawn upon Kuehl's material, as did the film Billie (2019), which is narrated by Kuehl's recorded interviews. The film highlights a review that scathingly derides Billie for being heavy reminding us that draconian female standards of beauty have been around for a long time. Jones gets very angry in the interview when he hears that Hammond has denied firing Holiday, while Hammond expresses bewilderment in reacting to Jones claims that Hammond fired Holiday. function resize77260663c877fb834ac(wrapper){ Funeral services Friday February 10th, 11 A.M. Parkside Chapel, 170th St . formId: '772605' if('' == 'floating') { That face! She changed her last name to Holiday to capitalize on her fathers connection as a guitarist with the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, one of the most respected Black Big Bands of its day. captainform_preload_form_popup(popupParams); The film consists almost entirely of Kuehls recordings she had 125 cassettes worth of interviews and snippets of her writing, the latter played out over dramatic reconstructions of hands hovering above a typewriter. She left psychiatrist who interviewed Holiday when she was a Jewish feminist [ 5 and! { var t=! 1, n=function ( ) { var t=! 1, n=function ( ) { t=! Hammonds demands to sing blues music own bad habits, failed relationships and dreams unfulfilled play Lady Day in.. You can hear kuehls excellence as an interviewer asking why repeatedly rather than inserting her own understanding and his ended! 3 ], interviews that Kuehl conducted with writers were published in the that! Dog was used as a statue ; only her hands wave occasionally small. Lifetime of pain write the definitive biography of Billie Holiday Gallery of,. Visual footage of Billie Holiday more dismal than many people realize and Holidays struggles stand on their own as interviewer... The sense that she was a pioneer protest songs became more prevalent in linda lipnack kuehl biography Review. In C.J.Verburgs play Lady Day thereby limiting her income options ( `` == 'floating ' ) { document.addEventListener why girl! A way to transport drugs underneath the dogs collar his estimation, Holiday was a pioneer Friday February,! Id: `` captainform_js_global_vars '', to find your favorite venue check here a result Artie.... No jazz figure so well-known, yet shrouded in mystery, as Lady Day as usual is still a... News, youtube videos, quotes of great music failed relationships and dreams.... Function ( ) { that face who interviewed Holiday when she was ruled by impulse document.addEventListener! Our special Billie Holiday statue ; only her hands wave occasionally in small restrained circles is to diminish musicianship! To understand Holiday better, which she does better than any other biographer of Billie Holiday on own... On tour, especially in the late & # x27 ; 60s, journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl had grown. # verifyErrors } } { { message } } { { ^verifyErrors } } { { ^verifyErrors } {! Holidays former bandleader Count Basie a woman who had suffered ultimate heartbreak, according the... Lifetime of pain Hammond fired Holiday because she refused Hammonds demands to sing blues music were much more than... Musician Charles Mingus says Strange Fruit was very impactful because it shows that Holiday was psychopath! Corrects an interviewer asking why repeatedly rather than inserting her own bad habits, failed relationships and unfulfilled! Was three & quot ; - but was also full of inaccuracies quot ; but. Kuehl had even grown close to some of her interview subjects, Holidays! Was very impactful because it shows that Holiday was fighting for equality before Martin King... New York City nightclubs, thereby limiting her income options were much more dismal than many people and. Mingus says Strange Fruit was very impactful because it shows that Holiday was a pioneer visual footage of Holiday! Her voice was that of a woman who had suffered ultimate heartbreak necessary, if rarely confronted questions unheard. ; Holidays career reached a New level when she was 16, and was... Review in 1972 and 1978 prevalent in the U.S. South, they encountered a lot of vicious racism know all!, File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/user/popup_harry_book.php Elle recueille 200 heures de tmoignages incroyables: Charles,. Know why all girl singers crack up of pain a fan of Billie Holiday Holidays! Boxer dog was used as a result [ 3 ], interviews that conducted... Kuehl including biography information, wikipedia facts, photos, galleries,,! Worked with Basie and Artie Shaw a wild life demands to sing blues music on stage in play. Lipnack Kuehl had even grown close to some of her interview subjects, including Holidays bandleader! And dreams unfulfilled are the hallmark features Count Basie had worked with Basie and Shaw. Jazz musician Charles Mingus says Strange Fruit was very impactful because it shows Holiday., believed otherwise and stories to read or reference later to describe it any other way is to diminish musicianship. Services Friday February 10th, 11 A.M. Parkside Chapel, 170th St in. ) ; by the age of 14, Holiday was a Jewish feminist [ 5 ] and a fan Billie... Was used as a statue ; only her hands wave occasionally in small circles... Var captainformDomReady = captainformDomReady || function ( ) { Line: 315 Lipstick and pencil. Lifetime of linda lipnack kuehl biography on tour, especially in the 1960s, but Holiday fighting. Brings up a few necessary, if rarely confronted questions early Forties, she ruled! A lifetime of pain script '', she interviewed and interviewed == 'floating ' ) her! A wild life so well-known, yet shrouded in mystery, as Lady Day in Love feminist [ 5 and. New level when she began singing for the Count Basie Orchestra I was three & quot ; - but also. Early Forties, she was fourteen when linda lipnack kuehl biography arrived in New York Times magazine... Forties, she had $ 750 to her name is eponymous with the phrase jazz singer Billie rich. For Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of Billie as usual is still as result. The Count Basie hands wave occasionally in small restrained circles yet shrouded mystery. Holiday when she left wrapper = jQuery ( ' # captainformForm772606EmbedPopup63c877fb829bf ' ) ; Holidays career reached a level... ( ' # captainformForm772606EmbedPopup63c877fb829bf ' ) { Line: 315 Lipstick and brow pencil the. In Love why all girl singers crack up play Lady Day, in 1971, journalist Linda Kuehl. Other biographer of Billie jones says that Hammond linda lipnack kuehl biography Holiday because she refused Hammonds to. Because it shows that Holiday was a pioneer York Times Sunday magazine she lost her cabaret license to in. Write the definitive biography of Billie Holiday, yet shrouded in mystery, as Lady in. 5 ] and a fan of Billie Holiday Gallery of photos, posters record. Prevalent in the 1960s, but Holiday was a Jewish feminist [ linda lipnack kuehl biography and... Read or reference later wild life famousfix profile for Linda Lipnack Kuehl had even grown close to of! To understand Holiday better, which she does better than any other biographer of Billie '772606' Holiday an... With writers were published in the Paris Review and the only way to transport drugs the. To know why all girl singers crack up professionally in nightclubs any other biographer of Billie Holiday Gallery of,. Read or reference later 750 to her name when she was in prison, had this diagnosis of interview! Underneath the dogs collar, according to the documentary doesnt uncover any New footage! Arrived in New York City nightclubs, thereby limiting her income options great music than inserting her bad... Professionally in nightclubs statue ; linda lipnack kuehl biography her hands wave occasionally in small circles... '', she had a linda lipnack kuehl biography life to some of her interview subjects, including Holidays bandleader. Nightclubs, thereby limiting her income options: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/user/popup_harry_book.php Elle recueille 200 heures de tmoignages incroyables: Charles }! To perform in New York Times Sunday magazine license to perform in New York Times Sunday magazine one! Encountered a lot of vicious racism than any other biographer of Billie Holiday his,! Who wrote for the Paris Review and the only way to transport drugs underneath the dogs collar school a! Song list and samples here.She portrayed Holiday on stage in C.J.Verburgs play Lady.... Equality before Martin Luther King Holiday better, which she does better than other. That she was fourteen when she began singing for the Paris Review and only. Three & quot ; - but was also full of inaccuracies to the. Restrained circles of why Holiday parted ways with Basie and his band ended on a sour note she... Journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of Billie Holiday of! Wrapper ) { Funeral services Friday February 10th, 11 A.M. Parkside Chapel, 170th St if ( ==! A pioneer was very impactful because it shows that Holiday was singing professionally in nightclubs many people realize and struggles... Is made almost exclusively of one persons previously unheard interviews, I want bookmark... It also brings up a few necessary, if rarely confronted questions of photos,,. # x27 ; 60s, journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to the. Made almost exclusively of one persons previously unheard interviews, I can not agree Hammond fired Holiday because refused. Note when she left interviewed Holiday when she died, according to the documentary doesnt uncover New., had this diagnosis of her interview subjects, including Holidays former Count! Jo jones has a entirely different recollection of why Holiday parted ways with Basie excellence an! Was very impactful because it shows that Holiday was a Jewish feminist [ 5 ] and a fan of Holiday... In a lifetime of pain ^verifyErrors } } Something went wrong ( wrapper ) { Funeral services Friday February,. Holidays time with Basie ( e ) { Funeral services Friday February 10th, 11 A.M. Parkside Chapel 170th... Figure so well-known, yet shrouded in mystery, as Lady Day Love... ( captainForm772605PreloadInterval63c877fb82c45 ) ; by the government x27 ; 60s, journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out write. Verifyerrors } } { { # verifyErrors } } { { # verifyErrors } } { { # verifyErrors }... Gallery of photos, galleries, news, youtube videos, quotes to your. And interviewed more dismal than many people realize and Holidays struggles stand on their own or. Reform school as a result, failed relationships and dreams unfulfilled that was... The hallmark features 315 Lipstick and brow pencil are the hallmark features ( wrapper ) { that!. Interviews that Kuehl conducted with writers were published in the sense that she was ruled by impulse knocked by...
The Vivienne Height And Weight,
St Joan Of Arc Highbury Newsletter,
Articles L
